Can I collect fossils on public land?

Yes, for invertebrate and plant fossils on BLM and national forest land — up to 25 lbs per day without a permit. Vertebrate fossils (bone, teeth, tracks) are prohibited on all federal land under the PRPA. National parks prohibit all fossil collection. State land rules vary.

What is the PRPA and what does it mean for casual collectors?

The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009 established the current two-tier federal fossil collection framework. It allows casual collection of common invertebrate and plant fossils on BLM and USFS land, while prohibiting all vertebrate fossil collection without a scientific research permit. Before PRPA, rules varied by agency and were inconsistently applied. Now the same rules apply across all federal land managers.

How do I know if a fossil is a vertebrate or invertebrate?

Invertebrate fossils — shells, echinoids, crinoids, brachiopods, ammonites, coral, leaf impressions — are the collectable tier. Vertebrate fossils are anything from an animal with a backbone: bone fragments, teeth, vertebrae, fish scales, and tracks made by vertebrate animals. If you find something that looks like bone material and aren't certain, treat it as vertebrate, leave it, and report the location to the land manager.

Do I need a permit to collect fossils?

Not for personal-use invertebrate and plant fossil collection on BLM and national forest land. A federal permit is required for any vertebrate fossil collection and for commercial or research collection on any federal land. Some state lands require permits for all collecting — check the specific location.

What should I do if I find a significant fossil?

Leave it in place, document its location with GPS if possible, and report it to the managing agency — the local BLM field office, USFS ranger district, or park visitor centre depending on the land. The PRPA requires reporting of potentially significant finds. Voluntary reporting is treated very differently from removal — it's both the legal and the practical right thing to do.

Fossil Hunting — Rules, Permits & Legal Sites

Verified locations

Browse by state

Montana

All Montana sites →

Allowed

Hell Creek (BLM, Montana)

Montana, Garfield·Fossil hunting

The BLM-administered lands in the Hell Creek area of northeastern Montana allow casual collection of invertebrate fossils and petrified wood under PRPA 2009 — 25 lbs/day, no permit. The dinosaur bones this formation is famous for are vertebrate fossils under PRPA and may not be casually collected. The distinction catches nearly every first-time visitor.

Common invertebrate fossils (ammonites, bivalves, marine snails from the underlying Bearpaw Shale) and plant fossils including petrified wood may be casually collected — 25 lbs per day, 250 lbs per year, non-commercial (PRPA 2009 / 43 CFR Part 49)
CRITICAL: Dinosaur bones, teeth, and tracks — and all other vertebrate material — may NOT be casually collected under any circumstances; research permit required from BLM Malta Field Office; removal is a federal felony

South Dakota

All South Dakota sites →

Prohibited

Badlands National Park

South Dakota, Pennington Jackson·Fossil hunting

Fossil collecting is prohibited at Badlands National Park under NPS regulations and PRPA 2009. The White River Badlands contain the richest Oligocene mammal fossil record on Earth — none of it can be collected, but significant finds are exposed by erosion and must be reported to a ranger.

All fossil collection is prohibited under NPS regulations (36 CFR 2.1) and PRPA 2009 — this applies to all material including surface fragments and isolated bone chips
Do not pick up, move, or pocket any fossil material — even temporarily, before 'replacing' it, is a violation

Utah

All Utah sites →

Prohibited

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry — BLM

Utah, Emery·Fossil hunting

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry is a BLM-managed National Natural Landmark containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever discovered — over 12,000 bones from 74 individuals representing 16+ species have been excavated here. Fossil collection is completely prohibited: the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) prohibits casual collection of vertebrate fossils on all federal land. The quarry is open for observation and education; a small visitor center interprets the site's paleontological significance.

All public fossil collection is prohibited under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA, 16 U.S.C. §§ 470aaa et seq.) — applies to all vertebrate fossils on all federal land including BLM
Unlike some BLM casual-use sites, Cleveland-Lloyd's status as a National Natural Landmark and active research quarry means even surface invertebrate fossil collection is not permitted

Verify Locally

Coyote Buttes / Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness

Utah, Kane·Fossil hunting

The Coyote Buttes permit lottery controls who can enter — it does not settle whether fossils can be collected. Trace fossils in the Navajo Sandstone here, including documented dinosaur tracks, fall under a Wilderness and National Monument overlay with no published casual-collection policy.

A day-use hiking permit from the Recreation.gov lottery is mandatory just to enter Coyote Buttes North or South — but that permit authorizes access to the area, not fossil collecting; the two are separate legal questions
No published BLM decision specific to casual invertebrate or plant fossil collecting within the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument / Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness overlay could be located as of July 2026 — contact the Arizona Strip Field Office at (435) 688-3200 before removing any fossil material

Prohibited

Dinosaur National Monument

Utah, Uintah·Fossil hunting

Fossil collection is strictly prohibited at Dinosaur National Monument under NPS regulations and the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. The monument was established specifically to protect Late Jurassic fossils — including Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, and Camarasaurus — and contains one of the most significant vertebrate fossil deposits in the world. The Carnegie Quarry Exhibit Hall allows visitors to observe over 1,500 fossil bones still embedded in the cliff face.

All fossil collection by the public is strictly prohibited at Dinosaur National Monument under 36 CFR § 2.1(a)(1) and the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 470aaa et seq.)
The prohibition covers all fossils including invertebrates, plants, trace fossils, and vertebrate material — regardless of size, perceived scientific significance, or location within the monument

Wyoming

All Wyoming sites →

Allowed

Como Bluff

Wyoming, Carbon·Fossil hunting

Como Bluff is open for casual collection of invertebrate and plant fossils from the Sundance and Morrison Formations. The dinosaur fossils that made this site famous — Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, Stegosaurus — are vertebrate material and prohibited from casual collection under PRPA 2009.

Invertebrate and plant fossils: casual collection allowed up to 25 lbs/day on BLM land under PRPA 2009
Vertebrate fossils (dinosaur bones, teeth, tracks, and any fish or reptile material): prohibited from casual collection — all vertebrate material must be left in place

Prohibited

Fossil Butte National Monument

Wyoming, Lincoln·Fossil hunting

All fossil collecting is prohibited at Fossil Butte National Monument under 36 CFR 2.1 — the federal casual-collection allowance that applies to nearby BLM land does not extend to National Park Service units. Private fee-dig quarries three minutes from the visitor center offer the legal alternative.

Collecting any fossil, rock, or natural object is prohibited under 36 CFR 2.1(a)(1) — this covers surface fragments and loose shale pieces, not just intact specimens
PRPA 2009's casual-collection allowance for invertebrate and plant fossils applies only to BLM and Bureau of Reclamation land under 43 CFR Part 49 — it does not extend to National Park Service units, so 'it's just a fish fossil' is not an exception here

Allowed

Green River Formation (BLM)

Wyoming, Lincoln·Fossil hunting

The Green River Formation's famous Knightia fish are vertebrate material — casual collecting on open BLM land near Kemmerer does not include them, despite widespread mislabeling as an invertebrate fossil. Plant and insect fossils are casually collectable under PRPA 2009; the fish come only from fee-dig quarries on leased or private ground.

Common invertebrate and plant fossils (insects, plant impressions, ostracods) may be casually collected on open BLM land — up to 25 lb/day, no permit, under PRPA 2009
CRITICAL: Knightia and all other Green River fish are vertebrate material, not invertebrate, despite frequent mislabeling — casual collecting does not cover them on BLM land under any circumstance

Rules & regulations

How the rules work for fossil hunting

Federal fossil law in the US runs on a two-tier system, and the line between the tiers is the single most important thing a fossil collector needs to understand before going out.

Tier one — invertebrate and plant fossils (shells, echinoids, leaf impressions, coral, plant compressions): collectable on BLM and national forest land up to 25 lbs per day for personal use, no permit required. Tier two — vertebrate fossils (bone, teeth, tracks of any backboned animal — fish, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals): prohibited on all federal land without a scientific research permit, regardless of how small, fragmentary, or common the specimen looks.

The law is the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA, 2009). It applies to BLM, NPS, USFS, FWS, and BOR land. There is no casual exception for vertebrate material.

What you can collect and where

Fossil type	BLM land	National Forest	National Park	State land
Common invertebrates (shells, echinoids)	Yes — 25 lbs/day	Yes — 25 lbs/day typical	No	Varies by state
Plant fossils (leaf compressions)	Yes — 25 lbs/day	Yes — 25 lbs/day typical	No	Varies by state
Petrified wood	Yes — 25 lbs/day, 250 lbs/year	Check forest plan	No	Varies by state
Vertebrate fossils (any)	No — PRPA	No — PRPA	No	Varies; most states prohibit
Scientifically significant finds	Report — do not collect	Report — do not collect	Report — do not collect	Varies

Based on PRPA (16 U.S.C. §§ 470aaa et seq.) and 43 CFR Part 3600 as of 2026. State rules vary significantly — check individual location pages.

Vertebrate fossils: prohibited on all federal land — no size exception

The PRPA does not have a minimum size threshold. A 2-inch fish vertebra from a roadcut on BLM land is as prohibited as a complete dinosaur skeleton. The test is whether the material is from a vertebrate animal — not how large, complete, or scientifically significant it is.

If you find what appears to be vertebrate material: leave it where it is, record the GPS location, and report it to the local BLM field office or land manager. Voluntary reporting is the correct response. Removal without a permit is a federal violation.

How to identify the tier your find falls into

Likely collectable (invertebrates / plants): Shells, clam and oyster imprints, echinoid (sea urchin) tests, crinoid stems, brachiopods, coral, ammonites, leaf and stem compressions, plant material, and most marine invertebrate forms.

Not collectable on federal land (vertebrates): Any bone or bone fragment, teeth, vertebrae, skull material, scales from fish, claws, tracks made by vertebrate animals.

When in doubt: Leave it and report. The PRPA penalty for first-offense vertebrate fossil removal is up to $10,000 and 12 months imprisonment.

Common questions

Fossil Hunting — frequently asked questions

Getting started

Tips & Gear for Fossil Hunting

Getting Started

How to Start Fossil Hunting: A Beginner's Guide

Fossil hunting

The first skill in fossil hunting isn't finding something — it's correctly telling vertebrate material from invertebrate material once you have. That distinction, not a permit or a bag limit, is what actually determines whether you're allowed to pick something up.