Last verified: 14 August 2026. Every state below was confirmed by reading the official statute directly.
In some states, a stripe of purple paint on a tree or fence post carries the same legal weight as a “No Trespassing” sign. Cross it and you can be charged with criminal trespass, even though nothing was written down.
But the law is narrower than the internet suggests. Only some states recognise paint as legal notice, some require a completely different colour, and each one sets exact rules about the size, height and spacing of the marks. Get those wrong and the marks may not count.
This page covers the states whose statutes we have read and quoted directly. We are adding more as we verify them.
States where purple paint is legal notice
Texas
Statute: Texas Penal Code § 30.05(b)(2)(D)
Texas recognises purple paint marks as notice that entry is forbidden. The statute is specific about what a valid mark looks like:
vertical lines of not less than eight inches in length and not less than one inch in width
The bottom of each mark must be between three and five feet above the ground, and marks must be placed no more than 100 feet apart on forest land, or no more than 1,000 feet apart on other land, where readily visible to anyone approaching the property.
A mark that is too small, too low, or too far from the next one may not give legal notice at all.
Missouri
Statute: Missouri Revised Statutes § 569.145
Missouri allows two methods.
Line method: a vertical line “at least eight inches in length,” with the bottom “no less than three feet nor more than five feet high,” and marks no more than 100 feet apart.
Post method: a post “capped or otherwise marked on at least its top two inches,” with the bottom of the mark between three feet and five feet six inches high, and posts no more than 36 feet apart.
Where the statute is followed, the markings are deemed “reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders.”
North Carolina
Statute: N.C. General Statutes § 14-159.7
North Carolina refers directly to “identifying purple paint marks.” A valid mark is “a vertical line of at least eight inches in length,” with the bottom “no less than three feet nor more than five feet from the base of the tree or post.”
Note the spacing difference: North Carolina measures in yards, not feet. Marks must be no more than 100 yards apart — three times the distance Texas allows on forest land. Along a stream, pond or lake shoreline, the same 100-yard interval applies.
States that use paint — but not purple
This is where most articles on this topic go wrong.
Florida — international orange
Statute: Florida Statutes § 810.011
Florida does not have a purple paint law. It requires international orange, and unlike the purple-paint states, paint alone is not enough — the marking must be lettered “No Trespassing” in letters at least two inches by one inch.
The bottom of the marking must be three to five feet from the ground, and markings no more than 500 feet apart on agricultural land. Painting your Florida property line purple gives no legal notice at all.
Idaho — bright orange or fluorescent
Statute: Idaho Code § 18-7008
Idaho’s provision calls for “bright orange or fluorescent” paint, not purple. Placement is described by location rather than dimension: on fenced property, at the corners of the fence adjoining public land and at all navigable streams, roads, gates and rights-of-way; on unfenced or uncultivated property, at all property corners and boundaries meeting those same features.
Maine — the statute does not name a colour
Statute: 17-A M.R.S. § 402
Maine is why “which states are purple paint states” is the wrong question to ask.
The statute sets the dimensions precisely — “a conspicuous vertical line at least one inch in width and at least 8 inches in length,” bottom not less than three feet nor more than five feet from the ground, no more than 100 feet apart — but it does not fix the colour. Instead:
The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry shall adopt rules to determine the color and type of paint that may be used to post property.
In Maine the colour lives in an agency rule, not the statute. Check the current Bureau of Forestry rule before relying on any colour there.
States we checked that have no paint provision
Montana — Mont. Code Ann. § 45-6-203 defines criminal trespass and its penalties, with no paint-marking method.
West Virginia — W. Va. Code § 61-3B-3 allows notice “by actual communication … or by posting, fencing, or cultivation.” No colour method at all.
What we have not verified
We would rather leave a state out than guess at it. We have not yet been able to read the primary statutes for Illinois, Kansas, Arizona, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Oklahoma.
Several of those are widely described online as purple paint states. That may well be right — but we have not read the statute, so we are not going to state it as fact. We are working through them and will add each one with its citation as we confirm it.
If you own land in one of those states, contact your state wildlife agency or county sheriff’s office before relying on paint.
Three things people get wrong
1. Assuming paint works everywhere. It does not. In a state with no paint provision, marks give no legal notice, and you would need signs, fencing or actual communication instead.
2. Assuming purple is the colour. Florida requires international orange with lettering. Idaho requires bright orange. Maine leaves it to an agency rule.
3. Ignoring the measurements. Every statute above sets a minimum mark size, a height band and a maximum spacing. These are not decorative. A landowner whose marks are 300 feet apart in Texas may have no enforceable notice, and a hunter who honestly did not see a mark has a real argument.
TodayinTrend publishes general legal information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm. Trespass law is state-specific and changes; verify against the linked statute or ask a licensed attorney in your state before acting.
don’t go by this page as Florida its inaccurate