Gettysburg National Military Park (GETT) and Eisenhower National Historic Site (EISE) are implementing changes to their Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) program. Effective immediately, all CUA applications must be submitted online at: https://cua.nps.gov.
Please visit this site for the most up to date application information and to create your online account which will be necessary to submit online CUA applications.
Issued CUA permits at GETT and EISE will be valid for one year only. The non-refundable application fee is $350.00 for a single CUA application and $250.00 per application for additional CUAs per year.
What is a CUA Permit? The National Park Service issues CUA permits to allow an individual, group, company or other for-profit entity to commercially operate within a park. Federal law mandates the National Park Service issue CUAs only for commercial activities and visitor services that:
- are determined to be an appropriate use of the park,
- will have minimal impact on park resources and values, and
- are consistent with the park purpose, management plans, policies, and regulations.
Types of activities currently authorized under CUAs at GETT and EISE: bus tours with Licensed Battlefield Guides or approved taped narrations; leadership tours; escorted horseback rides/tours; horse-drawn carriage rides/tours; bicycle rentals/tours, scooter rentals/tours and segway tours; photography classes; naturalist-led birding tours; plein-air drawing and painting classes.
CUA permit holders are required to report revenue information to the park annually. Application fees paid by CUA holders are credited back to the permit holder when they pay the market price fee at the end of the operating season.
Fee increases: CUA permit application fees at GETT or EISE will increase from $300 to $350 beginning January 1, 2025. The CUA permit application fee is a nonrefundable fee. This is the first increase in CUA fees in the park in five years.
Note: Beginning January 1, 2022, GETT and EISE began charging a market price fee to recover all costs associated with the administration and management of the CUA program. Fees for CUA permits issued after January 1, 2022, are based on a percentage of revenue earned from in-park or park-based operations. Market price fees are be based on the following:
- Less than $250,000 earned from park-based operations - 3% of gross receipts (minus application fee)
- $250,000 to $500,000 earned from park-based operations - 4% of gross receipts (minus application fee)
- More than $500,000 earned from park-based operations - 5% of gross receipts (minus application fee)
Why? Public Law 105-391, Section 418, requires the National Park Service (NPS) to collect a reasonable fee for CUAs at an amount at least sufficient to recover the costs to the NPS in administering and managing CUAs. Assessing a market price fee at GETT and EISE creates a more equitable fee structure based upon volume of commercial activity conducted in the park.
Implementation: Completed applications must be submitted to the park one month prior to the permit expiration date in order to obtain a finalized CUA permit in a timely manner. Applicants making more than $100,000 from park-based operations should submit the application two months prior to the end of the current permit in order to provide time for adequate review by the park and the NPS Northeast Regional office. All applications will be reviewed in the order in which they were they were received.
Email Pam Neil, Permits Coordinator, for additional information.
