Permits & rules

Fossils on Utah BLM

Last checked October 2026.

Tall layered Cambrian limestone cliffs on the west side of Utah's House Range — Cambrian rock on the west side of the House Range near Marjum Pass. Trilobite country. Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

BLM casual use can include common invertebrate fossils and petrified wood in reasonable amounts, on ordinary BLM, with hand tools, for personal use. Trilobites in the House Range are the example people mean.

Vertebrate fossils — bones, teeth, dinosaur material — are not a hobby rock. The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act is a different statute. Leave them, note the location, and tell the field office if you want the site recorded. Artifacts are a third statute. Points and sherds stay.

Common invertebrate fossils: what people mean

A black Elrathia kingii trilobite fossil on tan Wheeler Shale with a yellow scale bar — Elrathia kingii in Wheeler Shale, with a 5 mm scale bar. Photo: Wilson44691, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A tiny two-lobed agnostid trilobite, Ptychagnostus gibbus, in gray shale — Ptychagnostus gibbus, a 5 mm agnostid trilobite from the Wheeler shale, House Range. Look for these tiny ones too. Photo: Dwergenpaartje, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Informational only — not legal advice. Confirm with the managing agency before you dig or hunt.

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