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Overview

Published July 2025 on Publications of the National Register of Historic Places (NPS)

For preparers of New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places nominations and fellow SHPO staff.

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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section el_id=”media-summary”][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”1vw”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image source=”featured_image” img_size=”large” style=”vc_box_shadow” onclick=”link_image” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]

Excerpt from Introduction

[/vc_column_text][vc_message color=”warning” message_box_color=”warning” icon_fontawesome=”” css=””]This publication compliments the guidance provided in National Register Bulletins by providing examples on specific topics.[/vc_message][vc_row_inner el_class=”hpo-callout-text”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”hpo-intro-paragraph”]The National Historic Preservation Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior not only to expand but to maintain a National Register of Historic Places. Removals are part of that maintenance work.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Removals of properties from the National Register are extraordinarily rare. As of this writing, approximately 2,500 properties, of over 100,000 listed, have been removed since the National Register’s formal establishment in 1966.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1758815062001{margin-bottom: 32px !important;}”][info-box-shortcode icon=”fa fa-solid fa-rectangle-list” title=”Table of Contents”]

• Introduction
• Evaluating Loss of Integrity
• Evaluating Whether the Property Meets the Criteria
• Evaluating Prejudicial Procedural Error
• Formatting the Removal Request
• Processing a Removal

[/info-box-shortcode][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner el_class=”hpo-callout-text”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””]Nevertheless, there may be a good reason for a property to be removed. Federal regulations at 36 C.F.R. § 60.15 provide four reasons for removal:

1. the property has ceased to meet the criteria for listing in the National Register because the qualities which caused it to be originally listed have been lost or destroyed, or such qualities were lost subsequent to nomination and prior to listing;
2. additional information shows that the property does not meet the National Register criteria for evaluation;
3. error in professional judgment as to whether the property meets the criteria for evaluation; or
4. prejudicial procedural error in the nomination or listing process.

National Register Bulletin: Completing the National Register Registration Form further explains that

[u]nder very special circumstances, such as deterioration or loss of historic integrity, a property can be removed from the National Register. These circumstances are explained in 36 CFR Part 60. To request removal, provide the SHPO and FPO with an explanation of the reasons for removal and any supportive items such as photographs and news clippings.

This issue of the Best Practices Review discusses the process for, and provides examples of, removals of listings from the National Register of Historic Places for these four reasons.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section el_id=”end-spacer”][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”4vw”][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]