Using the NRIS

Welcome to the National Register Information System (NRIS), a database that contains information on places listed in or determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Established under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register has identified and documented, in partnership with state, federal, and tribal preservation programs nearly 79,000 districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. Over 1 million contributing resources are included in the boundaries of National Register listings. Recognizing a vast and diverse array of historic properties throughout the United States and its territories, the National Register has been a catalyst for preserving communities, maintaining cultural traditions, recognizing community history, and revitalizing cities across the United States. The Register includes landmarks of American achievement as well as properties that reflect the everyday lives of ordinary people in communities across the nation. For more information on the National Register collection, please visit the National Register's Research homepage. If you are familiar with the NRIS, you can proceed directly to the database. Several State Historic Preservation Office web sites also offer more information on National Register listed properties in their state. The depth of information available varies from state to state, but ranges from basic locational information to searchable databases with downloadable narrative descriptions and photos. Go to our list of SHPO Inventories for referrals to states offering more information.

The NRIS is a computerized index that contains information on each of the historic properties listed in or determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Currently, five searchable categories are available--name, location, agency, subject and multiple covers--and more will be added in time. The name, location and agency categories each include several ways of defining your search. Once the database matches your search query, it will provide you with the name of the properties, their addresses, and links to pertinent Web sites that may provide further information. While full text versions of individual National Register nominations are not currently available, we encourage you to visit the links to pertinent Web sites, when provided, to get more complete information. Each searchable category page has numerous selections to aid in defining your search and a Help section with links to general information you should know about how to use the NRIS system including screen navigation and running reports, exporting and downloading, and trouble shooting tips.

The National Register of Historic Places is pleased to announce that the General Services Administration's Center for Historic Buildings, Office of the Chief Architect is partnering with the National Park Service to digitize records of listed GSA properties to make them accessible online through the National Register Information System database. This is the first inter-agency partnership on this project and the latest incremental step by the National Register in digitizing the documentation on nearly 79,000 nominations. Multiple property nomination contexts have been digitized and are now available through the NRIS database. Work on the National Park Service's own listed properties is currently underway. To find out more about the scanning project and partnership opportunities, click here.

Searchable Categories
Click on one of the four categories below to begin your search.

The NAME search allows you to look for properties by resource name, architect/engineer, significant person, or multiple property submission name.

Searching by LOCATION lets you find properties in your state, city, or county.

AGENCY allows you to look up Federal properties by the agency that nominated the property, as well as properties that were formally determined eligible for listing by the Keeper of the National Register.

The SUBJECT search unites those National Register properties that are highlighted in various National Register Web travel itineraries, Teaching with Historic Places on-line lesson plans, other National Park Service Web features, and the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) collection at the Library of Congress with links to applicable Web sites provided.

The DOCUMENTATION search includes GSA PROPERTIES and MULTIPLE COVERS contain valuable information on groups of properties around the country. This search feature allows you access over 1,400 multiple property nomination contexts that have been digitized and are available as pdfs.

A small percentage of users may want to manipulate database information in their local computer environment. For this purpose, visit the download center. If you have further questions about how to use this system, please send us an e-mail.