Pennsylvania Historic Preservation

PA SHPO’s Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, and a companion worksheet, Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, are published to the PHMC website and ready for use.

These guidelines replace the PA SHPO’s How to Complete the Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form guidance from November 2014. The Historic Resource Survey Form, or HRSF, was retired in February 2021. Information about older and historic places, including buildings, landscapes, archaeological sites, and bridges, is now submitted to the PA SHPO through PA-SHARE.  While PA SHPO no longer uses the HRSF, the same information is collected through PA-SHARE.

You can find the Guidelines and Worksheet in the Above Ground Resources and National Register sections of PHMC’s Forms and Guidance webpage and on the Survey Contact and Guidance page:

• Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Guidelines%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf.
• Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Worksheet%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf. This is the same worksheet that is included in the Guidelines, just available on its own as a separate fillable PDF for users. Do not submit the worksheet to PA SHPO in place of completing the PA-SHARE online form. The worksheet is intended to be a tool to assist users in the collection of information for buildings and using PA-SHARE. Resources must be submitted through PA-SHARE.

Please note: These guidelines do not include the technical guidance for entering information about above ground buildings in PA-SHARE. For step-by-step instructions on how to access and use PA-SHARE, please refer to PA SHPO’s tutorial, Adding Above Ground Resources to PA-SHARE.