Under Florida arrowhead laws, you can legally keep an arrowhead you find on private land if the landowner has given you permission, but any artifact on state-owned land belongs to the State of Florida and taking it is a crime. Federal land in Florida is governed by a separate federal statute with its own permit system and penalties. Everything else about collecting flows from those two facts and one important exception for human burials.
Collecting on Private Land
Private property is where nearly all lawful arrowhead collecting in Florida happens. The Florida Public Archaeology Network confirms that collecting artifacts from private property is allowed with the landowner’s permission.1Florida Department of State. Archaeology – Division of Historical Resources Artifacts found on private land belong to the landowner, and anyone the landowner authorizes can keep what they find. No state permit is required for surface collecting or metal detecting on private property, and there is no obligation to report ordinary finds to the state.
Two things can still get you in trouble. First, you need clear permission before you search. Entering land without it exposes you to trespassing charges, and taking artifacts is theft. Written permission is worth having if you plan to collect on the same property regularly. Second, the state’s authority over human burials does not stop at the property line. If you come across bone fragments, a burial mound, or anything that looks like a grave, the burial rules described below override everything else.
Why State Land Is Off-Limits
Every artifact on state-owned or state-controlled land belongs to the State of Florida, with title vested in the Division of Historical Resources.2Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 267.061 – State Policy That covers state parks, state forests, water management district land, sovereignty submerged lands (riverbeds and coastal bottoms), and any designated state archaeological landmark. There is no surface-find exception. An arrowhead resting on top of the dirt in a state park is state property, and picking it up is illegal.
Florida’s Chapter 267 defines protected resources broadly enough that arrowheads, pottery fragments, stone tools, and similar items all fall inside it.3Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 267 – Historical Resources The only lawful way to collect on state land is under an Archaeological Research Permit, which the Division issues to professional archaeologists who meet the Secretary of the Interior’s qualification standards.4Florida Department of State. Division of Historical Resources – Research Permits Hobbyists are not eligible.
Penalties on State Land: Picking Up vs. Digging
Florida punishes surface collection and excavation differently, and the gap between them is large.
Surface Collection Without Digging
Removing an artifact from state land without excavating — picking up a surface arrowhead, for example — is a first-degree misdemeanor.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 267.13 – Prohibited Practices and Penalties That carries up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The collector also forfeits every specimen and object taken, along with all related photographs and records.
Excavating on State Land
Digging to find or remove artifacts on state land without a permit is a third-degree felony.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 267.13 – Prohibited Practices and Penalties6Justia Law. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties and Applicability of Sentencing Structures7Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 775.083 – Fines Consequences go beyond the standard third-degree felony range. Everything you collected is forfeited, together with your photographs and records. Any vehicle or equipment used in the violation — boats, metal detectors, trucks — can be seized if a court finds it was involved. The court can also order restitution to the state covering the archaeological value of the disturbed site, the commercial value of what was taken, and the cost of physical restoration. Restitution numbers can climb well above the felony’s statutory fine.
Buying, Selling, and Trading Artifacts
Selling or trading artifacts is legal in Florida when the items were lawfully obtained from private land. Knowingly selling, buying, or exchanging an artifact that was illegally removed from state land is a third-degree felony carrying the same penalties as the excavation offense.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 267.13 – Prohibited Practices and Penalties The statute also reaches anyone who hires, solicits, or advises another person to violate the prohibitions. If you pick up an arrowhead at a flea market and know or should know it came from a state park, you carry the same felony exposure as the person who dug it.
Provenance is the practical safeguard. Documentation, a family collection with a known history, or a landowner’s written acknowledgment showing the item came from private property is what protects a purchaser. Anything with no clear origin story is a risk.
Human Burials: The Rule That Applies Everywhere
Florida’s unmarked burial protections apply to all land, public and private, including submerged lands. The Legislature declared that all human burials deserve equal treatment regardless of ethnic origin, cultural background, or religious affiliation.8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 872.05 – Unmarked Human Burials This is the one situation where collecting on private land with full permission can still become a criminal matter.
If you discover what appears to be an unmarked human burial, all activity that could disturb the site must stop immediately. You are required to notify the district medical examiner, and work cannot resume until either the medical examiner or the State Archaeologist authorizes it.8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 872.05 – Unmarked Human Burials Willfully and knowingly disturbing an unmarked burial is a third-degree felony. Knowing about a disturbance and failing to report it is a second-degree misdemeanor.
A separate statute covers marked graves, tombs, and burial mounds. Disturbing the contents of a grave or tomb is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.9Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 872 – Offenses Concerning Dead Bodies and Graves6Justia Law. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties and Applicability of Sentencing Structures Finding human bone fragments or burial artifacts is the point where you stop, step back, and make a phone call.
Federal Land in Florida
Florida contains roughly 1.2 million acres of national forest across the Apalachicola, Ocala, and Osceola National Forests, plus national parks, wildlife refuges, and military installations. Artifact collecting on any of it falls under the federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act rather than Florida’s Chapter 267.
ARPA prohibits excavating, removing, or damaging any archaeological resource on public or Indian lands without a federal permit.10GovInfo. 16 USC 470ee – Prohibited Acts and Criminal Penalties It defines archaeological resources as material remains of past human life that are at least 100 years old, which covers most Florida arrowheads.11National Park Service. NPS Archeology Guide – Permits for Archeological Investigation Federal permits, like Florida’s, go to qualified professional archaeologists.
Penalties scale with the damage. A first offense involving resources and restoration costs worth more than $500 can bring a $20,000 fine and two years in prison. A second or subsequent violation can bring up to $100,000 in fines and five years in prison.10GovInfo. 16 USC 470ee – Prohibited Acts and Criminal Penalties
ARPA reaches trafficking too. You cannot sell, buy, or transport any archaeological resource removed from public or Indian lands in violation of federal law. A separate provision covers interstate commerce: transporting or selling artifacts across state lines that were taken in violation of any state or local law is a federal offense, even when the original collection happened on private property under a local ordinance.10GovInfo. 16 USC 470ee – Prohibited Acts and Criminal Penalties
Taxes on Valuable Finds
The IRS treats found property as taxable income. Under the treasure trove regulation, found items become gross income in the year you take undisputed possession of them, valued at fair market value.12GovInfo. 26 CFR 1.61-14 – Miscellaneous Items of Gross Income A common projectile point worth a few dollars is unlikely to draw any attention. A rare or historically significant find is a different matter and gets reported as “Other income” on Form 1040. Donating a find to a museum can support a charitable deduction for the fair market value, but only after the income has been reported first.
How to Stay on the Right Side of the Law
The rules become simple once you separate them by where you’re standing:
- Collect on private land only, with the owner’s clear permission. Written is better than verbal for a regular arrangement.
- Treat state parks, state forests, water management district land, sovereignty submerged lands, and any federal land as off-limits. Surface finds are still state or federal property.
- Stop the moment anything looks like human remains or a burial site, and call the district medical examiner. This rule applies on your own land, a friend’s land, and everywhere else.
- When buying artifacts, ask about provenance. Items with a documented private-land history are safe; items with no story are a risk that can reach felony territory.
- Do not rely on “it was just sitting there” as a defense. On state land, surface collection is a first-degree misdemeanor whether or not a shovel was involved.