Did You Know Purple Paint = No Trespassing?

Effective July 1, 2018 Indiana became the 12th state to enact a “Purple Paint Law”. I spent a couple of days Geocaching in Southern Indiana last week and saw a lot of property marked with purple paint. Luckily I remembered hearing about the law but this was the first time I had seen the paint being used in leu of the traditional No Trespassing signs.

I was wondering about how this might be a problem with color blind individuals but it turns out Purple was chosen because it can be seen by most people with that condition. There are, however, people that see no color and that couple be a problem.

A new Indiana law went into effect on July 1st, that may help you mark your property boundaries more efficiently to prevent trespassing. The “purple paint law” is found in Indiana Code IC 35-43-2-2 and stipulates that appropriately applied purple paint can be used to mark your property with the same legal effect as using a No Trespassing sign. Landowners attempting to protect their property from trespassing have often been frustrated by the need to post signs and replace signs torn down, vandalized, or rendered unreadable by the elements. Marking boundaries with purple paint should provide a more efficient and inexpensive option, as well as eliminating placing nails in your trees.

Purdue Extension Blog

According to the law, HB 1233, the paint must be:

(A) on a tree:
(i) as a vertical line of at least eight (8) inches in length and with the bottom of the mark at least three (3) feet and not more than five (5) feet from the ground; and
(ii) not more than one hundred (100) feet from the nearest other marked tree; or
(B) on a post:
(i) with the mark covering at least the top two (2) inches of the post, and with the bottom of the mark at least three (3) feet and not more than five (5) feet six (6) inches 19 from the ground; and
(ii) not more than thirty-six (36) feet from the nearest other marked post; and

HB 1233

The 11 other states with Purple Paint Laws are:

  • Maine
  • Texas
  • Illinois
  • Missouri
  • North Carolina
  • Florida
  • Idaho
  • Arkansas
  • Montana
  • Arizona
  • Kansas

I think the biggest issue with this law boils down to education and awareness. It’s only in effect in about 20% of the country and it’s not very apparent what the paint means. As a Geocacher that goes in a lot of off the grid locations it’s something I’m certainly going to have to keep an eye out for. People who hunt and fish are other groups that need to be made aware of this law for everyones safety.

Be careful out there!

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