Texas: artifacts

Private land: The Antiquities Code applies to private land only where a site has been designated a landmark with the landowner's recorded written consent; otherwise collecting on private land is governed by landowner permission. Defacing aboriginal rock art anywhere, or removing artifacts from another's property without authorization, is prohibited. (Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 191.094, 191.132.) The landowner's permission is the baseline everywhere; Texas's statute says how it must be given.

State land — Permit required: Sites, objects and artifacts of archaeological interest on land belonging to the state or any county, city or political subdivision are state archeological landmarks; no operation may be conducted on a landmark without a permit from the Texas Historical Commission (Antiquities Advisory Board). Violations are misdemeanors ($50 to $1,000 and up to 30 days, each day a separate offense). (Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 191.051, 191.092, 191.131, 191.171.) ARPA §470ee(c) makes the interstate sale of anything taken against state law a federal offence, so a dealer in another state is bound by this rule too.

Navigable waters and submerged lands — State property: Pre-twentieth-century shipwrecks and treasure imbedded in the earth on state land, including tidelands, submerged land and the beds of rivers and the sea within state jurisdiction, are declared state archeological landmarks and state property; ordinary artifacts on state-owned riverbeds fall under the general public-land landmark rule. (Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§ 191.091, 191.092.)

Burials: Disinterring, disturbing, damaging or carrying away a human corpse or remains without legal authority is abuse of corpse, a state jail felony (vandalizing a burial space is a Class A misdemeanor); removal of remains from unmarked or abandoned graves is channeled through the medical examiner or justice of the peace under the Health and Safety Code. (Tex. Penal Code § 42.08; Tex. Health & Safety Code § 711.004.) Funerary objects are also NAGPRA cultural items under federal law and cannot be sold at all.

Sale: No statute found that restricts sale of artifacts as such; landmark material recovered under permit belongs to the state.

This article is generated from Stratum's state table as of 2026-09-20, from the statute pages listed below. It states the rule as written; it is not legal advice. Verify locally before relying on a permit route, and treat any penalty figure as a spot-check item.