1 Overview
We assess three main types of applications:
- listing application (designation)
- requests for reviews of existing listings (amendment)
- requests for listing removals
Assessing an application may involve a number of detailed steps before we can reach a final view.
In this guide, you can find out about these steps:
- research
- consultation
- completion
- review of a listing decision
We also:
- work in partnership with stakeholders to assess larger sites in advance of major development or planning proposals
- carry out thematic studies of building types
Find out how to propose a building for listing, removal of a listing or review.
Find out about service standards and timescales.
2 Research
Evidence Gathering and Assessment
When we receive an application we will publish the case on our Portal and welcome comments and information about the site to inform our assessment. We will carry out research to assess the building using the selection guidance and will consider the evidence submitted to us. A wide range of sources may be considered and this stage may also include a site visit. This stage can take a number of weeks to complete.
We write to the relevant parties if we find that the building doesn’t meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for designation as a listed building or if we don’t intend to proceed for any other reasons.
3 Consultation
Following research, we consider the merit of the building.
If we find that the building may be of interest – or not of interest in the case of delisting and Certificate of Intention Not to List (COINTL) requests – we reach an initial decision on the application.
We then consult with the planning authority and the owner (where possible) about this decision. We also welcome views from interested parties through our portal. We are primarily concerned with views that relate to the cultural significance of the building. We also consider comments on the purpose and implications of designation.
The consultation period is usually 21 days. For more complex sites or larger projects this stage can take longer.
In some cases we may decide to designate a site or place without a consultation period or we may conclude a consultation earlier than stated. This may be because the site or place is under urgent or imminent threat and we consider that this level of risk is unacceptable.
4 Completion
Following consultation, we consider the responses and make a final decision about whether to:
- list
- remove a listing
- change a statutory address
- change a listing category
- update a listed building record
- issue a Certificate of Intention Not to List (COINTL)
We will normally tell the owner if a building that they own or occupy has:
- been listed
- been removed from the list (unless it has been demolished)
- had the statutory address (the legal part of the listed building record) changed
- been issued a COINTL
We will also tell the planning authority, and will let it know about all listing removals.
5 Review a listing decision
We will only review a very recent decision to list if there is good reason to do so.
Such reasons might include:
- loss to the building since its listing
- significant evidence, not previously considered, relating to the building’s special architectural or historic interest
6 Notification of listing
We will try to contact the owner of a building that is being considered for listing. This can be more difficult for an uninhabited structure such as a bridge.
We will normally tell you if a building that you own or occupy has:
- been listed
- been removed from the list (unless it has been demolished)
- had the statutory address (the legal part of the listed building record) changed
- been issued a COINTL
We will also inform the planning authority and we will also let it know about all listing removals.
In exceptional circumstances, we may list a building without consulting with its owner.
You can write to us if you want to know who proposed your building for listing. We consider each request individually. Data Protection legislation may mean that we can’t name the proposer.
Send your request to:
Designations
Historic Environment Scotland
Longmore House
Salisbury Place
Edinburgh
EH9 1SH
Or email: designations@hes.scot
See what is covered by a listing
Find out the criteria for listing
View the steps in the listing process
Find out how to make a listing proposal
7 Service standards and timescales
Designations Service
Providing the right designations in the right place is our core purpose. It is essential for the effective recognition and protection of the historic environment.
Our overall aim is to deliver a high quality, transparent and professional service. As a public body, we follow the principles set out in the Scottish Regulators Strategic Code of Practice. We make improvements to our service based on your feedback and from lessons learned.
Handling designation requests
We welcome requests to consider new sites for designation and to review existing protected sites. Anyone can submit a request, including local authorities, owners and occupiers and interested parties. We deal with hundreds of requests every year. These range from simple updates to designation records and minor corrections to boundaries or mapping, to the review of large sites with multiple buildings or structures. Cases are often complex involving extensive research, site inspection, engagement and consultation.
When you submit a request, we will let you know how we are going to deal with it. Our role is to decide on whether a site or place meets the criteria for designation and whether existing protected places meet the requirements to inform decisions about possible change.
While we will consider every request, we will not treat each request in the same way. We will decide based on our principles below whether we need to carry out a detailed designation review and if so what priority that review will be given.
Priorities for designation requests
Our timescales vary depending on the circumstances of the case. We assess each request individually and will prioritise based on the following factors:
- the potential impacts of development on the site or place, the level of change and the timescales involved
- whether undesignated sites and places are unoccupied and/or deemed to be at risk of loss or damage
- the interests of communities or individuals in the site or place
- if the site or place is already designated, whether the existing record provides sufficient information to inform decisions
- whether our initial review suggests an existing protected site may not be valid
For example, we will consider undesignated sites at risk to be the highest priority for review. We will also treat as a high priority existing designated sites that have inadequate records and which are affected by development proposals. We will take any information we have about the timings of the proposals into account.
Where we are satisfied after our initial review that the protection of a site is adequate for the purposes of decision–making in planning and development, we will not carry out a detailed review of a site. In this circumstance, we recommend that you seek advice on development proposals from planning authorities.
We will not prioritise requests to make certain types of changes to existing designations. This includes, for example, requests to change the category of a listing or minor updates to historical information. Our focus will be on updating records where we think they are not adequate to inform decisions.
Some sites may be considered for recording and/or further research in the first instance or for a thematic designation project. These types of requests may take longer to complete, and we will let you know if this is the case.
We ask that you let us know if circumstances affecting the site under review change so we can reconsider the priority for review.
Timescales
We aim to respond to general telephone, email and postal queries within 10 working days. Our preferred method of communication is by email.
When you submit a designation request (either for new site or a review of an existing site) using our form, you will receive an automatic email acknowledgement. We may ask you for more information before we can consider your request further.
We will contact you again within 3 months either to tell you the outcome of your request or to tell you how we intend to handle your request if it has not been concluded in that time.
Our overall aim is to complete individual designation requests within 9 months. In 2026/7 we expect to complete 70% of cases within this timeframe. We publish our performance every year in our Planning Performance Framework Reports.
Timescales and case types
Some cases will take less than 9 months to complete - for example, essential corrections to site information and data improvements. We will also aim to let you know within 3 months if we think an existing designation is adequate and no significant changes are needed.
Other cases will take longer than 9 months depending on their individual circumstances. This is usually when a detailed assessment and public consultation is required which normally applies to proposals for new protected places and substantial or complex changes to existing sites.
Requests which are not identified as a priority and those which are better treated as projects will also have extended timescales beyond 9 months. When we decide that a request should be dealt with through a project we will let you know.
Feedback and complaints
We welcome feedback about our service. Please let us know what you think. We use this information to help improve our service.
If you still don’t like a decision we’ve taken about a site our place after further enquiries, you can make a complaint.
Contact information
You can follow designation cases by checking the Historic Environment Portal and by using the Case ID (e.g. 300065300) or by contacting us by email or by telephone.
Telephone: 0131 668 8914
Email: designations@hes.scot
8 Listing criteria
To be listed a building must meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest. The Designation Policy and Selection Guidance 2019 sets out the selection guidance we use to decide if a building merits listing.
Main reasons for selecting a building for listing are:
- architectural interest
- historical interest
A ‘listed building’ means a building that is included in the List. ‘Buildings’ are anything made by people such as:
- fountains
- sundials
- ha-has
- statues
- bridges
- bandstands
You may find our glossary of architectural terms useful.
Download our Glossary of architectural terms [PDF, 296KB]
A building can be listed even if it no longer has the same purpose as it did originally.
For example, we may list:
- an industrial building converted into flats with retail units
- a disused railway viaduct turned into a walkway or cycle path
The extent to which a building survives is a consideration when assessing it for listing. However, the present condition of the surviving fabric is not a factor when deciding whether it is of special architectural of historic interest.
Factor such as financial issues, proposed future use is not taken into account.
A building’s condition is only a factor if it has devalued the particular architectural or historic interest such that it is no longer ‘special’.
Download our guide for owners and occupiers of Scotland’s listed buildings [PDF, 1.9MB], available in English and Gaelic.