Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§470aaa–5 Prohibited Acts; Criminal Penalties

Title 16 › CHAPTER 1C — PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION › § 470aaa–5

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Do not dig up, remove, damage, change, or try to do any of those things to fossils on federal land unless you follow the rules in this chapter. Do not trade, move, export, receive, offer, buy, or sell a fossil if you knew, or should have known, it was taken from federal land in violation of law. Do not make or submit false papers, labels, or identifications for fossils taken from federal land. If you knowingly break these rules or hire or encourage someone else to do it, you can be fined under Title 18, jailed for up to 5 years, or both. If the total value and repair cost of the fossils is $500 or less, jail time is up to 2 years instead. A repeat offense can double the penalty. People who lawfully owned a fossil before March 30, 2009, are not covered by the digging/removal rule.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §470aaa–5

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

A person may not—

(1)excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological resources located on Federal land unless such activity is conducted in accordance with this chapter;

(2)exchange, transport, export, receive, or offer to exchange, transport, export, or receive any paleontological resource if the person knew or should have known such resource to have been excavated or removed from Federal land in violation of any provisions, rule, regulation, law, ordinance, or permit in effect under Federal law, including this chapter; or

(3)sell or purchase or offer to sell or purchase any paleontological resource if the person knew or should have known such resource to have been excavated, removed, sold, purchased, exchanged, transported, or received from Federal land.

(b)False labeling offenses

A person may not make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any paleontological resource excavated or removed from Federal land.

(c)Penalties

A person who knowingly violates or counsels, procures, solicits, or employs another person to violate subsection (a) or (b) shall, upon conviction, be fined in accordance with title 18 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both; but if the sum of the commercial and paleontological value of the paleontological resources involved and the cost of restoration and repair of such resources does not exceed $500, such person shall be fined in accordance with title 18 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

(d)Multiple offenses

In the case of a second or subsequent violation by the same person, the amount of the penalty assessed under subsection (c) may be doubled.

(e)General exception

Nothing in subsection (a) shall apply to any person with respect to any paleontological resource which was in the lawful possession of such person prior to March 30, 2009.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 470aaa–5

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110