Examples
The criteria and circumstances through which a party administers the distribution of historical markers varies. For example, the "Preservation Worcester" program in Worcester, Massachusetts allows a person to register their house or other structure of least fifty years of age if the building is well preserved, with retention of its original character and importance to the architectural, cultural or historical nature of the local neighborhood. One then pays a fee ($185 to $225) to receive the historical marker itself.
In the same state, the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts has its own local association to administer historical markers. Other historical markers in and around Boston are administered by agencies such as The Bostonian Society or are associated with sites such as those along the Freedom Trail, the Black Heritage Trail, and the Emerald Necklace.
Other examples of mostly locally-generated historical markers in the United States include the plaque outside the Alaska Governor's Mansion made by the Alaska Centennial Commission's historical markers program, the historical markers of State Historic Marker Council in Florida, the markers placed by various agencies in Georgia (of which one source mentions 3,292 different historical markers), in Indiana, where it is illegal to create a historical marker in the "state format" without first getting official approval from that state's historical bureau, historical markers in Kansas erected by the Kansas Historical Society and the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Roadside Historic Marker Program in Maryland administered by the Maryland Historical Trust, the State Historic Marker Program of New York (begun in 1926 to commemorate the Sequicentennial of the American Revolution), the historic markers placed as recently as 2008 in Sussex County, New Jersey, the New Mexico historical markers printed in white letters on a brown background by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the historical markers of North Carolina (the Historical Publications Section of the state Office of Archives and History publishes a Guide to North Carolina Highway Historical Markers), the more than 1200 historical markers of Ohio (all of which are now made in a Marietta, Ohio workshop), and over 470 official state markers in Wisconsin.
Blue plaques are the principal type of historical markers found throughout England and are the closest thing there is to a historical marker system in that country. An example is the blue plaque scheme run by English Heritage in London. Founded by the Royal Society of Arts in 1867 and later taken over by London County Council, these were originally erected in a variety of shapes and colors. The National Trust (which is a non-profit charity organization unlike English Heritage and English Heritage properties) has its own similar markers as well.
However, not all historical markers in the United Kingdom are blue, and many are not ceramic. There are commemorative plaque schemes in Bath, Edinburgh, Brighton, Liverpool, Loughton, and elsewhere—some of which differ from the familiar blue plaque. A scheme in Manchester uses color-coded plaques to commemorate figures, with each of the colors corresponding to the person's occupation. The Dead Comics' Society installs blue plaques to commemorate the former residences of well-known comedians, including those of Sid James and John Le Mesurier. In 2003, the London Borough of Southwark started a plaque scheme which included living people in the awards. Even in London, the Westminster City Council runs a green plaque scheme which is run alongside that of the blue plaque scheme administered by English Heritage. Other schemes are run by civic societies, district or town councils, or local history groups, and often operate with different criteria. In 2010, British tabloid The Sun placed a red coloured plaque outside the Snappy Snaps store in Hampstead, North London where singer George Michael crashed in the early hours of Sunday 4 July 2010. The newspaper stated it planned to put similar plaques in sites around the UK to mark events that had proved popular in the UK Tabloid Press.
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