• Always ask for permission to the owner of the ground or quarry.
• Follow the local rules and laws. In some countries fossil collection is prohibited alltogether. Respect protected area's!
• Stay away from machines and equipment that may be present in quarries.
• Keep it safe! Wear a helmet in quarries. Don't go near cliffs and edges, because they sometimes collapse without warning. Use safety goggles when neccessary against rock fragments. Beware of the tides when collecting at the shores. Do not endanger yourself or others!
• Respect the environment and do not leave any trash or damage the plants and animals.
• Don't damage crops and do not walk on fields that are in use.
• Collecting lots of fossils for trading leads to depletion of the collection locations and that is what we don't want!
• Only use normal hand tools; no pneumatic tools or other heavy equipment.
• When finding fossils that might be important to science, report your find as soon as possible to the local authorities (a museum for example).
• Don't leave rocks from a location at a different site. This can lead to confusion.
• For later (scientific) use, it is important to administrate the exact finding location and other important details for each fossil.

The Paleontica Foundation asks all members of the Paleontica Community to strickly abide these rules. 

Also see the Deontological Code of the Belgian Council of Earth Sciences.