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First-Time Registration

Before your land trust registers, make sure to review the accreditation process and ensure that your land trust is ready for accreditation. Application slots for first-time accreditation are filled each year via a lottery system. Lottery opening and closing dates are announced each year in our monthly e-newsletter. The dates will also be posted on this page. Keep reading for more information.

Registration Overview

First-time application slots are filled via a registration lottery.

  • Each organization that registers for the lottery attests it is eligible to apply for accreditation; it must be prepared to meet the pre-application and application due dates.

  • If there are more registrants than the Commission has the capacity for that year, the lottery is used to assign land trusts to a specific application year.  Using a lottery gives everyone an equal chance at being assigned to apply in the next year (versus the subsequent year). Assigning land trust to different years reflects the Commission's applicant capacity for each year and its commitment to ensuring a fair consistent review process.

  • Land trusts are notified of the lottery results and which year they have been assigned to apply within a month of the lottery closing date. Find more information about lottery dates

Registration Next Steps

The entire application process, including registration, uses an online Application Management System (AMS). The Commission also uses the AMS to send and receive messages during the application process. You will be prompted to set up a user profile (multiple user profiles can be set-up for your land trust).

The registration form has five sections (you can preview the registration questions, pre-application and main application in the First-Time Reference Application Packet):

  • Eligibility and registration requirements: a registrant must be able to respond "Yes" to:

    • Are you a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity or quasi-governmental organization?

    • Have you been incorporated for at least 2 years?

    • Have you completed at least two direct conservation fee property and/or conservation easement acquisition projects?

  • Organization information

  • Accreditation primary contact

  • Related corporations

  • Registration Terms of Agreement

Payment of $850 is due at the time of registration. The fee is nonrefundable and nontransferable. Payments will be processed by a secure online payment system; the fee may be paid via VISA, Discover, MasterCard, or eCheck/ACH. Your organization must also be prepared to pay the application fee, which will be due at the time of application. 

Special Message

It is sometimes challenging for an organization that relies exclusively on mitigation fees to be classified as a public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. If an organization does not have sufficient public support to be classified as a public charity, it is not eligible for accreditation. If your organization engages solely in mitigation activities please review the IRS instructions regarding the public support calculation before you submit your registration.

If your land trust's Form 990 indicates that all or almost all of its mitigation income counts towards "public support" you can expect your application review team will have questions about how the organization meets the public support test. It is likely you will be required to retain an independent certified public accountant that specializes in tax-exempt accounting to closely examine the organization's sources of income and recalculate or confirm its public support as part of the review process.

The Commission takes land trusts' obligations to withdraw from abusive transactions with pass-through entities very seriously. If your organization participated in such a transaction after 2016, please contact the Commission before registering to discuss the extent of your organization's participation and its ability to demonstrate compliance with the related requirements. Additional documentation may be required by the Commission; a copy of the addendum with the additional information is available upon request. 

If your organization has a multiple corporate structure (such as an LLC or a supporting organization) then the Commission will need to make a determination of whether the organization will need to provide additional documentation. If you think your organization is legally linked to another entity, contact the Commission as early in the first-time process as possible (you can even reach out before you register).

Due Dates (Including Lottery) and Fees

Knowing your application due dates and understanding application fees is an important part of the first-time process. Budgeting of your land trust’s time and resources is good planning.

What to Expect After Registration

How will we know if our land trust is selected?

  • Within a few weeks after closing the lottery, the Commission will notify land trusts of whether they have been selected to apply the following year.

  • If your organization is not chosen for the immediate round, you are guaranteed a slot the next time that first-time application slots are available. These land trusts do not need to re-enter the lottery the next year.

What's Next?

Get started on the pre-application.

Learn more