*This year's 2020 marker application period is April 1st - 2 p.m. CDT June 15th, 2020. See below on how to apply for a new Official State Historical Marker.
The historical marker process in Texas begins at the county level. After you have reviewed all the relevant information on this page, contact your county historical commission chair if you are interested in submitting an application.
Please note that applying for a marker is highly competitive, all required components must be included when submitting an application. See Marker Toolkit for more information on how to apply. The entire process of application submission to marker dedication is very long, most applications take 12-18 months.
The following applications are available in Word doc and pdf format, please click on the link to download:
- Subject Marker Application (Word doc) (PDF)
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) Application (Word doc) (PDF)
- Historic Texas Cemetery (HTC) Marker Application (Word doc) (PDF)
Please note that all marker applications must be approved and submitted by your county historical commission chair or marker chair to markers@thc.texas.gov during the open application period. Applications will not be considered for approval if received by the Texas Historical Commission before or after the open marker application period of April 1st - 2 p.m. CDT, June 15th, 2020.
HTC Name & Date Plaque Applications (accepted year round)
An Historic Texas Cemetery designation is a pre-requisite for a cemetery marker. If your cemetery has been designated as historic through our Cemetery Preservation program and you wish to purchase a non-interpretive historical plaque, then you can submit the form below.
Note: For an interpretive historical marker for the cemetery, please submit an HTC Application during the regular Spring application period (see section above to download HTC Marker Application when available).
The HTC Medallion with Name & Date Plaque application is available in Word doc and pdf format, please click on the link to download:
HTC Medallion with Name & Date Plaque Application (Word doc) (PDF)
HTC Medallion with Name & Date Plaque Application SAMPLE (Word doc) (PDF)
Marker program staff are offering several online webinars explaining the marker research and application process through the spring and summer of 2020. Look here for a list of dates and times for these training opportunities.
Helpful Tools for Markers
Marker Program Policies, Forms and Procedures
Marker Statewide Themes/Topics (PDF)
2020 Historical Markers Program Work Plan (PDF)
Official Texas Historical Marker Procedures (PDF) (for new marker applications)
Scoring Criteria (PDF)
Official Texas Historical Marker Policies (PDF) (for existing and new markers)
For an outline of the basic steps of the marker application process, please see this Marker Process Timeline (PDF).
