Cheat sheet · PDF
Utah Fossil & Petrified Wood Collecting Rules
In Utah, whether you can keep a fossil depends on two things: what kind of fossil it is, and who manages the land it’s lying on. On BLM land you can take up to 25 pounds a day of common invertebrate and plant fossils, and petrified wood has its own limit: 25 pounds plus one piece a day, 250 pounds a year. National forests cap fossils at 100 pounds a year. Bones, teeth and tracks are off-limits on federal and state land without a research permit. This 4-page printable cheat sheet puts the rules for every Utah land type on one color-coded chart, with the regulation behind each number.
Price: $4.99 · 4-page PDF, US Letter · instant download
Buy the Fossil Rules sheet - $4.99
What's inside
- Page 1: a color-coded verdict chart for 9 land types (BLM, BLM monuments and conservation areas, state trust lands, national forests, Utah State Parks, national parks and wildlife refuges, tribal land, private land and pay-to-dig quarries), covering invertebrate and plant fossils, petrified wood, and vertebrate fossils and tracks, plus the no-selling rules and the "strictest rule wins" stacking rule
- Page 2: invertebrate vs. plant vs. petrified wood vs. vertebrate fossils, and what each means legally; BLM rules from 43 CFR 49 and 43 CFR 3622: daily and yearly limits, no pooling, the 250-pound museum exception, tools and selling; where BLM casual collecting stops, and a mining-claim (MLRS) check
- Page 3: Forest Service rules (36 CFR 291, and petrified wood free use), when you need a Trust Lands permit ($25, bought separately from the state, not included) and Utah paleontology law (Utah Code 79-3), state parks, national parks and refuges, tribal and private land, pay-to-dig quarries, the July 2026 monument boundary changes, and who to call
- Page 4: a before-you-pick-it-up checklist, what to do if you find a bone, tooth or track, two real Utah stories, penalties, and 23 numbered sources, each with its link and the date it was checked
Every fact is cited to its source in the PDF. Where a public source didn’t confirm something (whether the Trust Lands permit covers petrified wood, the fossil rules on land cut from the monuments in 2026, who owns a fee quarry’s ground), the sheet says so and tells you who to ask.
What it isn't
Not a where-to-find guide. There are no fossil-site directions or GPS pins, and no promise that any spot is open. It’s the rules, by land type, with their sources.
Good for
Fossil and trilobite hunters, families with a young paleontologist, rockhound club trips, teachers, and anyone who has spotted petrified wood on a hike and wondered whether they could keep it.
Buy the Fossil Rules sheet - $4.99
Not legal advice. Facts come from public BLM, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Utah Geological Survey, Utah Trust Lands and Utah State Parks sources, the Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), the Utah Code and the Federal Register, checked October 19, 2026, and the 2026 Utah Land-Status Field Guide. Rules, closures, monument boundaries, mining claims and permit terms change; verify with the managing office (BLM field office, ranger district, Trust Lands or the park) before you collect. Independent; not affiliated with any agency or business.
Free reading first: Utah fossils on BLM land, petrified wood on Utah BLM land and the House Range trilobites. The whole state: the Utah Field Guide. For the kids: the Rockhound Kids Coloring Pack.