Owners of listed or eligible buildings in local, state, and/or national registers must fill out a Historic Preservation Certification Application available on-line from the National Park Service (by following this link), from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and your city's Renaissance Zone Authority. This form is the actual application for applying for the federal historic rehabilitation credit and will be used for the Renaissance Zone tax credit as well. This form was chosen because it expedites the process for owners applying for both state and federal rehabilitation incentives. The on-line version is in MS WORD format.

The State Historical Society encourages owners and developers to talk with tax experts before undertaking projects under the federal and Renaissance Zone rehabilitation tax credit programs. The State Historical Society offers Internal Revenue Service contact information upon request.

Application steps:

1. Commercial buildings in the Renaissance Zone may be eligible for the federal 20% investment tax credit for historic rehabilitation. Residential buildings in the Renaissance Zones are eligible for the state credit but are not currently eligible for the federal credit.
2. Read more about the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit to see if it may apply to your rehabilitation project by requesting information from the State Historical Society and/or visiting this website: www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/brochure1.htm. For a comparison between the federal rehabilitation credit and the Renaissance Zone rehabilitation credit, please click here.
3. Complete and submit Part I of the Historic Preservation Certification Application if you intend to apply for the federal historic rehabilitation credit. Part I is not required to claim the Renaissance Zone credit only.
4. Complete and submit Part II of the Application for the Renaissance Zone and/or federal rehabilitation tax credits. Fill in as many detailed description boxes on Part II as needed to fully describe your project. Applications which are thorough and complete will aid in a speedy review of your project. Inadequate, incomplete, or inaccurate applications are likely to delay the review of your project.
5. Complete and submit a duplicate Part II Application and all attachments if applying for the federal historic rehabilitation credit. The second set will be reviewed by the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.
6. To expedite the National Park Service review, complete and submit the credit card authorization form along with your Part II Application. The authorization form is called the Historic Preservation Certification Application Fee Payment by Credit Card. Click here for a link to the credit card authorization form in .PDF format.
7. All work must conform to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. Projects which do not meet the Secretary's Standards are not eligible for the historic rehabilitation credit. Read more about the Secretary's Standards by requesting a booklet from the State Historical Society of North Dakota or by visiting the National Park Service website: www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/rhb/stand.htm.
8. To avoid delays in the review of your Part II, supply any additional materials requested by the State Historical Society promptly.
9. If applying for the Renaissance Zone historic rehabilitation credit, your Part II will be reviewed by the State Historical Society within 10 working days. The Part II is reviewed for the project's conformance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation.
10. No fee is required for review of Renaissance Zone historic rehabilitation projects.
11. The State Historical Society will notify the property owner via a Conditional Letter to Proceed or denial at the end of the 10-working-day review period. Proposed work that is not consistent with the Secretary's Standards will be identified, and advice will be given to assist property owners, architects, or builders in bringing the project into conformance with the Secretary's Standards.
12. If you intend to purchase property in the Renaissance Zone and make improvements, Part II of the Application must be submitted to the State Historical Society. The Detailed Description section may be preliminary and general but detailed enough to demonstrate the owners intent to conform with the Secretary's Standards. The State Historical Society will issue a Conditional Letter to Proceed that will allow the purchase to proceed, provided that it is clear that the owner has read, understood, and applied the Secretary Standards in planning the rehabilitation. You must submit a more detailed Part II Amendment prior to beginning improvements in order for the State Historical Society to fully review the project for Renaissance Zone and/or federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.
13. If applying for the federal historic rehabilitation credit, your Part II will be reviewed by the State Historical Society within 10 working days, followed by the Society's submittal of your project to the National Park Service for final approval. The review periods do not include the time the paperwork is in the mail.
14. The National Park Service is allowed a 30-day review period which begins after the National Park Service has received your Processing Fee. Page 8 of the Application form discusses the federal Processing Fee and the information can be found on the NPS website previously mentioned.
15. The Processing Fee can be paid in one of three ways: 1.) This is the fastest method. Complete the credit card authorization form and submit it with part II of the Application. 2.)Fax your credit card number upon receipt of a letter from the National Park Service requesting the Processing Fee. 3.) Mail your check upon receipt of the fee letter from the National Park Service. Upon receipt of payment, all methods trigger the 30-day review of your project.
16. Proposed work that is not consistent with the Secretary's Standards will be identified by the National Park Service, and advice will be given to assist property owners, architects, or builders in bringing the project into conformance with the Secretary's Standards.
17. Follow your Part II plans as agreed upon with the State Historical Society and/or approved by the National Park Service.
18. Upon completion of your building rehabilitation, submit Part III and post-rehabilitation photographs verifying the completed work to the State Historical Society. If all work was completed in conformance with the Secretary's Standards, a Final Letter of Approval will be mailed to you, the Renaissance Zone Authority, and to the Division of Community Services verifying that your completed work was cleared.
19. If applying for the federal rehabilitation credit, submit a duplicate Part III and duplicate set of post-rehabilitation photographs to be forwarded to the National Park Service. A signed copy of Part III will be mailed to you by the National Park Service. This signed document is required to claim your income tax credits with the Internal Revenue Service.
20. Claim the credit(s)!

Contact information:

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