Frequently Asked Questions

Funding for historic preservation projects can be challenging due to often limited funding options. For information on some of the options that are available, visit:

• Cultural Properties Restoration Fund Grant Program
• CLG Grants
• Tax Credits
• Contact the Grants Coordinator: Staff directory

Please visit our spreadsheet (Excel) to find the properties listed in the State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places.

Please visit the Registers of Cultural Properties page of our website and view the National Register Fact Sheets: NRHP Fact Sheet and How to List in the State and National Registers. If interested in nominating a property, complete the questionnaire and return it to nm.shpo@dca.nm.gov.

Local listing provides the strongest type of protection for historic buildings as physical construction work must first be approved by the local preservation commission (often called a “Certificate of Appropriateness” or “Building Permit Review”) before a building permit is issued. Listing in both the NRHP & SRCP provides recognition of properties but private property owners are not required to preserve properties unless receiving a grant or financial incentives like the tax credit.

Visit this list to find a vendor for a plaque.

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider their effects on historic properties. Please contact us if you have any questions about the Section 106 process or if the federal agency has consulted.

“CLG” is an acronym for Certified Local Government and is a unit of local government that has been certified to become a fully participating partner in national and state historic preservation programs. Visit the CLG program page for more information.

If you encounter an artifact, leave it in place! Archaeological sites and artifacts are best understood when studied within their original context. Additionally, state and federal laws prohibit the removal of archaeological items from some locations. So, if possible, please return any found artifacts to the location from which they were removed. If the artifact cannot be returned, consider contacting a qualified archaeologist, a Native American group local to the area where it originated, or the Archaeology/Anthropology department of a local university to determine how to appropriately handle the item. The Historic Preservation Division (HPD) does not have an artifact repository so please do not send artifacts to the HPD.

If human remains are found, work must cease immediately in the vicinity of the remains pursuant to state law. Secure the area to protect the remains from further disturbance and contact the local law enforcement agency (sheriff’s office, city or state police), or Federal law enforcement with jurisdiction over the area. Law enforcement will contact the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) and the SHPO. If the OMI determines that the remains are without medicolegal significance, the OMI will terminate jurisdiction to the SHPO. The SHPO will, with the assistance of a professional archaeologist, determine if the remains can be left in place and protected or if they need to be excavated by an archaeologist holding a permit to excavate unmarked human burials.

While SHPOs manage statewide historic initiatives, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs) are administered by federally recognized Native American tribes to oversee cultural resources and traditions on tribal lands.

The short answer – they are the same. These acronyms are two ways of identifying the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office (or Officer) and the Historic Preservation Division of the State of New Mexico, Department of Cultural Affairs. NM SHPO and HPD are the same agency.