Historic Preservation

National Register and State Register Questionnaire

The National Register and the State Register give recognition to properties significant in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and culture. A property becomes "listed" in the National and State registers after a nomination form documenting the historic significance of the property is approved by the Wisconsin Historic Preservation Review Board and the State Historic Preservation Officer, who is the administrator of the Wisconsin Historical Society's Division of Historic Preservation - Public History. In addition, National Register nominees require approval of the National Park Service.

Before you decide to invest the substantial time and energy in the preparation of a nomination form, you may wish to consider our preliminary opinion regarding the property's eligibility. After you have submitted the completed Nomination Questionnaire (PDF, 69 KB) with recent photographs, to the Division of Historic Preservation - Public History, Division staff will evaluate the property and inform you of the preliminary staff opinion of eligibility. Your materials will not be returned to you. Keep in mind that the opinion of eligibility is merely a staff opinion based on a familiarity with National Register and State Register criteria and with the state and federal review procedures, but on limited information. Therefore, division staff cannot always evaluate correctly. You may decide to have a nomination prepared even though the division's staff feels that the property is not eligible.

It is the responsibility of the sponsors of nominations to submit to the division the necessary forms, photographs, and maps. Because nominations are complex technical documents, requiring extensive research, the Division recommends that you hire an experienced nomination preparer to complete a nomination to state and federal standards. Nomination preparation requires the ability to describe architectural features, prepare an historical analysis, and closely adhere to rigorous technical instructions; skills which most first time preparers find very difficult to master. A list of nomination preparers is available upon request and will be enclosed with our response to this questionnaire.

However, division staff will send National Register and State Register forms to those who, in spite of this advice, wish to attempt to prepare nominations. The publication, How to Complete the National Register Registration Form is a necessary reference for the accurate completion of a nomination. Upon request, the Division of Historic Preservation will provide a complimentary copy of Wisconsin's Supplementary Manual, which explains the format and materials required for nominations in Wisconsin.

Important Financial Information

• Owners of income-producing National Register properties may apply for a 20-percent federal investment tax credit, plus a 5-percent state "piggyback" credit, for certified rehabilitation expenses.
• Owner-occupants of historic houses listed in the National Register or the State Register may apply for a 25-percent state investment tax credit for certified rehabilitation expenses.

If you plan to apply for the tax credits, the Part I-Evaluation of Significance should be completed instead of this questionnaire.

Part I-Evaluation of Significance forms are available at the links listed below:

• For owners of income-producing National Register properties
• For owner-occupants of historic houses (PDF, 41KB)
  To obtain the free Adobe Acrobat reader, you can find information in our help section.

Questions about the National Register or State Register Questionnaire or nomination procedure should be directed to Mary Georgeff.