The National Park Service intends to revise the Secretary of the Interior’s Historic Preservation Professional Qualifications Standards, which are authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”; 16 U.S.C. 470, et sec). When this initiative begins, information about the activities and progress will be posted on this website.
These standards apply to each statutorily-identified discipline as it is practiced in historic preservation nationwide. Five disciplines were addressed in 1983 according to the statutory provisions then in place. Amendments to NHPA added more disciplines to be considered, and updates of the original standards need to be accomplished. These standards do not apply to entry level positions. Rather, they outline the minimum education, experience, and products that together provide an assurance that the program and project manager, applicant, employee, consultant, or advisor will be able to perform competently on the job and be respected within the larger historic preservation community.
A proposed version of these standards was published last on June 20, 1997. Unfortunately, though comments were received, it was not possible to proceed with the requisite analyses and revisions sufficient for publication of the final standards. This new initiative will provide another publication of proposed standards for public comment after appropriate preliminary consultation with organizations, institutions, and agencies at all levels of government.
Please watch this website for more information.
The text of the proposed Professional Qualification Standards that was published in 1997 is available in either of the two formats below:
