The procedure for granting a conservation easement to the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is as follows:

1. (1)

   1. (A) The grantor determines the National Register of Historic Places status of the:

      1. (i) Structure;
      2. (ii) Property; or
      3. (iii) Site.
   2. (B) The Federal Register or the program may be consulted to determine if a property or district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

   3. (C)

      1. (i) A structure that is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places is:

         1. (a) (a) Automatically considered a certified historic structure; and
         2. (b) (b) Eligible for donation of a conservation easement to the program.
      2. (ii) If the State Historic Preservation Officer determines that a structure, property, or site has suffered loss of integrity, its National Register of Historic Places status must be reconsidered.

   4. (D)

      1. (i) A structure that is located within a National Register Historic District must be certified as contributing to that district to be eligible for the donation of a conservation easement to the program.
      2. (ii) In this regard, Part 1 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application must be completed.

      3. (iii) The application:

         1. (a) (a) May be obtained from the program; and
         2. (b) (b) Once completed, must be submitted to the program for review and submission to the regional office of the National Park Service for an official determination.

      4. (iv) Once the National Park Service has made a determination that the structure contributes to the significance of the district, it is:

         1. (a) (a) Considered a certified historic structure; and
         2. (b) (b) Eligible for the donation of a conservation easement to the program.
      5. (v) The certification process takes approximately two and one-half (2 1/2) to three (3) months.

   5. (E)

      1. (i) A structure not located within a National Register Historic District and not individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places must obtain a preliminary certification of significance before an easement will be accepted by the program.

      2. (ii) In this regard, Part 1 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application must be completed to request that the United States Secretary of the Interior make a determination that the property:

         1. (a) (a) Meets National Register of Historic Places criteria; and
         2. (b) (b) Is likely to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
      3. (iii) Once again, the application must be submitted to the program for review and submission to the regional office of the National Park Service for an official determination.
      4. (iv) Once the National Park Service has issued a preliminary certification of significance, the property will be considered eligible for donation of a conservation easement.

      5. (v) However, to qualify for a charitable contribution deduction under federal tax law, the structure must be a certified historic structure (actually listed in the National Register of Historic Places) at the:

         1. (a) (a) Time the easement is granted; or
         2. (b) (b) Extended due date of the grantor's tax return;
2. (2) The grantor determines what will be included in the conservation easement, e.g., interior/exterior easement, height restriction, adjacent land area, etc.;

3. (3)

   1. (A) The grantor completes the sample conservation easement form and submits it to the program for review.
   2. (B) Appropriate photographs and description must be attached;

4. (4)

   1. (A) The grantor executes the final document and submits it to the program for execution by the Director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage.
   2. (B) Once executed by the director, the document will be returned to the grantor for filing.
   3. (C) The document should be filed with the circuit clerk of the county in which the property is located.
   4. (D) The grantor is responsible for filing and sending a file-marked original to the program;

5. (5)

   1. (A) The completed easement document must be received by this office no later than December 15 of the year for which the tax deduction is to be taken.

   2. (B)

      1. (i) Please note that Part 1 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application for a structure located within a National Register Historic District must be certified by this date so that it can be included in the easement documents.
      2. (ii) See subdivision (1)(D) of this section above;

6. (6)

   1. (A) Annual inspection visits will be made to said property to document its state of preservation.
   2. (B) The owner will be notified in advance if possible; and

7. (7)

   1. (A) The owner will be notified within two (2) weeks of the results of the inspection.
   2. (B) If the property is found to be out of compliance with the specifications of the easement document, the owner will be instructed to begin necessary repair work within six (6) months of the date of the notice.
   3. (C) If after six (6) months the owner has made no good faith effort to begin repairs, he or she will receive a second notification in the form of a warning giving him or her another six (6) months to complete the necessary repairs.
   4. (D) If no substantive progress toward compliance is made by the end of the second six (6) months, the owner is subject to possible legal action.