California

Educational reference, not legal advice. This is a working summary that may be incomplete or out of date. Laws change, land ownership changes, permits vary, and protected sites may have special rules. Always verify before searching, digging, diving, detecting, or removing anything.

Working risk read: Yellow

Summary

No digging artifacts; Auburn & Folsom Lake SRAs ban even possessing a detector.

What to verify

• Current state statutes on treasure trove, antiquities, and abandoned property
• Local ordinances for the specific city, county, or park
• Land ownership and whether permission is required
• Whether the site is protected, historic, or culturally sensitive

Public land

Designated park areas; beaches/shallow saltwater OK; some SRAs ban possession

Private property

Get explicit landowner permission in writing before entering or detecting. Source review needed. Verify with the state agency before relying on this.

State parks

Designated park areas; beaches/shallow saltwater OK; some SRAs ban possession

Federal land

Federal law (e.g. the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Antiquities Act) restricts detecting, digging, and artifact removal on federal land nationwide. Source review needed. Verify with the state agency before relying on this. (federal specifics)

Archaeological and historic sites

Disturbing archaeological, burial, or historic sites is commonly prohibited.

Waterways and salvage

State owns submerged lands & embedded wrecks

Permits and contacts

Source review needed. Verify with the state agency before relying on this. Add the state historic preservation office and parks authority contacts here.

Sources

Source review needed. No primary statute citations have been verified for this page yet.

Last reviewed: pending first source review.