North Carolina

North Carolina has no statewide fossil-permit statute for private land: fossils belong to the landowner, and permission is the rule. The Miocene–Pliocene phosphate mine at Aurora (the Lee Creek / Nutrien mine) is closed to walk-in collecting; the Aurora Fossil Museum receives spoil from the mine and lets visitors pick through its outdoor piles free of charge, and finds are yours.

Green Mill Run in Greenville is the best-known public creek: the Cretaceous and Eocene teeth and bones in its gravels are collected by hand and screen with the city's tolerance; stay in the stream, do not dig the banks, and respect posted private stretches. Other creeks (Fishing Creek, the Tar River bars) are mostly private above the bed.

State parks, state forests and state game lands prohibit removal of fossils, rocks and minerals under the Division of Parks and Recreation rules; Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras are national seashores and closed. The North Carolina Geological Survey and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences identify finds and accept significant donations.

Verify locally: whether Greenville has adopted a written rule for Green Mill Run since the last check; clubs (North Carolina Fossil Club) post current access notes.