Apply for listing
Complete the application form to add an entry or to amend or remove an entry that appears on the National Heritage List for England.
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Care about the future of a historic place you know and love? You can apply for a historic building or site to be protected through the listing system by completing our online application form..
Complete the application form to add an entry or to amend or remove an entry that appears on the National Heritage List for England.
You can also use the same form to ask us to consider amending or removing entries that appear on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). Find more information in our De-listing Guidance.
You can return to unfinished applications at any time.
Historic England is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 which provide a general right of access to information we hold.
We may provide information you have supplied in response to a request made under this legislation, subject to any exemptions which apply.
We offer both a free and a paid-for service. You will be asked which service you would like to choose at the start of the formal application process.
For more details on our paid-for service see our Fast-track Listing, and Listing Enhancement webpages:
These are carried out on a cost recovery basis as part of our Enhanced Advisory Services.
You can apply to protect:
If successful, the building or site will then be added to the NHLE.
Just follow these three steps in order to apply for listing.
We only take forward applications where the building or site is something capable of being listed, scheduled or registered and it falls under one of the following:
Using the above form, you can also apply for a Certificate of Immunity (COI). A COI prevents a building from being listed for five years. It's a useful mechanism for ascertaining the listed status of a building and can help inform development proposals for a site.
Paragraph 24 of the Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings (Department for Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS], November 2018) explains:
‘A COI precludes the Secretary of State from listing a building, and a local planning authority from serving a building preservation notice in relation to it, for a period of five years from the date of issue. COIs provide the owners / developers of a building with certainty over its possible listing.’
Upon application for a COI, the building is usually assessed for listing: this will result in Historic England recommending to the Secretary of State either that the building should be listed, or that a COI should be issued.
COIs offer immunity from listing only. Other designation outcomes such as the scheduling of ancient monuments and archaeological areas, and the registration of parks, gardens, and battlefields may still apply on any sites granted a COI. This is also the case for the designation of conservation areas, carried out by local planning authorities.
Submit your application for a COI to Historic England using the online application form for listing, linked to above.
Please supply enough detailed information with your application to enable us to make an initial desk-based assessment.
When we receive an application for a COI, Historic England will, in most instances, carry out a full assessment, generally including an internal and external inspection of the building.
We'll then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on whether the building merits listing or whether a COI should be issued. If the Secretary of State is satisfied that the building is of special architectural or historical interest, then the building is listed.
Should DCMS be minded to grant a COI, we will send out a letter on their behalf informing all parties of this. At this stage, there is a period of 28 days in which to appeal to DCMS to ask for this to be reviewed.
After this period, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will formalise their decision. If a COI is issued this cannot be challenged or revoked.
Our Fast-Track Listing service provides clarity sooner. You can use it to apply for listing, or for a COI.
We offer a guaranteed timeframe, usually within 12 weeks, in which we will make our recommendation to the DCMS on whether or not a building should be listed, or a COI issued.
For a full description of our Fast-Track Listing service, see the detailed description of our Enhanced Advisory Services.
COIs last for five years. When there are less than two years left to run, you can apply to renew a COI. Renewal is not automatic; Historic England will carry out a new assessment to determine whether a further COI should be considered. It is possible for a COI to be renewed more than once.
Along with requests for a COI, the same form can be used by local planning authorities (LPAs) to apply for listing following the service of a Building Preservation Notice (BPN).
A BPN is a form of temporary listing served by a local planning authority (LPA) under section 3 of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.
A BPN is a means for an LPA to protect a building which it considers has special architectural or historic interest, but which is in danger of demolition or alteration in such a way as to affect its character.
It protects a building for six months which allows Historic England to carry out an assessment of the building for listing.
Historic England recently ran a pilot scheme to explore the benefits of indemnification. Compensation may be payable in certain circumstances if a building, on which a BPN has been served, is not listed.
To remove the financial risk this poses for LPAs, Historic England, during the course of the pilot, and in certain circumstances, indemnified LPAs against that possibility.
The pilot came to an end on 30 November 2022. The findings of the pilot are currently being compiled and considered.
Although the indemnification pilot has ended, LPAs are encouraged to contact Historic England when considering serving a BPN, for advice and guidance. Regional Listing teams can be contacted using the details here:
Enquiries relating to the concluded pilot can be directed to [email protected].
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