New Hampshire metal detecting rule layers
Quick answer: a rule applies because of jurisdiction and managing authority, not simply because a place is publicly accessible. This page contains only rule layers actually inherited by current New Hampshire records.
How to read these rules: detector use, digging, target recovery, artifact protection, permits and designated zones can be controlled by different provisions. A restrictive recovery rule is not automatically rewritten as a detector-possession ban, and an access permit is not automatically treated as recovery authorization.
New Hampshire metal detecting law questions
Is metal detecting legal on all public land in New Hampshire?
No. Public access does not create metal-detecting or target-recovery permission. The controlling rule depends on the land manager, property purpose, detector-use rule, digging/recovery restrictions, protected-resource law and any permit or designated-zone requirement.
Does a recreation, hunting or access permit authorize metal detecting?
Not unless the controlling rule expressly says it does. Access credentials and detector/recovery authorization are treated as separate legal questions in this database.
Can a map pin prove where metal detecting is permitted?
No. A map pin is only a public visitor/access reference point. It is never treated as a property boundary, detecting zone, archaeological location or legal permission boundary.
How many controlling rule layers are listed for New Hampshire?
9 current rule layers are represented on this page. Each rule entry identifies its managing authority, status, official source, verification grade and verification date.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire
The NPS state listing identifies multi-agency management; apply 36 CFR §2.1 only to NPS-administered parcels and the controlling rule to every other parcel.
Important exceptions: No blanket NPS ownership or blanket detector permission is inferred.
Official source — www.nps.gov · Supporting official source — www.ecfr.gov · Verified
National Park Service park areas — 36 CFR §2.1
36 CFR §2.1 prohibits possessing or using metal detectors and related detecting devices in National Park Service park areas. The same section also prohibits digging, disturbing, removing or damaging protected natural, cultural and archaeological resources. current data uses this federal rule only for public visitor/reference points inside identified Florida NPS units; no search-target coordinates are exposed.
Important exceptions: The detector prohibition does not apply when a device is broken down and packed to prevent use, to navigation/safe-operation equipment for boats or aircraft, or to detectors used for authorized scientific, mining or administrative activities. These are not ordinary recreational detecting permissions. Park-specific closures and superintendent rules may be stricter.
Official source — www.ecfr.gov · Verified
New Hampshire DNCR beach shorelines
Ncr 731.19(b) permits metal detectors along shoreline of beaches unless otherwise posted. Ncr 731.20(a) permits sand-beach digging only if holes are completely filled and not deeper than 12 inches.
Important exceptions: This is not whole-property permission. Posted restrictions, archaeological/historic protections, and the explicit Ncr 731.19(c) prohibition remain controlling.
Official source — gc.nh.gov · Supporting official source — www.nhstateparks.org · Verified
New Hampshire DNCR properties — general rule
Ncr 731.19(a) bars metal detectors on department properties unless otherwise stated, permitted by special-use permit under Ncr 740, or authorized by department personnel. Ncr 731.20 separately restricts digging/ground disturbance.
Important exceptions: Ncr 731.19(b) permits detectors along shoreline of beaches unless posted; historic sites, natural areas and Odiorne Point are expressly prohibited under subsection (c).
Official source — gc.nh.gov · Supporting official source — www.nhstateparks.org · Verified
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department-controlled lands
Fis 902.02 regulates field investigations including metal detection that could discover, yield, or alter historic resources and provides a Special Use Permit pathway; other disturbance/removal restrictions apply.
Important exceptions: This row does not convert hunting/fishing/public access into general relic-hunting permission.
Official source — www.gc.nh.gov · Supporting official source — www.wildlife.nh.gov · Verified
New Hampshire municipal parks/open-space systems
Local ownership, municipal codes and property-manager rules control. DNCR state-park rules are not projected onto municipal land.
Important exceptions: Rules vary by parcel and may separately restrict digging, removal, historic resources or beach activities.
Official source — www.nh.gov · Verified
New Hampshire state historic sites, natural areas, and Odiorne Point State Park
Ncr 731.19(c) expressly prohibits metal detectors in these categories.
Important exceptions: No beach-shoreline exception is projected into these expressly prohibited properties.
Official source — gc.nh.gov · Supporting official source — www.nhstateparks.org · Verified
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation lands — 36 CFR §327.14
36 CFR §327.14 permits metal detectors on designated beaches or other previously disturbed lands where specifically authorized and not otherwise prohibited. The exact open area is project-specific and must not be inferred from a shoreline, beach name or public map pin.
Important exceptions: District/project managers may prohibit use. Archaeological, historic and other protected resources may not be disturbed or removed. Where a project publishes an exact detector policy, that project-specific policy controls.
Official source — www.ecfr.gov · Supporting official source — www.sam.usace.army.mil · Verified
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System — 50 CFR Part 27 search/resource restrictions
Federal Refuge System rules provide an A-grade negative decision for antiquity, buried-treasure/treasure-trove, specified mineral-object and prospecting searches and for unauthorized property disturbance/removal. They do not expressly answer every ordinary modern lost-item detector-use scenario. current decision therefore publishes the resolved restrictions while preserving the unresolved narrower detector-use dimension.
Important exceptions: Refuge-specific rules, closures, special-use permits and compatibility determinations may be stricter, including explicit detector prohibitions. Authorized activities may exist under applicable federal regulations. No permission is inferred from public access, beaches, waterways or absence of a refuge-specific detector sentence.
Official source — www.ecfr.gov · Supporting official source — www.fws.gov · Verified