Lake County, FL Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Scope
- Applies countywide, not just historic districts
- Consent
- Written owner permission required to remove artifacts
- Criminal penalty
- Up to $500 fine, up to 60 days jail
- Enforcement
- Sheriff and code enforcement special master both act
- Occurrence rule
- Each incident is a separate violation
- Citation
- Lake County Code § 14-6
Summary
Lake County makes it a crime to dig up, remove, deface or destroy any object of historical, cultural or archaeological value, such as artifacts, arrowheads, pottery or ruins, found on land the digger doesn't own, without the landowner's written permission. Violators face sheriff's office prosecution as well as code enforcement action.
It is a violation of this section for any person to excavate, appropriate, injure, disturb, probe, remove or attempt to remove, deface, damage, loot, destroy, or otherwise alter any object of historical, cultural or archaeological value located on, under or upon any land within Lake County owned or controlled by another person without the express written permission of the owner or their designee.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 150).
Full Breakdown
Lake County Code § 14-6, adopted by Ordinance No. 2011-37 on July 19, 2011, protects "objects of historical, cultural or archaeological value" anywhere in the county, defined broadly to include artifacts, specimens, relics, physical remains, ruins, coins, arrowheads, inscriptions, shards, pottery, basketry, bottles, weapons, weapon projectiles, tools, and structures or portions of them. " The prohibited-activity clause bars any person from excavating, appropriating, injuring, disturbing, probing, removing or attempting to remove, defacing, damaging, looting, destroying, or otherwise altering such an object located on land within Lake County that is owned or controlled by someone else, unless that owner or their designee has given express written permission first.
The rule is not limited to designated archaeological sites; it covers any qualifying object anywhere in the county, from a farm field to a lakeshore. Because it turns on ownership and consent rather than a permit application, a landowner may dig, collect or study artifacts on their own property freely, and anyone else may do the same with written sign-off from that owner. The Lake County Sheriff's Office and its deputies are the primary criminal enforcement arm, while the Lake County Code Enforcement Special Master holds concurrent civil jurisdiction to pursue the same violation.
Violations & Fines
A violation is prosecuted as a state misdemeanor under F.S. § 125.69, punishable by up to a $500 fine, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both. Any violation causing damage, injury or annoyance to public health, safety or welfare is also declared a public nuisance, abatable by court injunction, with each separate occurrence counted as its own offense. These penalties don't replace other remedies, including criminal or civil theft charges and civil restitution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a protected historical object in Lake County?
Can I dig for artifacts on my own land in Lake County?
What are the penalties for removing artifacts from someone else's land?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lake County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Lake County to another location·View the Florida historic preservation overview
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