Certified Wildlife Habitat® FAQs

You can access the online certification portal directly at https://certifiedwildlifehabitat.nwf.org.

When you get your certification, you will receive:

• A personalized paper certificate
• A complementary one-year membership to NWF*
• A complementary one-year subscription to the National Wildlife® magazine
• Our monthly Garden for Wildlife® Habitats e-newsletter with tips and stories from around the country on how to make a wildlife-friendly habitat
• One-year of 10% off of purchases through the NWF shop online site
• The ability to purchase a Certified Wildlife Habitat® sign for your garden

*This does not apply to school certifications.

The fee to certify a site is $20, which also provides a year of membership benefits to the individual certifying the address. Schools are free to certify.

Signs can be purchased for an additional fee at the time of certifying or at any point after you certify.

When you certify, your $20 application fee supports the National Wildlife Federation's programs to inspire others to make a difference and address the issues leading to declining habitat for wildlife nationwide. A portion of your fee also supports work for local wildlife in select affiliate partner states.

Signs are only available for purchase for individuals who have certified their property. If you have a Certified Wildlife Habitat®, you can either:

• Purchase the sign at the time of certifying here
• Purchase a sign any time after you certify through the shop*

*When purchasing a sign through the shop, you will need to provide your Certified Wildlife Habitat® number (listed on your certificate) to purchase a sign.

Any outdoor site can be recognized as a certified habitat, regardless of size. Whether it’s your backyard, a community garden, a rooftop garden, a place of worship, or a schoolyard, the National Wildlife Federation wants to recognize all efforts to restore habitats for wildlife.

International, national, or regional businesses and corporations cannot certify through our online application. Please contact us at corporatehabitats@nwf.org for certification opportunities.

Individual, privately owned, single-site small businesses can certify directly through the online tool. 

Certifications last indefinitely and the only time you will need to recertify is if you move to a different location and want to certify a new property. While certifications don’t expire, we do encourage those who have certified to continue to maintain their wildlife habitat and add to it by increasing the number of habitat essentials, native plants, and sustainable gardening practices that they use.

Certifications are not transferrable. The owner cannot take the habitat with them, nor can the new owner of the property transfer the certification to their name. Previous owners will need to complete the certification process for their new property. New owners will need to complete the certification process for the existing property in their name.

We recommend that you always do your research on restrictions or laws that your state, city, town, or even your homeowner’s association may have regarding yard maintenance, prohibited plants, or wildlife feeders. Some of these restrictions may require you to avoid some wildlife-friendly elements in your own garden. Don’t worry though, there are many ways you can create a robust and beneficial wildlife habitat while still following all these regulations.

For example, there may be communities that prohibit the use of supplemental feeders, like bird feeders. In these instances, planting native plant species that offer ample berries, seeds, and nuts throughout the year is a great way to provide birds and wildlife with a natural food source that avoids the issues and concerns that many people may have about a supplemental seed feeder.

Please remember that creating a wildlife habitat in your outdoor space is not the same as letting your yard simply “go wild” or get “overgrown”, which can actually do more harm than good to native species while at the same time leading to neighbor complaints. Instead, we always recommend following your local guidelines, ordinances, and restrictions while making intentional choices about gardening in a sustainable and wildlife-friendly way.

For more information on neighbor-friendly wildlife gardening, see our tip sheet below:
Neighbor-Friendly Wildlife Gardening

If you are involved with your municipality or HOA, you can learn about how to change your community’s ordinances to make them more wildlife-friendly, check out our guide below:
Guide to Passing Wildlife-Friendly Property Maintenance Ordinances

No. NWF advocates that weed ordinances be updated with wildlife in mind, however the Certified Wildlife Habitat® program has no legal status locally, state-wide, or federally. CWH Certification does not override local HOA regulations or zoning laws, and has no legal jurisdiction in cases of “eminent domain,” the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation. If you are involved with your municipality or HOA, you can also find information in our Guide to Passing Wildlife-Friendly Property Maintenance Ordinances.