Metal Detecting in Nevada

1. The rule, in full

Nevada – NAC 407.103

Read from the consolidated Nevada Administrative Code and Nevada Revised Statutes at leg.state.nv.us (Legislative Counsel Bureau): NAC 407 in full, revision date shown 4/13/2026, and NRS 381, 383, 407 and 321 in full, read 15 Oct 2026. The detector rule was re-verified word for word 3 Oct 2026.

Nevada's detector rule is one sentence and the park supervisor can waive it. Three other provisions decide more than that rule does, and one of them is written without any land limit at all.

Operative text, NAC 407.103:

"NAC 407.103 Metal detector. (NRS 407.0475, 407.065) Except as authorized by the supervisor of the park, no person may use a metal detector in the park." (Added to NAC by Div. of St. Parks, eff. 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."

And "park" is defined, NAC 407.009:

"Park means any area that has been designated as a state park, historic state park, historic site, management area, monument or recreational area and is under the jurisdiction of the Division."

So the rule covers historic sites and monuments as well as parks proper, which matters in a state whose historic parks are its most interesting ground.

Supervisor permission is permission to detect, not permission to take

NRS 407.250, the statute behind the chapter, prohibits removal outright:

"2. The destruction or removal of any buildings, parts of buildings, other structures, tables, stoves or any appurtenances thereto, as well as any historical relics, natural specimens such as petrified trees, petroglyphs and other relics or material within the jurisdiction of the Division is hereby prohibited."

"3. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section is guilty of a public offense, as prescribed in NRS 193.155, proportionate to the value of the property damaged, destroyed, removed, burned or cut and in no event less than a misdemeanor."

These two provisions do different work and that is the point. NAC 407.103 is about using the device and a supervisor may authorise it. NRS 407.250(2) is about removing a relic and no supervisor waiver appears in it – it is a statute, not a rule the Division can dispense with. A detectorist with the supervisor's blessing to sweep a Nevada state park has not thereby acquired permission to carry away a historical relic found there.

The antiquities permit sections, and who can hold one

NRS 381.197: "Except for action taken under an agreement with the Office of Historic Preservation of the State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources pursuant to NRS 383.430, and except as otherwise provided in this section, 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 issued pursuant to the provisions of NRS 381.195 to 381.227, inclusive."

And the section gives way to 383.435, in its own last sentence: "Conduct that would otherwise constitute a violation of this section is not a violation of this section if it is also a violation of NRS 383.435." So where the ground is state or political-subdivision land, the provision that bites is the one with the felony ladder, not this one.

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. NRS 381.223 provides for seizure and forfeiture of an object of antiquity taken without a permit from a site covered by 381.197, which is federal or state land only. NRS 381.227 makes any other violation of 381.195 to 381.227 a misdemeanour.

NRS 383.435 reaches city and county land, because of how "state land" is defined

This is the provision most likely to be missed in Nevada, and the definition is the reason.

NRS 383.425 State land defined. "State land means land that is owned by or under the control of a state agency or political subdivision."

NRS 383.435(1): "a person who knowingly and willfully removes, mutilates, defaces, excavates, injures or destroys a historic or prehistoric site or resource on state land or who receives, traffics in or sells cultural property appropriated from state land without a valid permit, unless a greater penalty is provided by a specific statute: (a) For a first offense, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. (b) For a second offense, is guilty of a category E felony… (c) For a third or subsequent offense, is guilty of a category C felony…"

The same subsection orders restitution "for the cost of restoration, stabilization and interpretation of the site or cultural property", and 383.435(3) adds civil liability to the agency or political subdivision with jurisdiction "in an amount equal to the cost or, in the discretion of the court, an amount equal to twice the cost of the restoration".

A county or city park is state land for this section. Nevada's historic and prehistoric site protection therefore does not stop at the state park boundary the way NAC 407.103 does, and a first offence is a gross misdemeanour rather than a simple misdemeanour. What it reaches is a site or resource – not every object in the ground – and the mental element is "knowingly and willfully". 383.435(2) excepts action taken under an agreement with the Office of Historic Preservation or by the holder of a 381.195 to 381.227 permit.

Nevada does have a reporting duty, and it is about burials

NRS 383.170(1)(a): "A person who disturbs the cairn or grave of a native Indian through inadvertence while engaged in a lawful activity such as construction, mining, logging or farming or any other person who discovers the cairn or grave of a native Indian that has not been previously reported to the Office shall immediately report the discovery and the location of the Indian burial site to the Office."

Read the second limb. The first covers inadvertent disturbance during construction and similar work. The second covers any other person who discovers such a site, with no land qualifier and no requirement that they were working. A detectorist who finds one is within it.

NRS 383.180(2): "A person who fails to notify the Office of the discovery and location of an Indian burial site in violation of NRS 383.170 is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of $500 for the first offense, or by a fine of not more than $1,500 for a second or subsequent offense, and may be further punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 364 days."

Possession and sale are graded higher still. NRS 383.180(3) makes it a category D felony to possess any artifact or human remains taken from a native Indian cairn or grave on or after 1 October 1989 other than as 383.170 allows, to display human remains publicly, or to sell such an artifact or remains. And 383.180(1) makes wilfully removing, mutilating or defacing such a cairn or grave a gross misdemeanour on a first offence, rising to a category C felony on a third.

The exception is drawn exactly where a detectorist needs to look. NRS 383.180(4)(a)(1) says the section does not apply to the possession or sale of an artifact "Discovered in or taken from a location other than the cairn or grave of a native Indian". So the felony attaches to the burial context, not to Nevada artifacts at large.

One provision in Nevada has no land limit and a narrow subject

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, 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 section is unlimited in reach and limited in conduct, which is the opposite balance from most of this directory, and the easy error is to report "Nevada prohibits disturbing historic sites on all public land". Penalty under 381.225(2) is graded by the value of property damaged, per NRS 193.155.

Other land classes, and what was found there

Division of State Lands: nothing. NRS 321, the chapter that governs Nevada's state land and the State Land Registrar, contains no detector, relic or antiquities provision. The only hits for "treasure" in the whole chapter are the State Treasurer and the "Restore Nevada's Treasures Revolving Account", a building-preservation fund.

Wildlife management areas: nothing in the wildlife regulations. NAC 504 carries no detector, artifact or relic provision; its single "burial" reference is the disposal of a wildlife carcass. Nevada's wildlife areas are therefore governed on this question by NRS 383.435 and the antiquities sections, not by a rule of their own.

State forests: Nevada has no state forest system of the kind other states regulate, and NRS 528, which governs timber and flora, contains no relevant provision.

Determination: on Division of State Parks land, including historic parks and historic sites, the device needs the park supervisor's authorisation under NAC 407.103, and removing a historical relic is separately prohibited by NRS 407.250(2) whatever the supervisor has allowed. Does NOT reach municipal parks for the device. It DOES reach municipal and county land for sites: NRS 383.435 makes removing or excavating a historic or prehistoric site or resource on land owned or controlled by a state agency or political subdivision a gross misdemeanour at first offence, with restitution and double-cost civil damages. Discovering a native Indian cairn or grave carries an immediate duty to report to the Office of Historic Preservation on any land, a gross misdemeanour and a $500 fine to fail.

Sources: leg.state.nv.us NAC-407.html, NRS-381.html, NRS-383.html, NRS-407.html and NRS-321.html, and NAC-504.html. Checked 15 October 2026.

2. Cities in Nevada that publish a rule

1 city in Nevada publishes a rule we can quote, out of 10 checked.

Of the 10 checked, 8 had pages on the city’s own site that we found and read. For the other 2 we could not locate a municipal source, so nothing is claimed about them either way.

3. County rules

County rules exist in Nevada, and they govern county land only. 1 county rule surfaced while checking cities in this state. Each was read and then set aside, because a county park rule does not answer whether a city park allows detecting, and it is not the state rule either. They are listed because their existence is the useful fact: if you are in a county park, a separate rule probably applies to you.

0 of these 1 name their county in the text that was read; the rest name only “county park” or “county parks”, so the source is given instead of a county name. A county is never inferred from a web address.

4. Cities checked - no published rule

9 cities in Nevada were checked and have no published rule on this page. Of those, 8 returned no rule, and 1 did return something that has not been published – mostly rules that turned out to govern county land, which are in the county section above. A city here is not a city where detecting is allowed. It is a city whose own published material did not answer the question.

All 9 were checked on 13 September 2026, in one sweep, so that date applies to every row.

5. Clubs in Nevada

7 in our directory for Nevada - 5 verified against their own website or group, 2 we could not verify. Verified means we opened the link and read it. All Nevada clubs on the club directory, with meeting nights and contacts where we have them.

• (Official) Las Vegas Chapter, Gold Prospectors Association of America - Facebook group · Las Vegas · verified
• Gold Searchers of Southern Nevada - goldsearchersnv.com · verified
• Las Vegas Chapter GPAA - Facebook page · Las Vegas · verified
• Nevada Desert Diggers - nvdesertdiggers.org/events · Facebook group · verified
• Reno Prospecting & Detecting Club - Facebook page · Reno · verified
• Nuggetdigger Detecting and Prospecting Club - could not verify
• Silver State Detecting Club - Reno · could not verify

6. Land this page does not cover

This page answers for Nevada state land, and for city and county land where the state rule reaches it. Several other kinds of ground are not covered here, and naming them is more honest than letting a reader assume the page is complete.

Tribal land. This directory does not cover it, and will not.

There are 574 federally recognised tribal nations. Each is a sovereign jurisdiction with its own law, its own permitting, its own enforcement and its own cultural-resource provisions, and none of them is answered by a state's code or by any federal rule quoted on these pages. A one-line instruction to "get tribal permission" would be worse than this paragraph, because it implies one process and one authority where there are 574. If you are on or near tribal land, the governing law is that nation's, and the place to ask is that nation's own offices. Nothing on this page applies there.

BLM land is covered, partly, in its own place. The Bureau of Land Management holds about 245 million acres and the federal rule names metal detectors and permits them, which is the opposite of the national park rule. See BLM land: the detector is named, and permitted. That page covers the base regulation; it does not yet cover the supplementary rules individual BLM State Directors issue for particular field offices.

Named and not examined. These are recorded so their absence is visible rather than silent. No claim is made about any of them:

• Military withdrawn land, including ranges and training areas.
• Bureau of Reclamation land, which surrounds a great many reservoirs.
• Water district and irrigation district land.
• Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas and National Conservation Areas, which carry designations of their own. And one general point about signs. The commonest piece of reasoning in this subject is "there was no sign, so it was allowed." Arizona's State Land Department answers it in writing, in condition 2 of its own Recreational Permit terms:

"You will comply with all laws, rules, regulations and ordinances. Posting is not required for these provisions to be enforceable."

That is Arizona's sentence about Arizona's provisions and this directory does not present it as the law of any other state. But the proposition it states is the one to carry: nothing read for this project makes a published rule's enforceability depend on a sign at the boundary. Where posting does matter, a specific provision says so, and that provision is quoted on the page where it occurs.