On state park land
Allowed in some places
On state park property and the ocean shore, only where the department's published 'Detecting Allowed' list says so, unless the park manager gives written permission.
This state also reaches city and county land — see below
1. The rule, in full
Oregon – OAR 736-010-0040(11)(d) and 736-021-0090(11)
Read from the Oregon Administrative Rules Database of the Secretary of State (secure.sos.state.or.us/oard), chapter 736 divisions 10 and 21, rendered fetch. 736-010-0040 history: "PRD 4-2026, amend filed 04/30/2026, effective 05/01/2026". Checked 21 Sep 2026.
Operative text, 736-010-0040(11)(d), among activities "specifically prohibited at park properties":
"Using a metal detector or similar device without written permission of the park manager or designated employee at any park property or portion of a park property not listed on the 'Detecting Allowed' list, published on the state park website;"
Ocean shore, 736-021-0090(11):
"Metal detecting: A person may use a metal detector or similar device on the ocean shore state recreation area without a written permit from the department in the areas noted in the 'Detecting Allowed' list, published on the OPRD website."
and 736-021-0100(4)(c), needing a special use permit or the park manager's written permission: "Using a metal detector or similar device in any property not listed on the 'Detecting Allowed' list, published on the department website".
Scope, 736-010-0015(29):
"'Park Property' means any state park, natural area, greenway, wayside, corridor, scenic area, monument, historic structure or area, trail, or recreation area under the jurisdiction of the department."
and 736-021-0030(19), the "Ocean shore state recreation area": "the land lying between extreme low tide of the Pacific Ocean and the statutory vegetation line or the line of established upland vegetation, whichever is farther inland, under the jurisdiction of the department".
Determination: OPRD land only. The park rules do NOT reach municipal parks. Where detecting is allowed is set by a list the department publishes, which the rule incorporates; the page links the list and does not reproduce it, because it can change without a rule amendment.
On the ocean shore the find is still regulated. 736-021-0090(1): "A person may not excavate, injure, destroy or alter an archaeological site or object or remove an archaeological object located on the ocean shore state recreation area, unless the department has authorized that activity by a permit issued under ORS 390.235". And 736-021-0150(3): the lost-property rules "apply to items found by using metal detectors". Under 736-021-0150(1) a finder of money or goods worth $250 or more "must try to find the property's rightful owner", either under ORS 98.005 or "By giving the found property to the department within 10 days of finding it".
Why this differs from the specimen. The design specimen (oregon-structure.html, 13 Sep) cited 736-010-0040(8)(d). That reading was taken from oregon.public.law, a mirror, and was never entered into the build. The current rule numbers the provision (11)(d) and frames it around the "Detecting Allowed" list. The specimen was stale on both the number and the mechanism. It is the plainest case in this project for reading the consolidated code rather than a copy of it.
The Oregon result is not "state land only", and it is the widest in this batch. ORS 358.920 reaches archaeological objects "on public or private lands in Oregon", and "public lands" includes city land. See the political-subdivision entry.
Sources: OARD chapter 736 divisions 10 and 21. Checked 21 Sep 2026.
2. Where it reaches city and county land
Oregon – ORS 358.905 to 358.961 and ORS 390.235 (all public land, and private land too)
Read from the Oregon Revised Statutes, 2025 Edition, published by the Oregon Legislature (oregonlegislature.gov), chapters 358 and 390. Checked 21 Sep 2026.
Operative text, 358.920(1):
"(a) A person may not excavate, injure, destroy or alter an archaeological site or object or remove an archaeological object located on public or private lands in Oregon unless that activity is authorized by a permit issued under ORS 390.235.
(b) Collection of an arrowhead from the surface of public or private land is permitted if collection can be accomplished without the use of any tool.
(c) It is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section if: (A) A person possesses the objects described in paragraph (a) of this subsection; (B) A person possesses any tool that could be used to remove such objects from the ground; and (C) A person does not possess a permit required under ORS 390.235."
Scope: all land in Oregon. 358.920(1)(a) says "public or private lands". For the parts of the Act keyed to public land, 358.905(1)(j):
"'Public lands' means any lands owned by the State of Oregon, a city, county, district or municipal or public corporation in Oregon."
What is protected is defined narrowly, 358.905(1)(a):
"'Archaeological object' means an object that: (A) Is at least 75 years old; (B) Is part of the physical record of an indigenous or other culture found in the state or waters of the state; and (C) Is material remains of past human life or activity that are of archaeological significance".
All three limbs are required. A modern coin is not an archaeological object. A 75-year-old object with no archaeological significance is not one either.
The permit statute is broader, ORS 390.235(1)(a):
"A person may not excavate or alter an archaeological site on public lands, make an exploratory excavation on public lands to determine the presence of an archaeological site or remove from public lands any material of an archaeological, historical, prehistorical or anthropological nature without first obtaining a permit issued by the State Parks and Recreation Department."
"[A]ny material of an archaeological, historical, prehistorical or anthropological nature" is not a defined term and carries no 75-year floor. Whether it reaches an old but unremarkable find on city land is ambiguous, and ambiguous stays ambiguous. The page quotes both texts and does not merge them.
There is no permit route for a hobbyist. 390.235(2) allows permits only to a person working "for the benefit of a recognized scientific or educational institution", "a qualified archaeologist to salvage such material from unavoidable destruction", or "a qualified archaeologist sponsored by a recognized institution of higher learning, private firm or an Indian tribe". And 390.235(1)(c): "No permit shall be effective without the approval of the state agency or local governing body charged with management of the public land on which the excavation is to be made".
Penalty, 358.920(8): "Violation of the provisions of this section is a Class B misdemeanor." Finds from public land acquired after 15 October 1983 are "under the stewardship of the state" and go to the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, 358.920(4)(a).
Axis 1: the find or the site – excavate, injure, destroy, alter, remove. You may sweep; you may not take an archaeological object, and carrying a digging tool while holding one without a permit is prima facie evidence that you did. Axis 2: all of it – city, county, state and private land alike.
What it does NOT prohibit: detecting as such, or recovering modern objects. Nothing in chapter 358 mentions metal detectors.
Directory entry should read: in Oregon, removing or digging up an archaeological object – at least 75 years old and of archaeological significance – is prohibited on any land, public or private, without a permit that only qualified archaeologists and institutions can obtain; the one exception is an arrowhead picked from the surface without a tool. It should NOT read that metal detecting is prohibited in Oregon city parks.
3. Cities in Oregon 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.