Quick Answer: New Hampshire’s RSA 227-C:12 is the most explicit permitted-locations statute in this series — it names beaches, athletic fields, school grounds, cemetery perimeters, unpaved roads, and picnic-table areas directly, with no general permit required. State historic sites, natural areas listed under Res 101.06, and Odiorne Point State Park are excluded by name. Digging on sand beaches is capped at 12 inches deep and every hole must be refilled before leaving — a rule a 2024 legislative attempt to ban school-ground detecting tried, and failed, to make stricter.
Verified September 20, 2026: Confirmed RSA 227-C:12’s permitted-locations list and the Res 101.06 historic-site exclusion across multiple independent detecting-law summaries and forum citations of the statute text, and verified Senate Bill 474’s full legislative history — introduction, Senate passage, and its “Inexpedient to Legislate” death on May 2, 2024 — via Citizens Count’s legislative summary and LegiScan’s bill-tracking record.
New Hampshire is the 28th entry in this state-by-state series — Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New York, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, Alabama, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Minnesota, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland. It’s the first state in the series where the permitted list is spelled out by name in the statute itself — most states this series has covered define access through park-by-park permits or agency policy, not a single line of code naming school grounds and athletic fields directly.
RSA 227-C:12: a statute that names its locations
Most states in this series hand detecting access to individual park managers, permit offices, or agency-by-agency policy. New Hampshire does it differently: RSA 227-C:12 lists the permitted locations directly in the statute text — beaches, athletic fields, school grounds, the perimeters of cemeteries (not the cemeteries themselves), unpaved roads, and within 25 feet of picnic tables and park pavilions. No separate application, no per-park sign-off, for any of those categories.
The statute excludes state historic sites and natural areas named under Administrative Rule Res 101.06, plus Odiorne Point State Park by name — a coastal park with recognized archaeological and Native American significance. Digging is allowed on sand beaches specifically, capped at 12 inches deep, with every hole required to be completely filled in before leaving the site.
| Location | Detecting allowed? | Governing rule |
|---|---|---|
| Beach shorelines | Yes, no permit | RSA 227-C:12, named location |
| Athletic fields & school grounds | Yes, no permit | RSA 227-C:12, named location |
| Cemetery perimeters | Yes, perimeter only | RSA 227-C:12, named location |
| Within 25 ft of picnic tables/pavilions | Yes, no permit | RSA 227-C:12, named location |
| Res 101.06 historic sites & natural areas | No | Statutory exclusion |
| Odiorne Point State Park | No | Named exclusion |
| Private land | Yes | Landowner permission only |
The bill that tried to change it
In 2024, state senator Carrie Gendreau introduced Senate Bill 474, which would have struck “athletic fields” and “school grounds” from RSA 227-C:12’s permitted list entirely. The stated reason wasn’t abstract — testimony described detectorists in Colebrook leaving holes unfilled on a field, and student athletes getting hurt in them. That’s precisely the hazard New Hampshire’s own 12-inch depth cap and mandatory-refill rule already exist to prevent.
Fisher F75
- 13 kHz single-frequency VLF with Digital Shielding Technology, tuned to suppress interference on the iron-heavy, EMI-noisy ground typical of athletic fields and school properties — exactly the locations RSA 227-C:12 names by statute.
- Honest limitation: the control box isn't submersible, only the 11-inch DD coil is waterproof, so it handles New Hampshire's sand-beach shoreline work fine but isn't built for wading past ankle depth — see the full Fisher F75 review for how that compares to the fully submersible machines used elsewhere in this series.
- 2.9 lb build with trigger-actuated FASTGRAB ground balance, useful for the kind of quick re-tuning park and turf hunting demands.
Want some background reading before your next trip out? Try Kindle Unlimited free and brush up on New Hampshire’s colonial and Revolutionary War history first.
SB 474 passed the Senate but received an “Inexpedient to Legislate” vote and died on May 2, 2024, without a House hearing. RSA 227-C:12 still names both school grounds and athletic fields as permitted locations today. But the incident behind the bill is a real one, and it’s the clearest argument this series has found yet for why the standard 12-inch depth cap and mandatory hole-refill rule aren’t bureaucratic formalities — they’re what keeps a genuinely permissive law from getting narrower.
Getting started
The most reliable starting point statewide is any location RSA 227-C:12 names directly — beach shorelines, athletic fields outside active use, or the 25-foot radius around picnic areas — none of which need a separate permit. Skip Odiorne Point State Park and any site posted under Res 101.06 without one. Fill every hole completely and keep it under 12 inches deep, both because it’s the law and because it’s the exact behavior SB 474’s sponsor cited as the reason to restrict access in the first place. Private land with the owner’s permission remains open statewide, as in every state in this series. Check our beginner buying guide before your first outing.
The bottom line
New Hampshire’s RSA 227-C:12 is the most explicitly permissive statute this series has found — beaches, athletic fields, school grounds, cemetery perimeters, unpaved roads, and picnic areas are all named directly, with no permit required. Res 101.06 historic sites and Odiorne Point State Park are the named exceptions. A 2024 bill to strip two of those permitted categories after a real safety incident failed, but the 12-inch depth cap and hole-refill requirement are the reason that permissive law is worth protecting by following it carefully. See the complete field in our overall pillar rankings or the metal detecting legality guide for how other states compare.
Sources: RSA 227-C:12 — Treasure Trove, Buried Treasure and Miscellaneous Rights (New Hampshire General Court), Metal Detecting in State Parks: All 50 States Compared (America’s State Parks), Should NH remove the right to treasure hunt with a metal detector on school grounds? (Citizens Count), SB474 (2024) Bill Text and History (LegiScan).