Electronic-Only Submission Instructions

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

This page references an out-of-date submission system.


As of September 2022 the NPS Secure File Transfer System at https://grantsdev.cr.nps.gov/omms was replaced with the Cultural Resoures Submission Portal (CRSP).

Instructions at:
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/crsp.htm



Effective today (4/10/20), the National Register program will launch an electronic-only submission process for the duration of the COVID-19 situation while our staff and the staff of our preservation partners engage in extended telework operations. Instructions for (1) the organization of submissions and (2) how to access and upload submissions via the designated FTP site.

National Register of Historic Places
(USDOI – NPS, Washington, DC)
Electronic-Only Submission Instructions
Effective 4/10/2020

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak and its disruption of regular work routines, the National Park Service (NPS) temporarily suspended submission of requests to the Keeper for National Register actions, including: individual and district nominations (including revisions to same) , Additional Documentation, Boundary Changes, Multiple Property Submissions, requests for removal, and Determinations of Eligibility.

Effective immediately, the National Register program is implementing an electronic only submission process so as to return to full operations in support of our Federal, state, Tribal, and local preservation partners in the national preservation program. All submissions will be made electronically through the NPS’ secure FTP site on the CR Online Mail Management System Platform at https://grantsdev.cr.nps.gov/omms.

Please note that these instructions are for a trial period during the COVID-19 indefinite telework situation and do not replace the guidance in National Register Bulletins and other program publications. Separate instructions are available for requesting an agency account and uploading submissions to the secure FTP site. The purpose of this document is to provide instructions regarding content and formatting constraints on electronic submissions.
Electronic Submission Process
  1. The nominating authority submits a signed .pdf version of the nomination or other request for National Register Action (with some limitations, explained below) through the NPS Secure File Transfer System at https://grantsdev.cr.nps.gov/omms
  2. National Register staff confirm receipt of the material, log, and initiate processing and review of the submission.
  3. Once the National Register program has resumed in-office operations, NR staff will request the full nomination package to be sent in the “standard” way, including full quality images, original signed cover page, and all attendant materials.

Electronic Submission Contents

For the duration of this temporary deviation from the familiar, hard copy submission process, submissions requesting National Register actions may not be batched together. That is, nominating authorities need to submit single submissions, containing three separate .pdf files (i.e., correspondence, NR documentation (of whatever sort is being submitted), and associated images [if not embedded in the nomination]), each no larger than 1-30 MB, containing the following:
  1. Correspondence--The correspondence must include a transmittal letter from your authorized official to the Keeper specifying the National Register action requested and a brief summary of any relevant information (e.g., owner approval/objection, CLG comment, Commenting Authority comment, etc.). If there is a great deal of associated correspondence that is being summarized or presented in table form so as to streamline the size of the submission, please indicate this in the transmittal letter and note that a full set of documents will be provided once each of our staffs are back at our respective offices and normal work routines. If additional materials are required so as to process the review, the NPS reviewer will contact the appropriate person on your staff member.
  • As always, please forward any objections or relevant correspondence with the transmittal letter specifying the nature of the submission. For example, if any objections contain substantive materials that should be reviewed by National Register staff, they should be scanned in the file containing the transmittal letter.
  • Label each of the files with State Code, county code, name of property, “_letter” (e.g., AL_Jefferson County_Elizabeth Brown House_letter.pdf).
2. NR Documentation--The submission document (e.g., individual nomination, MPDF cover, or whatever is being submitted) as a pdf.
  • The documentation must still be signed by all appropriate parties (i.e., Certifying Authority, Commenting Authority, etc.) Nominating authorities can either sign it prior to scanning or may affix an electronic signature using Adobe’s “Fill and Sign” options. As with the discussion of excess images and maps, once normal resumptions of operations have occurred in your office, replacements must be provided for any electronic signatures.
  • Label the file as is normally done (e.g., AL_Jefferson County_Elizabeth Brown House_form.pdf).
Things to Omit from the Electronic Submission:
  1. Do not send GIS files at this time.
  2. Do not send separate map files. Per standard practice, all essential maps—or reduced scale versions thereof—should be embedded within the nomination. If you have large map files that are necessary for the review, please email e-mail us to discuss their delivery.
  3. Do not send the entire correspondence file or individual objections and/or letters of support. Please simply quantify and summarize those items. However, if you have correspondence that is essential to the review, please include it if it does not surpass the file size stated above.
  4. Do not send .tif files, .png files, .jpg files, any other file type. Only send pdfs. (If you have questions, please contact e-mail us.) Do not send “large” files. These limitations on the nomination packages are designed to keep the file size as small as possible. The system claims to have a capacity to handle large files, but with the current stress on the overall system, large files can drastically slow down or even crash the system. So, please keep the file size as small as possible (preferably around 1-30MB). If the form file is significantly larger than 30MB, please contact e-mail us to discuss ways to transmit the file.

Instructions as pdfs:
(1) the organization of submissions and
(2) how to access and upload submissions via the designated FTP site


Questions?
In addition to these instructions, we welcome your questions and feedback on this interim process for electronic-only National Register submissions. Any technical questions should be directed to e-mail us whereas substantive questions about reviews should be directed to the NR Reviewer responsible for the state in which the resource is located.

Last updated: March 9, 2023