Metal Detecting In Maine?

You Should Know The Law

Metal detecting in Maine follows the ARPA (Archeological Resources Preservation Act).

Please click on the link below for the ARPA explanation and some of the problems people face who break this law.

ARPA and You

Here is a story that was told to me by three individuals who were metal detecting in Maine.

The three men were metal detecting along a the edge of a local street.

After ten minutes of detecting they were approached by a local Sheriff.

He asked them to put down their metal detectors and to empty their pouches and their pockets.

The three men asked why they were being asked to do this and the Sheriff told them they were breaking the law.

When the men asked to know what law they were breaking the Sheriff handcuffed all three men and escorted them to the local jail.

Still not knowing what law they had broken, when they arrived at the local jail one man asked to make a call to his attorney, who happened to be his brother-n-law.

The brother-n-law showed up twenty minutes later with the local Judge. The Judge explained the men broke the National Historic Preservation Act Law (NHPA).

Apparently the men were metal detecting on a piece of historical property.

The three men had their metal detectors confiscated and they had to post a large bond for a future court date. I have not heard of the results from that mis-adventure.

So in addition to the ARPA Law, in maine you need to follow the NHPA law.

Please click here for the NHPA law in Maine.

As confusing as the above laws may seem, if you are metal detecting in Maine?

Do not dig anything that you believe is an artifact, or anything that is older than 100 years.

Especially if you are on any State Lands.

If you want to detect on private property, then be sure you get written permission from the landowner.

For detecting in Maine town, village and city parks, you'll need to check with those local officials.

I cannot be responsible for any outdated laws from the time of this posting.

My home page is all about metal detecting in eastern ghost towns.

Have you tried metal detecting in Maine ghost towns? Click here for my homepage.