On state park land
Allowed in some places
Ocean beaches east of the dune line, during park hours. Nowhere else on state park land – and carrying a digging tool is itself treated as evidence of a violation.
1. The rule, in full
Delaware – 7 Del. Admin. C. 9201, Section 3.6
Operative text, read from the consolidated code PDF served by regulations.delaware.gov, parsed locally:
3.6 "Use of metal detectors on lands under the jurisdiction of the Division shall be prohibited except during normal park hours in the following areas: 3.6.1 Ocean beaches east of the dune line."
3.7 "No person shall collect, excavate, injure, destroy or appropriate prehistoric or historic artifacts or human skeletal remains from lands under the jurisdiction of the Division except with written permission from the Director." 3.7.1 "Possession or use of tools or devices specifically designed for the excavation and removal of artifacts or human skeletal remains shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this Regulation."
Scope, Section 1.0: "'Division' shall mean the Division of Parks and Recreation of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control."
Determination: Division of Parks and Recreation land only. Does NOT reach municipal parks.
Two aggregator errors caught here, both of which would have been published.
- The section number is wrong everywhere. Secondary sources cite "3.1.6"
and "3.1.7". The consolidated regulation numbers them 3.6 and 3.7.
- The exception is narrower than reported. Secondary sources say the
carve-out covers "the Lums Pond State Park swimming-area beach and ocean beaches east of the dune line". The regulation lists exactly one area, 3.6.1, "Ocean beaches east of the dune line". There is no 3.6.2 and Lums Pond appears nowhere in the rule. Publishing that would have sent readers to detect at an inland state park where it is prohibited.
3.7.1 deserves its own line on the page. Delaware is the only state found so far where possessing the tools is made prima facie evidence of the offence. Read with 3.7, a detectorist carrying a digger on Division land is in an evidentiary hole before anything is dug. That is a materially different exposure from "prohibited", and flattening it would understate the risk.
Source: regulations.delaware.gov AdminCode title7 9201, PDF, parsed locally. Checked 19 Sep 2026.
2. Cities in Delaware that publish a rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
3. County rules
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.
4. Cities checked — no published rule
Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.