Laws & Policies

Federal Laws
Laws are created by Congress and establish the highest order of legal authority over national parks.

• Many laws, including the 1916 Organic Act that created the National Park Service, affect all areas managed by the National Park Service.

NPS Policies
Service-wide policy for the National Park Service is developed by the Office of Policy with public input and in accordance with applicable laws. Policies dictate many of the overall directions and procedures used by all parks. More...

Park Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations 36 CFR parts 1-199 and the Park Compendium (PDF) provide a complete listing of park rules and regulations. These most specific rules are developed with public input to implement applicable law.

Assimilated Laws
As Fort Raleigh National Historic Site manages under concurrent jurisdiction, State of North Carolina statues are assimilated.

Firearms Regulations: As of February 22, 2010, a new federal law allows people who can legally possess firearms under applicable federal, state, and local laws to legally possess firearms in this park.

It is the responsibility of visitors to understand and comply with all applicable state, local, and federal firearms laws before entering this park. As a starting point about state and local firearms laws please go to the following web site and select the state that you are interested in from the list on the right side of the page: http://www.atf.gov/publications/firearms/state-laws/29th-edition/index.html.

Click here to review the State of North Carolina Reciprocity Agreement.

The information posted on this National Park Service Web site includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. The National Park Service provides these links and pointers solely for your information and convenience. When you select a link to an outside Web site, you are subject to the privacy, copyright, security, and information quality policies of that Web site. The National Park Service:

1. DOES NOT control or guarantee the accuracy, legality, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on a linked Web site;

2. DOES NOT endorse linked Web sites, the views they express, or the products/services they offer;

3. CANNOT authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites;

4. IS NOT responsible for transmissions users receive from linked Web sites;

5. DOES NOT guarantee that outside Web sites comply with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.