The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the
nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic
Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a federal program to coordinate
and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic
and archeological resources.
The National Register program is administered at the State level. In Washington, DC, sites
must first be added to its Inventory of Historic Sites before being considered for inclusion in
the National Register. In Maryland, a resource must be added to the Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properies, and in Virginia to the Virginia Landmarks Register. Listing on the
National Register is required for federal tax credits.
In starting the nomination process, we assess the eligibility of a resource to determine if it
meets the National Register Criteria's for Evaluation. If we determine a resource to be
eligible, we complete the nomination and support it before state historic preservation
review bodies before it is submitted to the National Park Service for final approval and
inclusion in the National Register.