Plaques

Plaque vendor comparison: six makers of National Register plaques

John HarrisonUpdated October 2026

Six established makers sell National Register plaques direct to owners: Franklin Bronze Plaques (Pennsylvania), Healy Plaques (Rhode Island), Impact Signs (Illinois), Gemini, Masterwork Plaques (New York) and The Southwell Company (Texas). Franklin publishes a complete price list; Healy and Impact publish ranges or starting prices; the other three quote per job. Lead times, where stated, run from 14 business days to 5 weeks.

Everything below comes from the vendors’ own web pages as read in October 2026, and is stated “as of October 2026”. Where a page did not give a figure, the table says so rather than guessing. The National Park Service, which keeps the Register, issues no plaques and endorses no maker; several of these companies appear on the NPS and state vendor lists only as a public service. This site has no affiliate, advertising or referral relationship with any of them. For the material decision, read bronze vs aluminum vs etched plaques first; for wording and rules, National Register plaques.

Comparison table

Vendor notes

Franklin Bronze Plaques

The most transparent on price. The PDF price sheet dated October 1, 2025 covers rectangular standard sizes from “20 square inches and less” ($135) to 48 x 36 inches ($5,962), with the letters or lines included at each size; a 12 x 8 inch plaque is $357 and a 24 x 18 is $1,323. The pricing page warns that prices change without notice and that images, portraits and non-standard hardware add cost; adding a property image to a National Register plaque is quoted at $450 to $1,000 on top of the plaque. Minimum letter height is 1/4 inch for capitals or 3/8 inch for mixed case. Standard mounting hardware is included; fence systems and tamper-resistant hardware cost extra. Lead time is not stated. Franklin is the authorised maker of the American Planning Association’s Great Places plaques and is on the Tennessee and Washington SHPO vendor lists.

Healy Plaques

Based in Manville, Rhode Island, and named on the Georgia, Tennessee and Washington SHPO lists. Its National Register page prices standard plaques at $247 to $1,140 and custom plaques (up to six lines of your own text) at $247 to $1,620, in solid bronze or solid aluminum, with a lifetime guarantee and “made in the USA”. The standard plaque includes what Healy calls the recommended wording of the National Register. Dimensions, lead times and hardware details are not on the pages we read; the product pages behind each “choose options” button may have them.

Impact Signs

LaGrange, Illinois. Publishes starting prices (cast bronze $218, cast aluminum $159) and a full add-on menu: logo $95, UV-printed image $350, etched photo $550, photo relief $695, bas relief $2,100; free shipping over $500. It is the clearest on timing: proofs in 3 to 6 business days, 4 to 5 weeks’ production after approval and payment, 3 to 5 business days’ ground shipping, rush available for a fee. Thickness is 1/4 to 1 inch standard. Mounting choices are blind studs (template included), face screws with optional rosettes, a garden stake for plaques 8 x 12 inches or smaller, and a 6-foot post with angle bracket.

Gemini

A manufacturer whose published specifications are the most detailed of the six: alloys, a thickness schedule by area, maximum sizes, five background textures, finish surcharges and a full list of mounting methods, including the note that stucco walls need spacers and studs. Its lead-time page is updated with a date (October 28, 2026 when read) and gives 14 business days for cast and 11 for etched plaques. Prices are not published. Gemini’s warranty excludes plaques installed in or on the ground.

Masterwork Plaques

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Cast bronze and etched work, quoted per project, with a promise of a designer’s reply within 24 hours. Its installation FAQ is useful even if you buy elsewhere: hidden stud mounts use stainless steel rods epoxied into drilled holes and are hard to remove, so Masterwork recommends them for exterior plaques, while a front mount with four corner screws is “the ideal option” for a plaque that may need to move. VHB tape is offered only for small, light plaques. Each shipment includes installation and care instructions.

The Southwell Company

Corpus Christi, Texas (the Tennessee SHPO list gives an older San Antonio address). Cast bronze and cast aluminum National Register plaques in rectangle, oval, half-circle-with-seal and colonial shapes. No sizes, prices, lead times or hardware are published; the site routes everything through a quote form and promises to rush the order.

Two more names you will see

Sewah Studios (Marietta, Ohio, per the Tennessee SHPO list) makes the cast roadside historical markers used by many state programs. Its mounting pages describe a 7-foot single post set 3 feet into the ground, a two-post option for large markers, and concealed wall mounts with epoxied bolts. It publishes no prices or lead times. It is the right call for a marker on a post, not a wall plaque.

US Bronze (New York) has a National Register plaques page that promises any size and “a reasonable price” but lists no sizes, prices or lead times.

One company on several state lists, Erie Landmark Company, could not be assessed: when we loaded its domain in October 2026 it returned unrelated content rather than a plaque catalogue, so it is omitted here.

How to use this table

1. Fix the wording and size first (the standard sentence fits comfortably on 10 x 8 or 12 x 8 inches). Take the exact listing name from the property’s page on this site, found through the address lookup.
2. Ask two or three vendors for a quote at that size in both bronze and aluminum, and ask what hardware is included and what the lead time is today.
3. Decide the mounting method before you order, because blind studs, face screws and post brackets are cast in differently. Mounting a plaque on historic fabric explains which method suits brick, stone, stucco and wood.
4. If the property is in a locally designated district, check whether the commission must approve the plaque or its fixings first; the SHPO directory will point you to the state office that knows the local rules.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Researched from the sources above and drafted with AI assistance; published under the editor's name, corrections welcome. See the editorial policy.