Metal Detecting Laws in the UK: Permission, Treasure and Where You Can't Go

Metal detecting is legal in the UK, and it’s one of the few countries where hobby detectorists and archaeologists broadly work together. But there are rules, and some of them carry fines or even prosecution. This guide covers what you need to know before you switch on, with the key differences between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

You always need permission

There’s no such thing as public land for detecting in the UK. Every field, beach, park and wood belongs to someone: a farmer, a council, the Crown Estate, the National Trust or a private owner. Detecting without the owner’s permission is trespass, and taking finds away without permission can be treated as theft.

In practice that means:

• Farmland and private land: you need the landowner’s permission, ideally in writing. It’s also sensible to agree in writing what happens to finds, a “finds agreement”. See our guide to getting permission.
• Beaches: around half the foreshore in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is managed by the Crown Estate, which allows detecting on its foreshore without a permit, subject to its terms. Other beaches belong to councils or private owners with their own rules. The Thames foreshore needs a permit from the Port of London Authority.
• Parks and council land: many councils ban detecting in parks through local byelaws, or require a permit. Check with the council first.
• National Trust land, including its beaches, is off limits except as part of an approved archaeological project.

Places you must never detect

Scheduled monuments. It is a criminal offence to use a metal detector on a scheduled monument, or to remove anything found with one, without consent from Historic England (England), Cadw (Wales) or Historic Environment Scotland. Scheduled monuments include many hillforts, barrows, Roman sites and deserted medieval villages, and they aren’t always obvious on the ground. Check the official heritage list for the area before you detect, even with the landowner’s permission. The landowner can’t give you permission to break this law.

Other protected land. Countryside Stewardship and similar farm agreements can rule out detecting on known archaeological sites without Natural England’s permission, and Forestry England land needs express permission.

What counts as treasure?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, “treasure” has a precise legal meaning under the Treasure Act 1996. Broadly, it covers:

• Any object at least 300 years old (other than a coin) that is at least 10% gold or silver by weight.
• Coins at least 300 years old found together: two or more if they’re at least 10% gold or silver, or ten or more of any metal.
• Prehistoric base-metal objects found together as a group.
• Anything found with treasure, such as the pot a hoard was buried in.
• Since 30 July 2023, any object at least 200 years old that is partly made of metal and gives “an exceptional insight” into national or regional history, archaeology or culture, because of its rarity, where it was found, or its link to a particular person or event.

That last category is new and deliberately broad. It means an unusual copper-alloy object can now be treasure even though it contains no gold or silver.

You must report treasure within 14 days

If you find something you believe may be treasure, you must report it within 14 days of finding it, or within 14 days of realising it might be treasure. In England and Wales you report it to your local Finds Liaison Officer (FLO), part of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Failing to report treasure is a criminal offence.

What happens next is covered in our guide to what to do if you find treasure. In short, a coroner decides whether it’s treasure. If a museum wants it, it’s independently valued and a reward is paid, usually split equally between the finder and the landowner.

Finds that aren’t treasure don’t have to be reported in England and Wales, but the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting asks detectorists to record them with their FLO. Most do, and it’s what makes UK detecting respected by archaeologists.

Scotland: different rules

Scotland doesn’t use the Treasure Act. Under Scots law, the Crown can claim any archaeological find, and all finds must be reported to the Treasure Trove Unit, apart from Victorian and 20th-century coins and obviously modern items. Finders are asked to record exactly where each find came from, bag finds individually, and send photos and a report form to the unit. Landowners have no ownership rights to portable antiquities in Scotland.

Northern Ireland: a licence to dig

Northern Ireland’s rules are the strictest in the UK. You need a licence from the Department for Communities to search for archaeological objects anywhere if it involves disturbing the ground, and it’s an offence to remove archaeological objects found with a detector at a protected site without written consent. Archaeological finds must be reported within 14 days. The penalties include fines of up to £1,000. Read the Department’s guidance before you detect there.

The Code of Practice

The Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales (2017) isn’t law, but it’s endorsed by archaeological, landowner and detecting organisations, and following it is what “responsible detecting” means. Its main points:

• Get permission and agree what happens to finds.
• Check whether the land is a scheduled monument or protected.
• Record where finds come from, ideally with a GPS position.
• Fill in your holes and leave the land as you found it.
• Report all finds to your FLO, not just treasure.
• Don’t detect on land that’s being studied archaeologically unless the archaeologists agree.

Frequently asked questions

Is metal detecting legal in the UK? Yes, with the landowner’s permission and away from scheduled monuments and other protected sites.

Do I need a licence to metal detect? Not in England, Wales or Scotland. You need permission from the landowner, not a licence. Northern Ireland is different: a licence is needed to search for archaeological objects if you disturb the ground.

Can I keep what I find? Finds that aren’t treasure belong to the landowner in England and Wales unless you’ve agreed otherwise, which is why a finds agreement matters. Treasure belongs to the Crown until the process is complete. In Scotland any archaeological find can be claimed.

Can I detect on the beach without permission? On Crown Estate foreshore, yes, subject to its terms. Other beaches depend on the owner, so check first.

Related guides

• How to Get Permission to Metal Detect on Private Land
• Where Can You Metal Detect in the UK?
• What to Do If You Find Treasure
• The Best Metal Detectors for Beginners in the UK