What to Know about Listing in the National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places (National Register) is the nation’s official list of buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts worthy of preservation.

Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archaeological resources. Properties listed in the National Register are significant in American history, culture, architecture, engineering, or archaeology. The National Register program is administered through the Massachusetts Historical Commission on behalf of the National Park Service.

Nominations are based on comprehensive local inventories of cultural resources. Inventories are generally compiled on a communitywide basis by local historical commissions and record basic information about the historic, cultural, architectural, engineering, and archaeological significance of individual properties and areas in a community. The completed inventory allows preservation decisions to be made within a consistent context, and identifies properties that are eligible for listing in the National Register.

How do I get my property listed in the National Register?

In Massachusetts, properties and areas are evaluated for National Register eligibility based on recent inventory form documentation in communities with comprehensive inventories of cultural resources.

Here are the steps for the National Register listing process:

1. Contact the MHC to see if your community has a sufficient historic resource survey for us to evaluate. If your community doesn’t have a sufficient resource survey, you can either:
   • Contact your local historical commission about their responsibility to undertake historic resource surveys OR
   • Contact the MHC about whether the property or area in question may meet an exception. (See the list of exceptions below.)
   If your community does have a sufficient historic resource survey, contact your local historical commission (or the MHC) and ask if an inventory form has been prepared for your property – or if any additional information is required.
2. If sufficient documentation exists, request evaluation for National Register eligibility in a letter addressed to the MHC’s National Register Director, Ben Haley.
   • The MHC recommends that you ask your local historical commission to forward their recommendation to the MHC regarding the property or area’s eligibility for the National Register.
   • If the property or area is in a Certified Local Government community, the local historical commission will evaluate first and then send their findings to the MHC. The MHC staff will then evaluate to determine whether it meets the criteria for listing.
3. The MHC staff evaluation team meets regularly to evaluate properties for National Register eligibility. The evaluation determines whether the property meets the criteria for listing.
   • Decisions are based on MHC’s knowledge of the resource and its integrity, and an understanding of the significance of the resource within its context. The inventory serves as the basis for all evaluation decisions.
   • When the evaluation team does not have sufficient information to render a decision, they may request additional information.
   • When districts are being evaluated, MHC staff may make a site visit before completing the evaluation.
4. If a property or area is found eligible, you can prepare a nomination form.
   • The MHC does not have the resources to assist in the preparation of nomination forms by non-professionals. The MHC recommends retaining the services of a preservation consultant with recent experience with National Register nominations in Massachusetts.
5. Once a draft is submitted to the MHC, it will enter a review period.
   • Nomination drafts often undergo at least two rounds of substantive revisions before being finalized. Once it is final, the MHC will schedule it for consideration at a quarterly meeting of the State Review Board of the Massachusetts Historical Commission.
6. The State Review Board will review the nomination and vote whether or not to nominate the property to the National Register. After being voted eligible, the nomination will then be forwarded to the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., for review and listing in the National Register.

Please note that the period of time from submission of a first draft of a nomination to listing in the National Register is approximately two years.

What are the benefits of being listed in the National Register?

• Recognition: The National Register recognizes the significance of a property to the community, state, and/or nation.
• Tax Incentives: National Register listing allows the owners of income-producing properties to apply for certain federal tax incentives for substantial rehabilitation according to standards set by the Department of Interior.
• Protection: National Register properties are afforded limited protection from adverse effects of federally assisted projects; and, through automatic inclusion in the State Register of Historic Places, limited protection from state actions.
• Grants: Inclusion in the State Register of Historic Places, which comes automatically with National Register listing, provides eligibility for matching state grants for restoration of properties owned by private nonprofit organizations and municipalities, when such grants are available.

Criteria for Listing

The criteria for listing in the National Register are:

1.  Association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history
2.  Association with the lives of persons significant in our past
3.  That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction
4.  Likelihood of yielding (or have already yielded) information significant in history or prehistory.

Properties must retain integrity and meet at least one of the above criteria to be eligible for listing.

Will National Register listing restrict the use of my property?

What is a National Register district?

An individually eligible property may be nominated to the National Register on its own or, if it is located within an area containing other significant properties, as part of a district. A National Register district may include any number of properties and resource types. The benefits and protections afforded by listing are the same.

Can my property be listed in the National Register if my community’s inventory is not comprehensive?

In some cases, yes. There are four exceptions to the MHC’s policy not to consider properties for the National Register in communities without comprehensive inventory:

1. The owner of an income-producing property is planning to do certified rehabilitation work and needs National Register status in order to use the federal investment tax credits
2. The property is in imminent danger of destruction
3. The property is owned by a municipality or nonprofit and are seeking preservation grant funding
4. The property is of demonstrated state or national significance

If you can demonstrate one of these exception, the MHC may consider the property for evaluation. You must submit a letter to us requesting an evaluation for your property, stating why you want to have the property listed.

However, without comprehensive inventory information, the eligibility of properties is difficult to establish. Contact your local historical commission about the need to conduct supplemental inventory work to provide a context for evaluating the significance of your property.

If my house is listed in the National Register, are grant monies available for rehabilitation work?

Can I object to having my property listed in the National Register?

• If your property is within a proposed National Register district with more than 50 owners, you will be invited to a public meeting, before the State Review Board meeting, at which MHC staff will be available to answer questions about the listing.
• If your property is within a proposed district, a majority of property owners (more than 50%) must submit objections to prevent listing.
• If a majority of property owners do not object, the nomination may move forward and the properties for which there are objections will remain in the nominated district.
• If a majority of owners do object, the National Park Service may still formally determine the property (or properties) eligible for listing, although actual listing will not occur.

Where do I go for assistance in preparing a National Register nomination?

Your local historical commission, local historical society, public library, college/university, and online repositories can provide useful resource material. Due to the technical nature of National Register nominations, however, the MHC strongly encourages retaining the services of an experienced professional preservation consultant or firm to assist with the completion of a National Register nomination form.

Also, when funds are available, matching Survey and Planning grants are awarded annually through the MHC to fund professional National Register work for municipal- or nonprofit-owned properties or districts with confirmed support from a majority of property owners for listing in the National Register.

For more information, contact:
Ben Haley, National Register Director
Massachusetts Historical Commission
Massachusetts Archives Building
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
Phone: 617-727-8470
Email: ben.haley@sec.state.ma.us

Related page

Effects and Benefits of Listing