Mitigated negative declaration (MND)

A mitigated negative declaration, usually shortened to MND, is a negative declaration prepared for a project when an Initial Study identifies potentially significant effects. Before the proposed MND and Initial Study are released for public review, the applicant makes or agrees to project revisions that would avoid or reduce those effects. The revisions must reduce the effects to a point where clearly no significant effect would occur, and the whole record must contain no substantial evidence that the revised project may have a significant effect.

Why it matters

The definition connects the initial study, the applicant’s project revisions, their timing, and the evidence in the whole agency record. An MND therefore should be read with the initial study and the measures or revisions incorporated into the project.

For a usable file, preserve the proposed and adopted MND, initial study, project revisions, applicant agreements, public-review dates, mitigation measures, and the agency’s decision and later notices. Identify the document version and project description rather than relying on the acronym alone.

What it does not establish

An MND is not interchangeable with an unmitigated negative declaration. The statutory definition turns on revisions made by or agreed to by the applicant before the proposed MND and initial study are released for public review, as well as the substantial-evidence test stated in the section. The label alone does not establish those facts or show whether the document was adopted.

Primary sources

• Public Resources Code § 21064.5 supplies the statutory definition.
• 14 CCR § 15369.5 supplies the corresponding CEQA Guidelines definition.

Related terms

• Environmental impact report (EIR)
• Negative declaration (ND)

Published 2026-09-10 · Last materially reviewed 2026-09-10