Guidelines & Resources

HDP develops guidelines and resources to facilitate the documentation of historic properties within established standards for quality, content, and archival stability.

• Documentation Guidelines: Detailed information on how to execute measured drawings, photographs, and historical reports in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Engineering Documentation.
• Other Guidance: Supplemental guidance related to the documentation of historic properties and the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection.
• Samples: Examples of typical surveys for each program and documentation level.
• Templates: Base files for preparing documentation.
• Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Engineering Documentation: Developed pursuant to Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Secretary of the Interior's (SOI) Standards and Guidelines establish unform standards for the documentation of historic properties. The SOI Standards and Guidelines provide the foundation for the technical requirements outlined in the HABS/HAER/HALS program-level documentation guidelines.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)