Can I keep or sell a meteorite I find?
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It depends on whose land it fell on. On private land a meteorite belongs to the owner of the surface, so with the owner's permission you can keep or sell it [2]. On Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, a 2012 BLM memorandum allowed casual collection of up to ten pounds per person per year for personal use only, with no sale or barter; selling required a commercial permit [1]. That memorandum carries an expiration date of September 30, 2013, and BLM has published no replacement as of October 2026. On national forests and in national parks you may not collect meteorites at all [3][4]. This page sets out each case and how to get a reliable answer.
What BLM's 2012 memorandum said
BLM Instruction Memorandum (IM) 2012-182, Collection of Meteorites on Public Land, is dated September 10, 2012 [1]. It set out three routes, and the limits on each.
| Route | Who | Terms in IM 2012-182 | Can the meteorite be sold? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casual collection | Anyone, no permit, no fee | Surface collection only; "a maximum of ten pounds of meteorites per individual, per year"; "non-motorized and non-mechanical equipment," with metal detectors allowed; closed on developed recreation sites and certain National Landscape Conservation System units | No. "For personal use only"; may not be bartered or sold for commercial purposes [1] |
| Scientific or educational collection | Qualified researchers | An Antiquities Act permit from a BLM State Office under 43 CFR 3; specimens "must be curated in an approved repository" meeting 36 CFR 79; specimens remain BLM property [1][2] | No |
| Commercial collection | Anyone who obtains the permit | A land use permit under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), 43 CFR 2920, filed with the local field office; fees include an application fee, a purchase price set by a unit price or a percentage of fair market value, and a reclamation fee where needed [1][2] | Yes, under the permit's terms |
The attachment to the memorandum, a four-page FAQ, adds three points worth knowing. Casual collection is limited to what can be carried by hand from open surface areas [2]. Meteorites "do not meet the definition of a mineral resource," so you cannot stake a mining claim on a meteorite strewn field [2]. And the policy "only applies to public lands administered by the BLM" [2].
The expiry line, and what to do about it
The memorandum's own page lists "Expires: 09/30/2013" and does not say whether the policy was extended, replaced or made permanent [1]. Individual field offices may answer differently. As of October 2026, BLM has published no replacement meteorite policy, so the 2012 terms are the best published statement of how BLM has treated meteorites, and nothing more certain than that.
Before you hunt meteorites on BLM land, get the field office's answer in writing:
- Identify the BLM field office for the area (the who manages the ground page explains how).
- Email the office. Name the area by township, range and section or by coordinates, and ask three things: is casual meteorite collection allowed there, what amount and tools are allowed, and under what authority.
- Ask whether IM 2012-182 still applies, and if not, what does.
- Keep the reply with your field notes. If you find something, it is your record that you collected under the office's stated terms.
If you hope to sell what you find, ask about a FLPMA land use permit before you go. Material taken under the casual allowance is for personal use only [1], so the permit question has to be settled first.
Other federal land
| Land manager | Meteorite collecting | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Service | Not allowed. Meteorites "are not available for collecting and are subject to the Antiquities Act" | FS-1091, June 2017 [3] |
| National Park Service | Not allowed. Park regulations prohibit possessing, removing or disturbing "A mineral resource or cave formation or the parts thereof," and BLM's FAQ lists park land as closed to casual collection | 36 CFR 2.1(a)(1)(iv) [4]; BLM FAQ [2] |
| Bureau of Reclamation | Casual collection not allowed | BLM FAQ [2] |
| Fish and Wildlife Service | Casual collection not allowed | BLM FAQ [2] |
| Other agencies, scientific collection | Ask the managing agency | BLM FAQ [2] |
The details of what national parks allow and forbid are on national parks and national monuments.
Private and state land
BLM's FAQ states that "meteorites belong to the owner of the surface estate on which meteorites are found" [2]. On private land, that makes the landowner the owner of any meteorite you find there. Search only with the owner's permission, in writing, and if you might sell, the letter should say so. The points a permission letter should cover are on collecting on private land.
State land follows state law, and state trust land and state parks often forbid removing any natural material. The rules for each state, with sources and dates, are on collecting on state land in all fifty states.
Buying, selling and the scientific record
A meteorite you may lawfully sell is one from private land with the owner's consent, one collected under a commercial permit on BLM land, or one you bought from someone who held one of those. The record to keep is the same as for any stock: where it was found, when, by whom, on whose land, under what permission, and the chain of sales since. How to build that record is on what makes stock lawful, and the list of public-land material that may never be sold is on selling material collected on public land.
Science adds its own expectation. The Meteoritical Society, which approves meteorite names, says collectors, curators and researchers "should not acquire or study meteorites if they know that these samples were recovered or acquired illegally," and urges finders to obtain "an 'official' name from the Nomenclature Committee" [5]. A name ties the stone to its find location and its classification, and getting one requires depositing a type specimen in a recognized collection [5]. The process, costs and what classification means are on is it a meteorite?.
Checking what you found
Most rocks people suspect are meteorites turn out to be slag, magnetite or hematite. Before you think about permits or buyers, run the simple checks and, if the stone passes, get it classified: is it a meteorite? walks through both.
References
- Bureau of Land Management, Instruction Memorandum 2012-182, Collection of Meteorites on Public Land, September 10, 2012 (page lists "Expires: 09/30/2013"), read October 22, 2026. https://www.blm.gov/policy/im-2012-182
- Bureau of Land Management, Attachment 1 to IM 2012-182, FAQ on Meteorites on Public Lands, 2012. https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/IM2012-182_att1.pdf
- USDA Forest Service, Rockhounding Guide, FS-1091, June 2017. https://www.fs.usda.gov/media/229394
- Legal Information Institute, 36 CFR 2.1, Preservation of natural, cultural and archeological resources, current text read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/36/2.1
- The Meteoritical Society, Position Statement: Collection, Trade, and Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials, undated, read October 22, 2026. https://meteoritical.org/society/governance/position-statements
