How to Make a Nomination

The National Blue Plaque Scheme is not currently open for nominations. We anticipate that nominations will reopen later in 2026, however, we are unable to confirm a date at this time. We apologise for any inconvenience.

We have aimed to make the form easy to use. Before you begin, please read the eligibility criteria. If you have all the information ready before you start, completing the form could take as little as 10 to 15 minutes.

Yes, the completed form will be emailed to you.

Our nomination process asks you to explain why you believe the person you want to nominate should be commemorated and to provide an address where you think the plaque should be installed.

We do not require physical documents at the nomination stage. However, it would be helpful if you could list sources of evidence showing how the figure in question meets the eligibility criteria and why you believe there is a connection between the person and the property you suggest as the plaque's site.

The proposed address should be:

• In England, but not in Greater London, as the English Heritage scheme covers this area
• Have a strong and provable link to the nominated person or group
• Survive in a form that the nominated person or group would recognise (we don’t install plaques on sites of former buildings, for example)
• Easily accessible, so that as many people as possible would see the plaque
• Closely linked to the nominated person or group, but not a building that already bears their name, such as a birthplace museum
• Not associated with many other people, such as a school, theatre, or place of worship

Historic England's National Blue Plaque Scheme celebrates people from all walks of life who have made a significant contribution to human welfare or happiness, and/or have made an exceptional impact in their field, community, or on society at large.

Some plaques commemorate famous people – like music icon George Harrison or influential ceramicist Clarice Cliff - while others honour those who perhaps aren't widely known but should be, like Daphne Steele, the first Black matron in the NHS.

All nominations must meet our eligibility criteria, so please read these before you complete your nomination form.

Requirements include:

• The person you want to nominate has been dead for at least 20 years
• If nominating a group, that it was formed at least 20 years ago and is no longer running
• The proposed address is in England (but not in Greater London, which is covered by the English Heritage London blue plaque scheme)
• The suggested address has a strong and provable link to the subject you are nominating
• The suggested address survives in a form that the person being commemorated would recognise (we don't install plaques on the sites of former buildings)
• The public would see a plaque on the proposed address

A significant contribution to human welfare or happiness means that the person's life or work, in any field, has had an exceptional impact on a community or society at large. This can be in many different areas.

For example:

• Daphne Steele made history when she became the first Black matron in the National Health Service in 1964, inspiring others to follow her
• George Harrison's music, songwriting, film and humanitarian work have inspired and helped people all over the globe
• Clarice Cliff started work at the age of 13 in the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and went on to become one of the most influential ceramicists of the 20th century. Her vibrant, creative designs transformed homeware in the interwar years, bringing modernity to the kitchen table
• Cary Grant, the working-class boy from Bristol who became one of the brightest movie stars in the golden age of Hollywood, entertained millions through a film career spanning 4 decades and ranging from action thrillers to screwball comedies

You can find out more by reading our eligibility criteria page.

If a nomination to the National Blue Plaque Scheme is unsuccessful following our sifting or panel approval processes, a minimum of five years must pass before we can consider a nomination for the same individual, group, or building again. This is to ensure there’s a reasonable amount of time for new research or perspectives to come to light that may improve the outcome of the nomination.

You can't submit a nomination for an address in Greater London via Historic England and the National Blue Plaque Scheme.

English Heritage runs the blue plaque scheme in the capital. For more information, please visit the English Heritage website.

No, as we cannot install plaques on the sites of former buildings.

The National Blue Plaque Scheme celebrates the relationship between people and place. For this reason, we only erect a plaque if there is a surviving building closely associated with the person or group and it has a meaningful, provable link to their life.

We will process applications once the nomination period ends.

We will aim to notify nominators of the outcome of their applications by January 2027.

The National Blue Plaque scheme is very popular, so if we receive a high volume of entries, it may take longer for us to contact you.

We aim to install around 7 national blue plaques a year. The shortlisting and selection process is highly competitive as Historic England receives hundreds of nominations.

There is a 3-stage selection process:

Stage 1: Plaque proposals are assessed against the eligibility criteria.

Nominations that meet the eligibility criteria are then sifted and prioritised with a particular focus on evidence to support any claims about the proposed person, provable links to a surviving building associated with them and levels of existing commemoration.

Stage 2: A longlist of candidates is then researched by Historic England's historians and presented to the National Blue Plaques Panel, an impressive and diverse group of academics and cultural commentators. They discuss and debate the proposed candidates to produce a shortlist of figures, who will then be researched in-depth by our historians.

Stage 3: Research into the candidate's life, their contribution to human welfare and happiness, and their address history is presented to the National Blue Plaques Panel, who decide if they should be approved for commemoration.

The Historic England National Blue Plaque Scheme runs alongside the English Heritage scheme for London. It is essentially 1 programme delivered by 2 organisations; both schemes use the same eligibility criteria.

The shortlisting and selection process is highly competitive as Historic England receives hundreds of nominations.

There are many reasons a nomination may not be shortlisted. For example:

• The highly competitive nature of the scheme and the number of outstanding candidates nominated for commemoration
• The proposed candidate's historical significance may not be sufficiently clear
• The connection to a surviving building may not be strong enough, or the property may not survive in a form that the person being commemorated would recognise
• A plaque on the building would not be visible to the public
• There is already a high level of commemoration

We plan to install around 7 plaques a year. If the panel selects your nomination, we will get in touch and explain the next steps.

The plaques are handmade by dedicated craftspeople and are made of blue ceramic. They take around 2 months to make, and each one is unique.

It can take up to 2 years for a plaque to be installed once a candidate has been shortlisted.

Although this may sound like a long time, it's because we go through a rigorous process of assessing the candidate, verifying potential addresses, and obtaining the relevant permissions to install a plaque on a building.

Not necessarily. We ask for a suggested address to ensure that there is a possible plaque site.

However, if your candidate is shortlisted, we will research all possible addresses connected to them to determine the most suitable option. There is no guarantee of a plaque in a particular location.

You can propose a plaque online during our public nomination period which will reopen later in 2026. Exact dates will be announced in due course.

If you miss the window for 2026, please keep an eye on our website or sign up for our newsletter to hear when nominations will open again.