How it works
Sign in
Rules abroad

Is metal detecting legal in Austria?

On land with no protected archaeological monument, yes. The Bundesdenkmalamt, Austria's Federal Monuments Office, says so itself: using a metal detector there is allowed in principle, without a permit.

Two things change that. A search aimed at archaeological finds needs a permit anywhere, and a hobbyist cannot get one alone. And if something old does come up, the law says you report it.

What the law says

The rules are in the Denkmalschutzgesetz, Austria's heritage law, and the Bundesdenkmalamt sets them out in its own leaflet on searching for finds. The law does not care much about the detector. It asks what the ground is, and what you are looking for:

  • Land with no protected monument. A detector on its own is fine. The leaflet's words are that simply using one there is “grundsätzlich erlaubt”, allowed in principle.
  • Land with a protected archaeological monument. Any use of a detector there needs the Bundesdenkmalamt's permit, whatever you are looking for (§ 10(2)).
  • Looking for antiquities, anywhere. A search that aims to find archaeological monuments, by detector or by digging, needs a permit under § 10(1), even where nothing turns out to be there. It is only granted if the search is led by someone with a relevant university degree, such as archaeology or prehistory (§ 10(5)). There is no permit a hobby detectorist can get on their own.

What about a ring I lost last week?

Looking for a ring that came off in a garden last summer, or on the bank of the Danube last week, is not a search for archaeological monuments. That is our reading of § 10, and we think it is the plain one: the permit exists for people looking for the past, not for people getting back what is theirs.

Two limits still apply. The ground belongs to somebody, a farmer, a municipality, a ski resort, and the searcher needs their yes. And whoever searches should know whether the plot holds a protected site. If in doubt, ask the Bundesdenkmalamt: it has someone responsible for archaeology in every federal state.

The part people get wrong: reporting a find

A detector beeps the same for a Roman coin as for a wedding ring. If anything comes out of the ground that could be of historical or cultural significance, it has to be reported straight away (§ 8). The finder reports it, to any one of these:

  • the Bundesdenkmalamt
  • the district authority: the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, or in a statutory city the Magistrat
  • the nearest federal police station
  • the mayor
  • a public museum

Then leave the spot alone. It has to stay as it is until the fifth working day after the report reaches the Bundesdenkmalamt (§ 9). The one exception is anything that could go missing if left there, which the finder takes and keeps safe. Who ends up owning the find is a question for civil law, not for this one.

The penalties

Fines are imposed by the district authority, for intentional breaches (§ 37):

  • Up to 25,400 euros for searching for archaeological monuments without a permit. Whatever that search turned up can be declared forfeit as well.
  • Up to 5,000 euros for not reporting a find, disturbing the find site, or using a detector on protected land without a permit.

If you lost something in Austria

Post the request with the place and a photo, and say what kind of ground it is: a garden, a meadow, a field, a piste. The searcher then knows at once whose permission to ask. If it went in the snow, what to do in the first ten minutes matters more than the law.

This is not legal advice, and laws change. The official text is the Denkmalschutzgesetz in its current version on RIS, the federal legal information system, and the authority is the Bundesdenkmalamt.

Where Retrievly comes in

We don't search ourselves. We pass your request to people nearby who own a metal detector and like handing things back.

We are new, so there may be nobody signed up near you yet. Then we go and find someone and send them your request.

Your exact spot stays yours

A searcher sees a rough circle of about five kilometres, never the exact point. Only the person you pick gets that.

It costs you nothing

No money passes through Retrievly. A thank-you, if you want to give one, you agree directly with the searcher.

Two things decide most searches: how soon the request goes up, and how tightly you can mark the spot. The landowner's permission is the searcher's to get. Retrievly does not vet anyone, so read the profile and meet somewhere public.

Post a request

Browsing needs no account. You only sign in to post.

Common questions
Do I need a permit to use a metal detector in Austria?
Not on land with no protected archaeological monument, as long as you are not looking for archaeological finds. On protected land any detector use needs a Bundesdenkmalamt permit, and so does a search aimed at antiquities anywhere.
Can a hobby detectorist get a permit in Austria?
Not on their own. A permit to search for archaeological monuments is only granted if the search is led by someone with a relevant university degree, such as archaeology or prehistory.
Can someone search for my lost ring with a detector in Austria?
Yes, on ordinary land and with the landowner's permission. A search for a ring you lost recently is not a search for archaeological monuments. If the land holds a protected site, a permit is needed even so.
What do I do if I find something old?
Report it straight away, to the Bundesdenkmalamt, the district authority, the police, the mayor or a public museum. Leave the find site untouched until the fifth working day after the report reaches the Bundesdenkmalamt.
What are the fines for illegal metal detecting in Austria?
Up to 25,400 euros for searching for archaeological monuments without a permit. Up to 5,000 euros for not reporting a find, disturbing the site, or using a detector on protected land without a permit. Only intentional breaches are fined, by the district authority.
Who writes this

Kenny built Retrievly. He has snorkelled the Danube for years and keeps bringing up things that belong to other people: wallets with the ID still in them, phones, keys. That is where Retrievly came from.

Is metal detecting legal in Austria? | Retrievly