Buying Real Dinosaur Fossils: What Is Legal and How to Spot Fakes

You can legally own a real dinosaur fossil in the US if it was collected legally: from private land with the owner’s permission, or from a country that allows export. Dinosaur fossils from US federal land need a research permit and stay public property. No listing can be verified from a photo, so ask sellers about locality, export and repairs.

Is it legal to own a dinosaur fossil in the US?

It depends on where the fossil came from, not on the fossil itself. The rules differ for private, federal and foreign land.

Federal land and the 2009 law

The Paleontological Resources Preservation Act became law on March 30, 2009, as part of Public Law 111-11. It covers federal land run by the Department of the Interior and National Forest System land. Collecting there needs a permit, except casual collecting. Fossils collected under permit remain the property of the United States and go to an approved repository.

The act also makes it illegal to sell, buy, exchange, transport or export a fossil you knew or should have known was taken from federal land in violation of the law. Penalties reach 5 years in prison, or 2 years when the fossil’s value is $500 or less.

The BLM spells out what that means on the ground. Anyone may collect a reasonable amount of common invertebrate fossils, such as mollusks and trilobites, plant fossils and petrified wood, for personal use. The limit is 25 pounds per person per day. Those finds may not be bartered or sold. Digging, removing or casting vertebrate fossils such as dinosaurs without a research permit is illegal.

National parks are stricter. The Park Service says collecting fossils for recreational, commercial or educational use is prohibited in all national parks, and scientific collecting needs a park-approved permit.

Private land

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology puts it plainly: vertebrate fossils found on private land belong to the landowner, so collectors need permission. The same source says vertebrate fossils on federal, state or tribal land cannot be collected without special permission. So a US dinosaur fossil offered for sale should trace back to private land, and the locality and the landowner’s permission belong in the paperwork.

What about fossils from Mongolia, Morocco and other countries?

Every source country sets its own rules. Mongolian law has long declared dinosaur fossils found in Mongolia to be government property, and exporting them without authorization breaks that law, according to a 2015 ICE release.

Since 2012, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have secured the return to Mongolia of three full skeletons of Tyrannosaurus bataar (also called Tarbosaurus), six Oviraptor skeletons, four Gallimimus skeletons and other fossils, the same release says. The release warns that people involved in trafficking cultural property can face prison terms of up to 20 years.

Spinosaurus teeth show why the source country matters. The Natural History Museum in London lists Spinosaurus remains from Egypt and Morocco, from 99 to 94 million years ago. Ask any seller how a specimen left its source country, and walk away if the answer is vague.

How can you tell if a dinosaur fossil is fake?

Fakes range from fully cast resin to real fragments glued into a more complete-looking “composite.” Repairs and fills are not fraud in themselves, but the seller should disclose them. A 2015 article in Deposits magazine by Joan Corbacho and Consuelo Sendino describes the signs specialists look for:

1. Air bubbles. A 10x to 30x lens can show the tiny holes left by bubbles in resin casts.
2. Ultraviolet light. Genuine and faked matrix reflect UV differently, so fills and glued joins can stand out.
3. Weight. Density differences can give away composite pieces.
4. Scans. X-rays and CT scans separate original material from reconstructed sections.

The same article names Morocco as a major source of fakes, including trilobites mounted in resin and shark teeth set in plaster “gums.” Some tests described there damage the specimen, so leave those to a museum or a geologist.

What should you ask a seller before buying?

• What is it, exactly? Genus if known, which bone or tooth, and the rock formation.
• Where was it found? Country and locality. For US material, whether it came from private land with permission.
• How was it exported? For foreign fossils, what paperwork covered export from the source country.
• What has been done to it? Repairs, fills, reattached pieces or a composite of several finds.
• What if it is wrong? A clear return policy if an expert later finds it is a cast or a composite.

Is a megalodon tooth a dinosaur fossil?

No. Megalodon was a shark, and the Florida Museum says it lived from about 20 million to about 3 million years ago, dying out about 2.6 million years ago. Dinosaurs disappeared about 66 million years ago, some 63 million years before that. Shark skeletons are mostly cartilage, which rarely fossilizes, so megalodon is known mainly from teeth and vertebrae. They make fine gifts for a shark fan, just not a dinosaur fan.

Trilobites are older still: sea animals, not dinosaurs. The BLM counts them among the common invertebrates the public may casually collect on its land.

Are real fossils good gifts for grown-ups and kids?

A genuine tooth or bone fragment is a strong present for an adult collector or a dinosaur-loving parent, and it pairs well with a display stand. Our dinosaur gifts for adults page adds specimen sets and decor.

For children, a real fossil suits an older kid who has moved past toys. Younger fans often start with dinosaur dig kits, and the gifts for kids 6 to 12 guide pairs kits with LEGO and figures. Keep small teeth away from toddlers: CPSC bans small parts in products meant for children under 3.

For every other kind of present, see dinosaur gifts by age and interest.