SHPO Programs and Services

Incentive Programs

Certified Local Governments

Certified Local Governments (CLGs) are partners with the federal government and the State Historic Preservation Office at the local level. CLGs promote preservation at the grass roots level and reflect best preservation practices.

Historic Preservation Tax Credits

Forms, instructions, and other guidance for the federal and new state historic preservation tax credit program. Note that new federal application forms are effective February 26, 2021.

Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program

The Lighthouse Assistance Program promotes and supports the preservation of Michigan Lighthouses and Michigan's coastal maritime heritage through awareness and grants.

Resilient Lakeshore Heritage Grants

Made possible by a grant from the National Park Service, the Resilient Lakeshore Heritage Grant provides funding for rehab of historic properties in select rural lakeshore communities. The application window opens June 1, 2022.

Review & Compliance

Archaeology

Documenting, protecting and interpreting over 14,000 years of heritage, on land and underwater.

Cultural Resource Management and Planning

Documents, forms, guidance and instructions relating to the Section 106 /Environmental Review process.

Survey & Designation

Historic Resource Survey Program

Surveys of architecture, archaeology and other historic resources support the identification and protection of Michigan's cultural heritage.

Local Historic Districts

Local historic district designation provides legal protection to historic resources by requiring that proposed work to a property in the district be reviewed by a Historic District Commission using national standards.

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National Register of Historic Places

The National Register is the official list of the Nation's historic buildings, structures, objects, and archaeological sites worthy of preservation. This page contains documents, forms, guidance, and instructions for nominating a site to the National Register in Michigan.

National Historic Landmarks

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Explore Michigan's 43 designated NHL resources here.

Success Stories & Projects

Michigan Civil Rights Project

An NPS-funded project to identify and document significant sites related to the African American civil rights movement of the twentieth century.

Governor's Awards for Historic Preservation

The annual Governor's Awards recognize outstanding historic preservation achievements reflecting a commitment to the preservation of Michigan’s neighborhoods, downtowns, and countryside, the state’s unique character, and the preservation of cultural resources that document Michigan’s past.

Preservation Case Studies

Preservation Case Studies and examples of successful historic preservation projects from across Michigan.

Michigan Modern

A signature SHPO documentation and interpretation project that studies Michigan's legacy of Modernism and Modern-inspired design in the mid-20th Century.