Guidelines and Resources for Compliance-Generated
Determinations of Eligibility (DOEs)

The primary purpose of the DOE form is to fulfill a federal or state agency’s obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act or the Maryland Historical Trust Act of 1985 (State Finance and Procurement Article §§5A-325 and 5A-326 of the Annotated Code of Maryland).   In the spirit of these laws, DOE forms should provide accurate and meaningful documentation of historic properties that can benefit the public and future researchers.  Professionals completing DOE forms should approach them as they would any other piece of research: begin their project with relevant research questions; approach their sources in a critical manner; consider the place of their work within larger efforts to understand Maryland’s past; and provide citations, bibliographic notes, and recommendations for future research whenever appropriate. 

DOE forms should be objective, non-editorial, and uninfluenced by the nature or possible impacts of the proposed project.  It is the responsibility of agencies and their designees to provide a complete and appropriately formatted DOE form with attachments.  Incomplete materials may be returned, and the Section 106 process cannot proceed until a satisfactory form is provided. 

DOE forms become a permanent part of the MIHP and its associated databases.  Government agencies, MHT, and a variety of other users may rely upon the eligibility determinations documented through the DOE process to inform project planning and cultural resource management decisions, as well as for general research purposes.