National History Day Participation and Registration Information
- Oct. 31, 2025: Last day to register your school/homeschool association/family under the normal fee amounts.
- Nov. 1, 2025: First-day registration fees increase by $10/school or $5/homeschool or family.
- Feb. 20, 2026, at 5 p.m. CT: Regional registration deadline and paper/website lockout.
- March 16, 2026, at 5 p.m. CT: State registration deadline (see note below).
- March 23, 2026, at 5 p.m. CT: Lockout deadline for papers and websites; lockout deadline for written materials for documentaries, exhibits and performances.
- TBD: National registration deadline and paper/website lockout.
All students (regardless of project type) participating in the state contest will be required to submit their written materials (process paper and bibliography) by the lockout deadline on March 23, 2026, at 5 p.m. CT. This rule was put in place for 2022, and we've had a lot of great feedback from judges who enjoyed being able to have more time to read process papers and explore sources. This rule changes has been cleared and approved by the national office. Process papers will be turned in through the registration system by uploading a PDF version similar to what the paper category does.
Student Registration
Are you ready to register for a National History Day contest?
Starting in January 2026, you can follow the steps below to start your National History Day journey!
- Visit Contest Information to check out important deadlines for registration and lockout dates.
- Before you start your registration, check with your teacher to make sure they have filled out the Institutional and Educator Membership forms.
- Find out what region you are in so you know what contest to register for. You can find the regional map below.
- Go to the National History Day registration site to register for your regional contest. Links to each registration page can be found below. Don't forget your username and password — you will use this same login information if you advance to the state or national contest!
- Follow the steps and finish registration.
- Questions? Ask your teacher first. If they can't help you, work with them to contact Sarah Jacobs (state coordinator) to answer your questions.
July 22, 20219
Coordinator: Kevin Gansz
Counties: Sanborn, Miner, Lake, Moody, Aurora, Davison, Hanson, McCook, Minnehaha, Douglas, Hutchinson, Turner, Lincoln, Charles Mix, Bon Homme, Yankton, Clay and Union.
Coordinator: David Grettler and Ric Dias
Counties: Brown, Marshall, Roberts, Day, Spink, Clark, Codington, Grant, Hamlin, Deuel, Beadle, Kingsbury and Brookings.
Coordinator: Taylor Hamblin
Counties: Campbell, McPherson, Walworth, Edmunds, Potter, Faulk, Sully, Hyde, Hand, Stanley, Hughes, Jones, Lyman, Buffalo, Jerauld, Brule, Mellette, Todd, Tripp and Gregory.
Coordinator: Gene Von Bickerdyke
Counties: Harding, Perkins, Corson, Butte, Meade, Ziebach, Dewey, Lawrence, Pennington, Haakon, Custer, Fall River, Shannon, Jackson, Bennett.
