[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]PURPOSE OF FUNDING 
The Historic Preservation Office, in partnership with the National Park Service, administers the Certified Local Government program. The goals of the program are to ensure the broadest possible participation of local governments in the national historic preservation program while maintaining standards consistent with the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation;” to enrich, develop, and help maintain local historic preservation programs in cooperation and coordination with the SHPO; and to provide financial and technical assistance to further these purposes.

The Historic Preservation Office is required to regrant 10% of the state’s allocation of federal historic preservation funds for pass-through as sub-grants to Certified Local Government communities. The goals for the grant projects are:

• To identify buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts which are significant in the areas of history, architecture, archaeology, and engineering and which meet the criteria for inclusion in the
  New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places; and
• To design and implement planning tools for the protection of historic resources.

APPLICATION 
Announcements about the availability of the grant application can be found on the Historic Preservation Office website. The application for FFY2026 opened on November 12th, 2025.

APPLICATION DEADLINE 
March 31, 2026

NOTIFICATION DATE
Approximately June 2026

SOURCE OF FUNDING 
US Department of Interior-National Park Service (NPS)

STATUTORY CITATION 
National Historic Preservation Act, P.L. 89-655, as amended

WHO IS ELIGIBLE 
To qualify for a CLG grant, a municipality must meet three criteria:

1. CLG Status: The municipality must have applied for and received Certified Local Government status from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Only municipal governments that have been certified by the grant application deadline are eligible to compete for funds. The requirements and process for certification are outlined in New Jersey’s Certified Local Government Guidelines which is available on-line at www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/3preserve/clgguides8_07.pdf.
2. Annual Report Submission: The participating municipality must be current in their submission of Annual Reports. This means that the annual report for the preceding calendar year has been submitted in accordance with Appendix C of New Jersey’s Certified Local Government Guidelines. Annual reports must be submitted by March 31st for the preceding calendar year. However, if a community has an unfulfilled reporting requirement, the report may be filed as an attachment to the application. This requirement does not apply to communities that attained certification within the past calendar year.
3. Regulatory Compliance: The municipality must agree to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR CONSIDERATION 
The Historic Preservation Office uses a competitive selection process and awards grants to projects that best meet the evaluation criteria and funding priorities described in the application packet.

GRANT LIMITATIONS 
The maximum individual grant award is $50,000 and the minimum award is $15,000.  All grants are awarded contingent upon the availability of federal funds.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Each year notification of availability is mailed to the mayors and copied to the historic preservation commission chairs. Announcements about the availability of the grant application can be found on the Historic Preservation Office website.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Evaluation Process: Applications are reviewed by staff for technical completeness and forwarded to a grant evaluation panel comprised of historic preservation professionals. The evaluation panel makes recommendations to the Assistant Commissioner of the DEP’s Community Investment and Economic Revitalization program, and grants are awarded upon approval of the Assistant Commissioner.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cassidy Deegan
cassidy.deegan@deptest.nj.gov
609-940-5812[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”3482″ img_size=”1920×2560″ css=””][vc_message]Certified Local Government (CLG) Program
Participation in the CLG program requires that a municipality have a historic preservation ordinance and a historic preservation commission conforming to the specifications of both the Municipal Land Use Law and the National Park Service approved New Jersey Certified Local Government Guidelines.  As a CLG, the community is eligible to apply for Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants for a variety of local preservation activities.[/vc_message][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1742226645857{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-color: #8B8B8B !important;}”]Fact Sheet:

• Cape May 2022

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