Metal Detecting in Georgia

1. The rule, in full

Georgia – O.C.G.A. 12-3-10(n), and the definition that confines it

Read from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Volume 10 (Title 12), 2021 Edition, published under authority of the State of Georgia; the State's own release of the official text (Internet Archive item gov.ga.ocga.2024), parsed locally. Currency checked 21 Sep 2026, below.

This is the reading that, during the statute pass, kept a false prohibition off 534 Georgia cities. It was read verbatim then, but from law.justia.com, a mirror, and it never became a full entry. It is now read from the official code and the words are identical.

Operative text, 12-3-10(n):

"It shall be unlawful for any person to use in any park, historic site, or recreational area any electronic device for the detection of metals, minerals, artifacts, or lost articles or for treasure hunting."

Scope, 12-3-10(a):

"As used in this Code section, the term 'park, historic site, or recreational area' means a park, historic site, or recreational area which is operated by or for and is under the custody and control of the department."

Determination: Department of Natural Resources land only. Subsection (n) does NOT reach a single municipal park. "Park, historic site, or recreational area" is a defined term, and (n) uses it. Read without (a), the subsection appears to ban detecting in every park in the state. Every aggregator found in this project reproduces (n) without (a).

Three things the page must carry with it:

• There is no permission route and no lost-property exception. (n) names

"lost articles" expressly. Compare (c), which bars anyone to "dig, excavate, remove, or construct on any real or personal property" on the same land "except when done with special written permission granted by the commissioner of natural resources or his authorized representative". (n) has no such clause.

• Violation is criminal trespass. 12-3-10(r): "Any person who violates any

of the provisions of this Code section commits the offense of criminal trespass."

• Finds on any state land must be reported. 12-3-52(a) reserves to the

state "the exclusive right and privilege of exploring, excavating, or surveying all prehistoric and historic sites, ruins, artifacts, treasure, and treasure-trove, and other similar sites and objects found on all lands owned or controlled by the state", and 12-3-52(b): "All findings of such ruins, artifacts, treasure, treasure-trove, and other similar sites and objects shall be reported to the department within two days, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays excluded, after being found." State land only – "all lands owned or controlled by the state".

Agency statement, gastateparks.org (Archaeology – Artifact Collecting FAQ):

"It is not legal to surface collect, dig, or metal detect on state property. This includes Civil War sites. (OCGA 12-3-10(n), 12-3-52)"

"If the body of water you're interested in is owned or managed by a local or federal government agency, contact that agency for their policy on artifact collecting."

"State property" in the agency's sentence is wider than 12-3-10(a), which is DNR custody and control; 12-3-52 is the section that reaches all state-owned land. The page cites each for what it says.

The Georgia result is not "state land only". A separate section, 12-3-621, reaches archaeological and historic sites on any land, including a city's, with the owner's written permission as the route. See the political-subdivision entry. That is the rule that meets the 534 cities, and it is not a detecting ban.

Currency. The official volume is the 2021 edition, and the State's current consolidated text on LexisNexis public access requires interactive acceptance of terms that a script cannot give. So currency was checked from the other end: the section history of the 2025 compiled edition (law.justia.com, used as a lead only) shows one later act on 12-3-10, Ga. L. 2022, p. 74 (SB 319). The enrolled act, read on legis.ga.gov, amends 12-3-10 "by revising subsection (o)" – the weapons paragraph – and nothing else in the section. Subsections (a), (c), (n) and (r) are unchanged. 12-3-52 shows no act after Ga. L. 1993, p. 91. Basis: official 2021 volume, confirmed against the only later amending act.

Sources: O.C.G.A. Vol. 10 (2021) pp. 58-61, 80; SB 319 (2022) as passed, legis.ga.gov document 20212022/211518; gastateparks.org Artifact Collecting FAQ. Checked 21 Sep 2026.

2. Where it reaches city and county land

Georgia – O.C.G.A. 12-3-621 (archaeological and historic sites on any land)

Read from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Volume 10 (Title 12), 2021 Edition, the State's official release. Section history in the 2025 compiled edition (law.justia.com, a lead only) shows no act after Ga. L. 2007, p. 166, which the 2021 volume already carries. Checked 21 Sep 2026.

This is the provision that reaches the 534 cities the statute pass cleared of 12-3-10(n). Clearing them of a detecting ban was right. Recording them as untouched by state law was not: this section applies to archaeological and historic sites whoever owns the land.

Operative text, 12-3-621(a):

"It shall be unlawful for any person or entity not operating under the provisions of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, or the express written permission of the owner willfully or knowingly to:
(1) Dig, probe, break, crack, carve upon, write upon, burn, or otherwise mark upon, remove, or in any manner destroy, disturb, deface, mar, or harm the structures, features, surfaces, or contents of archeological, aboriginal, prehistoric, or historic sites; provided, however, that except for human remains and burial objects, this paragraph shall not apply to the collecting of artifacts exposed on the surface of dry land;
(2) Disturb or alter in any manner the prevailing condition of any archeological, aboriginal, prehistoric, or historic site; provided, however, that except for human remains and burial objects, this paragraph shall not apply to the collecting of artifacts exposed on the surface of dry land;"

Scope: any land, with the owner as the gatekeeper. Nothing in the section limits it to state land. On a city-owned site, "the owner" is the city: the route is the city's express written permission.

Notice to the state archaeologist, 12-3-621(b):

"When the surface of any archeological, aboriginal, prehistoric, or historic site is disturbed by a person not documented as operating under the provisions of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, for the purpose of investigating the site or discovering artifacts with the written permission of the landowner, such person shall notify the state archeologist before beginning any such investigation or disturbance."

So even with the city's permission, digging a historic site to discover artifacts needs prior notice to the state archaeologist.

Possession, 12-3-621(c):

"Possession of any archeological artifact collected on or after July 1, 2001, without the written permission of the owner of the land from which the artifact was removed shall be prima-facie evidence that the archeological artifact was taken in violation of this chapter."

Penalty, 12-3-621(d): "Any person who violates any provision of subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

"Historic site" is not defined. 12-3-620 defines "American Indian", "Burial object", "Council", "Human remains", "Object of cultural patrimony" and "Sacred object", and not the kinds of site the offence turns on. How much of a given city park is a "historic site" is not answered by the text. Ambiguous stays ambiguous.

Axis 1: the find or the site – dig, probe, remove, disturb; surface collecting on dry land is expressly carved out. Axis 2: archaeological and historic sites within it, on every kind of land.

Directory entry should read: in Georgia, digging, probing or removing anything at an archaeological or historic site – on any land, including a city's – is a misdemeanor without the landowner's express written permission, and with it the state archaeologist must be notified first; artifacts lying on the surface of dry land may be collected. It should NOT read that metal detecting is prohibited in Georgia city parks, and it should NOT read that Georgia state law has nothing to say about city land.

3. Cities in Georgia 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.

4. County rules

Awaiting review. None of the city or county rows publishes until its status is set and its quotation chosen by hand.

5. 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.