🇦🇹 Can I metal detect in Austria?

Short answer

In Austria the deciding factor is the PURPOSE of your search, not just the place: any on-site search for archaeological remains — explicitly including with a metal detector — is prohibited without a permit from the Federal Monuments Office (Art. 10 para. 1). On plots with protected archaeological remains ANY detector use is prohibited (Art. 10 para. 2). A permit is granted only to research led by a person with a completed relevant degree (Art. 10 para. 5), so for hobby detecting it is practically out of reach. A chance find must be reported without delay and the find site left untouched. Note: the articles were renumbered by the amendment in force since 1 September 2024 — older sources cite Art. 11.

What the law says

• §Searching for archaeological monuments on the spot — whether by disturbing the ground, by USING METAL DETECTORS, by systematic measurements or by other archaeological prospection methods — is prohibited without a permit from the Bundesdenkmalamt (Art. 10 para. 1).
• §On plots where protected archaeological monuments are located, ANY use of a metal detector without a permit is prohibited — the purpose of your search makes no difference there (Art. 10 para. 2).
• §Use of a metal detector alone on land without a protected archaeological monument is, according to the BDA, generally permitted only when the purpose is not to discover archaeological objects or monuments. This does not amount to a general permission to metal detect: landowner consent and other local restrictions still apply.
• §A permit is granted only if the research is led by a person who has completed a relevant university degree and is carried out and documented to current archaeological standards (Art. 10 para. 5). This is not an ordinary hobby licence.
• §Archaeological monuments are as a rule to be left undisturbed in the ground; excavations are permitted only in narrow cases such as an overriding scientific interest or unavoidable construction works (Art. 10 para. 4).
• §The Bundesdenkmalamt publishes a digital list of protected immovable and archaeological monuments, compiled annually as at 31 December (Art. 3 para. 3) — check it before you search.
• §Objects from a search made without the required permit can be declared forfeited (Art. 37 para. 3); a find whose owner is unknown and which was apparently the object of an offence under this Act passes into federal ownership the moment it is found (Art. 34 para. 1).

Found something old? The steps under the law

1. 1Stop and leave the find site unchanged — from the moment of discovery its preservation is in the public interest (Art. 9 para. 1).
2. 2Report the find to the Bundesdenkmalamt WITHOUT DELAY (Art. 8 para. 1). The report may instead go to the district administrative authority, the nearest federal police station, the mayor or a publicly accessible museum, which must forward it (Art. 8 para. 2).
3. 3Record the context without moving anything — in DetectMap: GPS pin, photos in situ, depth, notes. Objects that could go missing from the site must be kept safe by the finder (Art. 9 para. 1).
4. 4Leave the site untouched until the end of the FIFTH WORKING DAY after your report reaches the Bundesdenkmalamt; if within that time the office declares the significance at least probable, the protection continues for a further EIGHT WEEKS (Art. 9 paras. 1 and 2).
5. 5On request, make the finds available to the Bundesdenkmalamt for up to two years for scientific evaluation and documentation (Art. 9 para. 3).

Sources