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Please review updated Records Access information below while our records are being digitized. (Latest update July 28, 2025)
The SHPO maintains the most comprehensive files of previously reported or identified historic properties (buildings, districts, objects, archaeological sites, shipwrecks, and structures) in Michigan. Reviewing these files is fundamental to completing applications for Section 106 Review, planning surveys (above and/or below ground), initiating or revising National Register of Historic Places nominations, and other research initiatives. Since 2023, the SHPO has been working to build a new indexing database with a linked GIS and scanned supporting documents. Starting in early 2025, the SHPO will be making this system available for research, as the components become available.
We are now able to announce the next installment of making research materials available online.
The Michigan SHPO is pleased to announce that our Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) is ready for individual beta user access! CRIS is composed of an online relational database (Argus) and a Geographic Information System (GIS) service providing information on architectural/history surveys and above-ground historic sites in Michigan. Archaeological GIS is a work in progress, but we will be providing access to a Box folder with scans of the USGS topographic quadrangle maps until the GIS project is completed. We are in the process of digitizing our survey reports and the electronic files will be uploaded to the database records as they are processed. This online system will allow professionals who meet the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications to search the SHPO’s files online instead of submitting research requests to our staff or travelling to our office in Lansing.
Access to CRIS will be free of charge while the system is under development. We anticipate that we will charge a subscription fee for access to the system beginning in 2026. Until then, we are offering access to the system in exchange for feedback on any bugs, data errors, or potential future improvements.
In order to access the system, a request must be submitted through our online request system. Even if you have been approved as meeting the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications for Archaeology (36 CFR Part 61) in the past, please submit a current CV or resume with your request. If we do not have a recent qualification form in our records, we may ask you to submit that form as well. Additional access instructions and a Terms of Use Agreement will be sent via email following review of the online request.
Please be advised that archaeological information is protected in Michigan, and therefore is available only to those meeting the Secretary of Interior’s Professional Qualifications for Archaeology (36 CFR Part 61) or to tribal cultural resource managers. If you are not a tribal cultural resource manager or do not meet the qualifications for archaeologist, you will only be able to access above-ground records. Please contact SHPO Data Manager Diane Tuinstra by email: [email protected] with any questions.
Access to the system is tied to the individual user and accounts may not be shared, so if there are multiple people in a firm or agency that require access, each will need to complete the steps above.
Once again, access to this system is free, but we expect errors to be reported back so it can be improved for all. Questions and quality feedback on the CRIS must be directed to SHPO Data Manager Diane Tuinstra by email at [email protected].
Section 106 Status Checks
If you submitted an application for Section 106 review and wish to check on the status, remember that under the National Historic Preservation Act regulations, SHPO has 30 days from the date we receive the complete application to offer comment. An ongoing staff shortage means we are often reviewing projects just before the deadline. As a result, it is difficult to estimate a time for completion. If in fact we surpass the 30 day comment period, it is up to the Federal agency as to how to proceed. Projects are reviewed fastest when they are fully complete upon submission and mailed to our correct address. Please contact SHPO if you have questions.
Note that all mail, including project applications, should be sent to our current address: Michigan SHPO, 300 North Washington Square, Lansing MI 48913. Mail sent to any prior address will be delayed or returned. If you are planning to visit our office for an in-person research appointment or to drop off a completed application package, consult the map below for nearby parking options.
