On state park land
Permission needed
The park supervisor can authorise it. That single sentence is the whole rule, and it covers only land the state parks division runs.
This state also reaches city and county land — see below
1. The rule, in full
Nevada – NAC 407.103
Operative text, read from the consolidated NAC at leg.state.nv.us (Legislative Counsel Bureau), revision date shown 4/13/2026:
"NAC 407.103 Metal detector. Except as authorized by the supervisor of the park, no person may use a metal detector in the park."
That is the entire rule. One sentence, added to NAC by the Division of State Parks effective 11-12-93.
Scope, NAC 407.010(1):
"The provisions of NAC 407.050 to 407.150, inclusive, apply to all lands administered by the Division."
Determination: Division of State Parks land only. Does NOT reach municipal parks. Status is permit_required – the park supervisor can authorise it, and the rule says so in its own first clause.
The antiquities statute was checked and is state and federal land only:
NRS 381.197: "a person shall not investigate, explore or excavate an historic or prehistoric site on federal or state lands or remove any object therefrom unless the person is the holder of a valid and current permit."
Permits under NRS 381.203 require the work to be "undertaken for the benefit of a reputable museum, university, college or other recognized scientific or educational institution" – so there is no hobbyist route.
One provision in Nevada has no land limit at all
Recorded rather than filed as a municipal-reach entry, because the conduct is remote from detecting – but it should not be missed.
NRS 381.225(1): "It is unlawful for any person to commit vandalism upon any historic or prehistoric sites, natural monuments, speleological sites and objects of antiquity, or to write or paint or carve initials or words, or in any other way deface, any of those objects, Indian paintings or historic buildings."
There is no "on state lands" in that sentence. Unlike NRS 381.197 two sections earlier, which says "on federal or state lands" expressly, 381.225 is written without a land qualifier and so reaches municipal and private ground.
What it reaches is vandalism and defacement, not detecting and not excavation. A detectorist recovering a coin from a city park has not committed vandalism on a historic site. The distinction is worth stating on the page precisely because the section is unlimited in its reach and limited in its conduct – the opposite balance from most of this project, and the easy error is to report "Nevada prohibits disturbing historic sites on all public land", which overstates it.
Penalty under 381.225(2) is graded by the value of property damaged, per NRS 193.155. NRS 381.227 makes any other violation of 381.195 to 381.227 a misdemeanour.
Also recorded: NRS 381.223 provides for seizure and forfeiture of any object of antiquity taken without a permit from a site covered by 381.197 – that is, from federal or state land only. NRS 381.207 splits finds between the State and permit holders and mentions political subdivisions, but only as possible permit holders or recipients, not as a scope clause.
Sources: leg.state.nv.us NAC-407.html and nrs-381.html. Checked 20 Sep 2026.
2. Cities in Nevada 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.