Metal Detecting in Tennessee

1. The rule, in full

Tennessee – 0400-2-2-.18(6)

Read from the compiled chapter published by the Tennessee Secretary of State at publications.tnsosfiles.com, "Rules of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of State Parks, Chapter 0400-2-2, Public Use and Recreation", footed "December, 2003 (Revised)", parsed locally. Checked 3 Oct 2026.

Rewritten 3 Oct 2026. The previous version of this entry put a summary in the operative-text slot – no quotation marks, no subsection, and a scope clause that is not in the provision. Recorded in SOURCING-AUDIT.md. The summary was substantively close, and one difference matters, below.

Operative text, 0400-2-2-.18(6):

"The use of any mineral or metal detecting device capable of detecting the underground or underwater location of geological, archaeological or historical objects or materials is prohibited. Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to:
(a) fathometers, radar equipment and electronic equipment used primarily for the navigation and safe operation of boats and aircraft; and
(b) to persons possessing a permit from the State Archaeologist to conduct legitimate archaeological research when such permit is signed by the Director of Parks and Recreation; and
(c) to an individual engaged in a limited search for a lost item under supervision of the park Superintendent." Authority: T.C.A. 11-1-108. Administrative History: Original rule certified May 24, 1974. Amendment filed August 24, 1987; effective October 8, 1987.

The difference that matters: the provision does not say "in state parks". The old summary ended "is prohibited in Tennessee state parks". The rule ends "is prohibited", full stop. Nothing in subsection (6) names a place at all.

Scope is carried by the chapter, not by the sentence, and this entry says so rather than folding it into the quotation. Chapter 0400-2-2 is headed "Rules of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of State Parks – Public Use and Recreation", and rule .18 is "Preservation of Public Property, Natural Features, Curiosities and Resources". The chapter contains no applicability or definitions rule, so the confinement to Division of State Parks land rests on the chapter's heading and the promulgating division rather than on an express scope clause. That is weaker than most states in this directory and worth knowing.

Determination: Division of State Parks land. Does NOT reach municipal parks.

Not yet checked, and recorded as unchecked: Tennessee's other public land sits under different agencies – the Wildlife Resources Agency for wildlife management areas and the Division of Forestry for state forests – and neither has been read for a detector provision. The forestry and wildlife sweep has not reached Tennessee.

Separate and worth a state-level note: the Division of Archaeology holds the exclusive right to excavate on state land, artifacts from state land are property of the State of Tennessee, and defacing sites is a misdemeanour.

Source: publications.tnsosfiles.com rules 0400-02-02. Checked 19 Sep 2026.

2. Cities in Tennessee that publish a rule

2 cities in Tennessee publish a rule we can quote, out of 61 checked.

Of the 61 checked, 31 had pages on the city’s own site that we found and read. For the other 30 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.