Whether it is legal to metal detect on beaches depends almost entirely on who owns and manages the sand under your feet. City, county, and state beaches often allow it, sometimes with a permit and always with conditions. National Park Service shoreline is off-limits. Other federal lands fall somewhere in between. Private beaches require the owner’s permission. Getting the category wrong can cost you a citation, your equipment, or in the worst cases a federal felony conviction.
Public City, County, and State Beaches
Beaches run by local or state government are the most hobbyist-friendly places to swing a detector, but few allow it without any rules. Policies are set by local ordinance, and the fastest way to find them is the parks and recreation department website or a call to the beach management office.
One distinction runs through nearly every jurisdiction: the tide line. Wet sand below the mean high tide line is generally treated as public trust land held by the state for public use. Dry sand above that line can fall under a local park authority with its own policy. If a beach allows detecting at all, the wet sand between the tide lines is usually where you have the strongest footing.
Common conditions on public beaches include:
- Ecological buffers around dunes, vegetated areas, and nesting zones, where detecting is typically banned outright.
- Permit requirements, ranging from a free online registration to a formal application with a fee.
- Daylight-only hours, sunrise to sunset, to reduce conflicts with other visitors.
- A hole-filling rule. Nearly every jurisdiction that permits detecting requires you to fill any hole you dig, and leaving open holes is the quickest way to lose access for everyone.
None of this is standardized. A beach in one county may welcome detectorists without a permit while the next county bans the activity entirely. Check before you go.
Federal Shoreline
Coastal land managed by the federal government runs under far stricter rules, and the differences between agencies matter.
National Parks and National Seashores
The National Park Service prohibits metal detecting within park boundaries, including national seashores, lakeshores, and recreation areas. The rule reaches further than many people realize: you cannot even possess an assembled metal detector in a national park. If you drive through one with a detector in your vehicle, it must be broken down so it cannot be used.1eCFR. 36 CFR 2.1 – Preservation of Natural, Cultural and Archeological Resources The NPS treats possession of a functional detector the same as use.2National Park Service. Guidelines for Visiting Archeological Places
Army Corps of Engineers Sites
The Corps manages thousands of recreation areas along reservoirs, rivers, and some coastal zones. It permits metal detecting on designated beaches and previously disturbed areas unless the local District Commander has prohibited it to protect archaeological or historical resources. The local Manager’s Office can tell you which areas are designated. Non-identifiable items such as coins worth less than $25 are generally yours to keep.3eCFR. 36 CFR 327.14 – Public Property
Bureau of Land Management
BLM is more permissive. You can use a detector on BLM-managed public lands as part of casual recreational prospecting with hand tools. You cannot collect anything of archaeological or prehistoric significance. Old coins and modern lost items are fine. Prehistoric tools, stone chips, or artifacts are not, even if you stumble on them.4Bureau of Land Management. Can I Keep This? In wilderness and wilderness study areas, only hobby-level collecting is allowed, and you cannot create noticeable surface disturbance.
National Forests
The Forest Service generally allows detecting in previously disturbed areas like campgrounds, picnic areas, and swimming beaches, and prohibits it where undisturbed archaeological sites could exist. Policy varies by forest, so check with the local ranger district. Regardless of local policy, removing any object over 100 years old from National Forest land is a federal felony.5Forest Service. Historic Preservation
Private Beaches
The rule is simple: get the owner’s explicit permission before stepping onto private sand with a detector. Entering private property without consent is trespassing in every jurisdiction, and carrying a detector does not change that.
Private beaches are not always obvious. Signage and nearby homes are clues, but boundaries can be ambiguous. Some beachfront parcels extend below the high tide line in certain states, while in others the wet sand is always public regardless of who owns the upland. Check local property records or ask when you are unsure.
If an owner agrees, get the permission in writing. A short agreement should spell out the specific area, how long the permission lasts, and how any valuable find will be divided. Verbal permission turns into a dispute the moment something worth money comes out of the sand.
ARPA and the 100-Year Rule
The Archaeological Resources Protection Act is the federal law that quietly turns a lot of casual digging on public land into a potential felony. Enacted in 1979, it protects any material remains of past human life that are of archaeological interest and at least 100 years old. Digging up, removing, or damaging any such resource on federal or tribal land without a permit is illegal.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC Chapter 1B – Archaeological Resources Protection
When the combined archaeological value of the items and the cost of restoring the site exceeds $500, a first offense carries a fine of up to $20,000 and up to two years in prison. A second conviction maxes out at $100,000 and five years. Courts can also seize the equipment, the vehicle, and anything you found.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC Chapter 1B – Archaeological Resources Protection
The $500 threshold is lower than it sounds. The government adds the item’s commercial and archaeological value to the cost of restoring the ground you disturbed. A few pottery shards pulled from an undisturbed layer can cross that line once restoration is factored in. ARPA is not just a law for dramatic treasure-hunting operations.
What You Can Actually Keep
Finding something and legally owning it are two different questions. Most states sort found items into property that was abandoned, lost, or mislaid. For lost or mislaid items of real value, most states require the finder to turn the item over to local law enforcement, which holds it for a set period in case the owner comes forward. If no one claims it, the item usually goes back to the finder. Pocketing a valuable find instead can constitute theft under state law, even though you did not take it from anyone directly.
On federal land, the rules are tighter. ARPA gives the federal government ownership of archaeological resources found on public land.7National Park Service. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 Beyond ARPA, the common law rule for objects embedded in soil gives ownership to the landowner. On federal property, that is the government. A Civil War bullet two inches down belongs to the United States, not to you.5Forest Service. Historic Preservation
On private land, the agreement with the owner controls. Many states also require notification of significant historical or archaeological discoveries, and contacting the State Historic Preservation Office is a sensible step when you find something that looks old or culturally important.
Shipwrecks and Sunken Military Craft
Storms churn up the seabed, and beach detecting sometimes puts you near wreck debris. The “finders keepers” instinct is wrong here.
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 transferred ownership of most abandoned wrecks in state waters to the states where they lie. A wreck qualifies if it is embedded in the seabed, embedded in protected coral formations, or listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Traditional salvage law does not apply.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 43 USC Chapter 39 – Abandoned Shipwrecks A coin from a known wreck site is not yours just because you got there first. Wrecks on federal public land remain federal property, and wrecks on tribal land belong to the tribe.
Military wrecks receive stronger protection still. The Sunken Military Craft Act makes it illegal to disturb, remove, or injure any sunken U.S. military vessel or aircraft, regardless of location or age, and the protection extends to foreign military craft in U.S. waters.9eCFR. 32 CFR Part 767 Subpart A – Regulations and Obligations If you pull up anything that looks like military hardware near a known wreck, leave it where it is.
If You Find Human Remains or Native American Items
Uncovering what appears to be human remains on federal or tribal land is one of the most legally serious situations a hobbyist can walk into. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires you to stop any activity that could further disturb the discovery, report it to the appropriate federal official immediately, and take reasonable steps to protect the remains by stabilizing or covering them. Written documentation of the location and what you did to secure the site must follow within 24 hours.10eCFR. 43 CFR Part 10 – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Regulations
The penalties for trafficking in Native American remains or cultural items reach up to 10 years in prison. Violations involving items valued under $500 carry a one-year maximum. These are prosecuted cases, not theoretical ones.
Remains can surface on an ordinary public beach after storms or erosion. If you find bones anywhere, stop detecting, secure the area, and call local law enforcement or the agency that manages the land.
Taxes on a Valuable Find
The IRS treats found property as taxable income. The fair market value of a kept item counts as gross income for the year you take undisputed possession of it, under the “treasure trove” rule.11Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income Value is set at the time of discovery, not at the time of sale, and any later gain is taxed again as a capital gain when you sell. Pocket change will never produce a meaningful tax bill. A real find should be reported.