Rules on State Land · 6 min
Working commercially on public land
Why this matters
The guide licence authorises you to guide. It does not authorise every commercial use of State land, and the difference matters when your operation grows past one guide and a day pack.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Explain what a Temporary Revocable Permit is and when the question arises
- Identify the permissions that sit alongside the guide licence
- Describe a guide's obligations toward private land and posted property
Temporary Revocable Permits
DEC issues Temporary Revocable Permits (TRPs) under its ONR-3 policy for temporary use of State land and conservation easement land. They are discretionary, limited to activities with negligible or no permanent environmental impact, and they carry a liability insurance requirement.
Ordinary guiding, a licensed guide walking or paddling with clients on land that is open to the public, does not require a TRP. The question arises when your use goes beyond ordinary public recreation: an organised event, a base camp, a structure, a commercial installation, vehicle access beyond what the public has, or an activity a land manager treats as an exclusive use. Regional Lands and Forests staff are the people who decide, and asking costs nothing.
The permissions that stack
| Permission | Who issues it | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Guide licence | DEC Special Licenses Unit | Always, for the six activities |
| Camping permit | Regional Forest Ranger | 4+ nights one location, or 10+ people |
| Sporting licence | DEC | Guiding hunting or fishing (and your clients need theirs) |
| Temporary Revocable Permit | Regional Lands and Forests | Commercial use beyond ordinary recreation |
| Landowner permission | The landowner | Any private land, whether or not it is posted |
| Boat registration and inspection | DMV, and launch stewards | Motorised craft, and any launch with an inspection requirement |
Private land
New York's trespass rules do not require land to be posted before entry is unlawful; posting matters to certain penalties, not to whether you had permission. A guide crossing private ground on a route that "everybody uses" is exposing a client to a charge and the landowner relationship to a grievance that will outlast the trip. Get written permission for any private crossing you use routinely, and carry it.
Conservation easement tracts deserve the same care in reverse: the public has real rights there, but only the rights the State bought. Camping, campfires, motor vehicle access and hunting are commonly limited or seasonal.
Insurance, which is not a regulation
Nothing in Part 197 requires a guide to carry liability insurance. A TRP does, most landowners will, and every outfitter that subcontracts to you will. Not being legally required is a poor reason to guide uninsured, and the exam's silence on the subject is not the state's endorsement.
From the field
You want to run a two-day paddling clinic with a shore-side instruction area, a shuttle and eight participants on a State-owned pond. The guiding part is covered by your licence. The organised clinic, the fixed base and the vehicle shuttle are the part to raise with the regional Lands and Forests office before you advertise it.
This lesson is part of the NYS Licensed Guide Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.