Metal Detecting in North Carolina

1. The rule, in full

North Carolina – 07 NCAC 13B .0203

Read from the North Carolina Administrative Code published by the Office of Administrative Hearings, Rules Division (reports.oah.state.nc.us), Title 07 Chapter 13 "Parks and Recreation Area Rules" in full, 159,579 characters. Re-read 4 Oct 2026; both quotations below are exact and the entry gains the permit rule and the history note.

Operative text, 07 NCAC 13B .0203, whose heading reads "METAL DETECTORS PROHIBITED":

"Metal detectors are not allowed in any park area except to locate lost personal property when authorized by a Special Use Permit as provided by Rule .0104 of this Subchapter." History Note: Authority G.S. 143B-135.16; Eff. January 1, 1983; Amended Eff. May 1, 2010; Transferred from 15A NCAC 12B .0203 Eff. April 1, 2017.

The heading overstates the rule, which is now the third instance in this directory. "METAL DETECTORS PROHIBITED" is not what .0203 says: it permits detector use to locate lost personal property under a Special Use Permit. Ohio has two rules titled "Metal detectors prohibited", one of which states the opposite of its text; this is a third. A heading is never quoted on its own – see METHODOLOGY rule 13.

And the permit is a named category, not a discretionary favour. 07 NCAC 13B .0104(b) lists the uses of Division property requiring a Special Use Permit, and metal detector use is the first item on it:

"(b) The following uses of Division property shall require a Special Use Permit authorized by the Division: (1) metal detector use; (2) rock climbing, rappelling and bouldering for individual climbers … (3) licensed vehicle operations …"

Applications are made to individual Park and Recreation Area offices or to the Deputy Director of Operations, Division of Parks and Recreation.

Scope. "Any park area" is the phrasing that needs checking, because it is exactly the shape of the Georgia error. The subchapter's definitions rule, 07 NCAC 13B .0101, settles it: "Division Property" or "State Parks" means

"any state park, recreation areas, natural areas, state lakes, or other property leased or managed by the Division."

Authority is G.S. 143B-135.16, the state parks act.

Determination: state park system only. Does NOT reach municipal parks.

Recreational detecting is effectively banned on NC state park land – the only exception is retrieving a specific lost item, by permit.

Source: NC OAH, 07 NCAC 13B .0203 and .0101. Checked 19 Sep 2026.

2. Cities in North Carolina that publish a rule

2 cities in North Carolina publish a rule we can quote, out of 89 checked.

Of the 89 checked, 49 had pages on the city’s own site that we found and read. For the other 40 we could not locate a municipal source, so nothing is claimed about them either way.

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.