All projects must follow the official National History Day contest rule book. Listed below are some reminders of the rules, but please check the rule book for more information: 

1. Your entry must relate clearly to the annual theme and explain your topic's significance in history. 

2. You may participate in the research, preparation, and presentation of only one entry each contest year. You may share research with up to four other students who are fellow participants in your group entry. You may not create a common pool of research from which several entries are developed. 

3. All individual categories must by the work of only one student. All group entries must be the work of two to five students. All students in a group entry must be involved in the research and interpretation of the group's topic. Once a group project enters a competition, additional students may not be added or replaced at that or subsequent competitions within a contest year.

4. Entries submitted for competition must be original and have been researched and developed in the current contest year. Revising or reusing an entry from a previous year - whether it is yours or another student's - will result in disqualification. The contest year begins each June, following the National Contest. 

5. You are responsible for the research, design, and creation of your project. You may receive help and advice from teachers and parents on the mechanical aspects of creating our entry, such as typing your paper and other materials. You may seek guidance from your teachers as you research and analyze your material, but your conclusions must be your own. You may have reasonable help preparing your project. 

6. You may not tamper with, deface, or alter another student's or group's entry. Doing so will result in your project's disqualification. 

7. You are responsible for setting up your own exhibit, equipment, or props at the contest. You may have reasonable help carrying them, but setup must be completed by you (and/or your group members).

8. You are responsible for supplying all props and equipment at each level of competition. 

9. You should be prepared to answer judges' questions about the contest and development of your entry and to explain the design, research, and creation of your entry. You may not give a formal, prepared introduction, narration, or conclusion. Let the judges' questions guide the interview. Ultimately, your entry should be able to stand on its own without any additional comments from you. 

10. You are not permitted to wear costumes that are related to the focus of your entry during judging, except in the performance category. 

11. Items potentially dangerous in any way are strictly prohibited. Replicas of such items that are obviously not real are permissable. 

12. Your entry must have a title that is clearly visible on all written materials. 

13. Your entry must include the following written material in the following order: A title page, a process paper, and an annotated bibliography. 

14. A title page is required as the first page of written material in every category. Your title page must include only the title of your entry, your name(s), the contest division and category in which you are entered, and applicable word counts. 

15. All categories must include a process paper with the entry. It must describe in 500 or fewer workds how you conducted your research and created your entry. The process paper must include four sections that explain: how you chose your topic; how you conducted your research; how you selected your presentation category and created your project; and how your project relates to the NHD theme. 

16. An annotated bibliography is required for all categories. List only those sources that contributed to the development of your entry. Sources of visual and audio materials and oral interviews must be included. Bundle photos or other materials from the same collection in a single citation. The annotations for each source must explian how you used the source and how it helped you understand your topic. Your annotated bibliography is not included in the word count. 

17. You are required to separate your bibliography into two sections: one for primary soruces and one for secondary sources. 

18. Style citations and bibliographic references must follow the principles in a recent edition of one of the following style guides: Chicago Manual of Style or MLA.

19. You must acknowledge in your annotated bibliography all sources used in your entry. Failure to credit sources is plagiarism and will result in disqualification.