Land rules
Metal detecting laws in the U.S.
No single law covers metal detecting; the rule depends on who manages the land. National Park Service areas prohibit detectors, with a few exceptions. ARPA bars digging archaeological resources on federal and Indian lands without a permit or listed exemption. State parks set their own rules.
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What the texts say
One line per rule: the land it covers, what it says, and the text it comes from, with the date we read it.
| Land | Rule | Text |
|---|---|---|
| National Park Service areas (national parks, seashores, and monuments the NPS manages) Prohibited | Except as the chapter provides otherwise, possessing or using a metal detector is prohibited. Exceptions include a device broken down and stored or packed to prevent its use, and one used for authorized scientific, mining or administrative work. | 36 CFR 2.1(a)(7) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| Bureau of Land Management public lands Allowed with limits | Reasonable amounts of rocks, mineral specimens and semiprecious gemstones may be collected for noncommercial purposes. This does not apply on developed recreation sites and areas, or where a posted rule prohibits it. Explosive, motorized or mechanical devices may not be used to collect them, except metal detectors. | 43 CFR 8365.1-5(a)(3) and (b) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| Bureau of Land Management public lands Digging or removal prohibited | Unless otherwise authorized, willfully defacing, disturbing, removing or destroying any personal property, structure, or scientific, cultural, archaeological or historic resource is prohibited. | 43 CFR 8365.1-5(a)(1) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| National Forest System lands Digging or removal prohibited | Digging in, disturbing or removing any prehistoric, historic or archaeological resource is prohibited. | 36 CFR 261.9(g) and (h) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes and projects Allowed with limits | Metal detectors are permitted on designated beaches or other previously disturbed areas unless the District Commander prohibits them to protect archaeological, historical or paleontological resources. The Manager's Office has the metal detector policy and designated use areas. | 36 CFR 327.14(d) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| Federal public lands and Indian lands Digging or removal prohibited | Excavating, removing, damaging or defacing an archaeological resource, or trying to, is prohibited without a permit or a listed exemption. A knowing violation is a federal crime. | 16 U.S.C. 470ee(a) and (d) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
| Federal public lands and Indian lands Definition | Coins, bullets and unworked minerals and rocks are not archaeological resources unless found in a direct physical relationship with archaeological resources. | 43 CFR 7.3(a)(4)(ii) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on ecfr.gov |
| Abandoned shipwrecks Definition | The United States asserts title to certain abandoned shipwrecks and transfers it to the state whose submerged lands hold them. Wrecks on federal public lands belong to the United States, and wrecks on Indian lands to the tribe that owns the land. | 43 U.S.C. 2105 (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
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Federal land, owner by owner
Each federal land manager has its own text. The National Park Service bans detectors under 36 CFR 2.1(a)(7), with a few listed exceptions. The Corps of Engineers permits detectors on designated beaches or other previously disturbed areas, unless the District Commander prohibits them.
On BLM land, the conduct rule lets you collect reasonable amounts of rocks and mineral specimens for noncommercial purposes. The same section bars, unless authorized, willfully removing any cultural, archaeological or historic resource. Our BLM page sets out both. In national forests, digging in or removing historic or archaeological resources is prohibited.
ARPA covers federal and Indian lands. Under its rule, coins, bullets and unworked rocks are not archaeological resources unless found in a direct physical relationship with archaeological resources. That is a definition, not a permission; the other rules here still apply. Shipwrecks follow another law: the United States asserts title to certain abandoned wrecks and transfers it to the state.
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State parks we read
We read official texts for 10 states. Three start from a ban or a permit. Kentucky prohibits detectors in all state parks, except for park personnel, law enforcement and utilities. In Texas, using one in a state park is an offense unless a permit authorizes it. North Carolina bars them from state parks except to find lost personal property, with a Special Use Permit.
Others name the places where detecting is allowed. Ohio state parks allow detecting on sand beaches and mowed areas, with listed exceptions. Oregon's parks department keeps a "Detecting Allowed" list for areas of its ocean shore. Washington limits detecting to posted areas of approved parks and approved campsites. In California, we read one district order: Folsom Lake State Recreation Area bans them, with narrow exceptions.
One page per state: California, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
| Land | Rule | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky state parks Prohibited | Except for park personnel, law enforcement and utilities, using a metal detector is prohibited in all Kentucky state parks. | 304 KAR 1:050, Sections 1 and 2 (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on apps.legislature.ky.gov |
| North Carolina state parks Prohibited | Metal detectors are not allowed in any state park area. The one exception is finding lost personal property, with a Special Use Permit from the park superintendent or a designee. | NC DEQ, Metal Detectors page (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on deq.nc.gov |
| Virginia state parks Permit required | Metal detectors may be used only on designated manmade beaches, and only with a DCR special use permit obtained from the park's manager. | Virginia State Parks rule, quoted by DHR (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 17, 2026 on dhr.virginia.gov |
| Texas state parks Prohibited without a permit | Operating or using a metal detector in a state park is an offense unless a permit authorizes it. | 31 TAC 59.134(i) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
| Ohio state parks (Division of Parks and Watercraft) Allowed with limits | Metal detecting is allowed on sand beaches and mowed areas, except mowed areas of golf courses, rental facilities and campgrounds. | OAC 1501:46-7-08 (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
| Washington state parks Allowed with limits | Metal detecting is allowed only in posted areas of approved state parks and in approved campsites, during posted open daylight hours. Approved campsites are the user's own or unoccupied ones. | WAC 352-32-235(1)-(2) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 17, 2026 on app.leg.wa.gov |
| Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, California Prohibited | Possessing or using a metal detector is prohibited. The listed exemptions are carrying one unused in a vehicle on a public road and a permit under 43 CFR 423.50. The district superintendent can also grant a written exception. | Order 690-006-2022 (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on parks.ca.gov |
| Oregon ocean shore state recreation area Allowed with limits | Metal detecting needs no written permit in the areas on OPRD’s "Detecting Allowed" list. | OAR 736-021-0090(11) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
| New York, Long Island state parks Permit required | Metal detecting is allowed by permit only, in designated areas of listed parks. Jones Beach, Sunken Meadow, Hither Hills, Montauk Point, Napeague, Orient Beach, Valley Stream and Wildwood are among them. | NYS Parks, Long Island Region Metal Detecting Permit Guide (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on parks.ny.gov |
| Florida state parks Digging or removal prohibited | No one may destroy, injure, move, dig, harmfully disturb or remove listed items from a park area. The list covers buildings, structures, historic ruins, soil, sand, gravel, rocks, minerals, artifacts and other materials. | Fla. Admin. Code R. 62D-2.013 (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on law.cornell.edu |
| Land owned or controlled by the state of Florida Digging or removal prohibited | Removing or disturbing an archaeological site or specimen on state-owned or state-controlled land without a permit is prohibited. | Fla. Stat. 267.13(1)(a) (opens in a new tab)Read Oct. 16, 2026 on flsenate.gov |
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What we have not read
For Michigan and Oklahoma, we found no official text we could read on Oct. 16, 2026, so we summarize none. For Florida, we read the state park rule on digging or removing sand, soil or artifacts and Fla. Stat. 267.13, on archaeological sites on state land. The parks' own detecting pages were closed to our reader.
The texts we read do not cover city and county parks, school grounds or private land.
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Questions
Answered from the texts on this page, read Oct. 16, 2026.
There is no single answer. Federal texts differ by land: prohibited in National Park Service areas, permitted on designated Corps of Engineers beaches unless the District Commander prohibits it. States and cities add their own rules.
Some texts require one. Texas state parks need a permit, as do the Long Island state parks on the region's list. ARPA requires one, or a listed exemption, to dig archaeological resources on federal and Indian lands.
Where the owner or manager allows it. The texts we read name designated Corps of Engineers beaches and Ohio state park sand beaches and mowed areas, with exceptions. They also name the Oregon shore areas on OPRD's "Detecting Allowed" list. Our beach page lists more.
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