🇭🇷 Croatia — Know the Law

Act on the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Goods · Zakon o zaštiti i očuvanju kulturnih dobara (NN 145/24, 151/25)

Facts verified 2026-07-14

This guide is informational, not legal advice. Laws change and individual cases differ — when in doubt, contact Ministry of Culture and Media or read the official law text.

What the law says

§Archaeological material older than 100 years has cultural-good status directly by law — no individual designation needed (Art. 13).
§Searching or surveying archaeological zones, archaeological sites and areas of individual archaeological finds — including underwater zones — with metal detectors, side sonars or similar devices in order to find archaeological material is prohibited without prior approval from the Ministry (Art. 37).
§Unauthorized searching with detectors and keeping an archaeological find contrary to the Act are punishable under criminal provisions; equipment used and the finds themselves are seized (Art. 37).
§Everyone is obliged to report to the culture ministry any object that can reasonably be presumed to be cultural property (Art. 4).
§A completely new Act entered into force in December 2024 (NN 145/24), replacing the 1999 law — older summaries of Croatian detecting law circulating in forums may be out of date.

1Stop immediately. If the find surfaced during any surface or below-ground works (on land, in water or at sea), works must be halted (Art. 39).
2Leave the find and its surroundings undisturbed — in DetectMap: GPS pin, photos in situ, depth, notes.
3Notify the Ministry of Culture and Media the SAME DAY or the next working day (Art. 39). Regional conservation departments (konzervatorski odjeli) are listed at min-kulture.gov.hr.
4Follow the conservation department's instructions on protecting the spot until they take over.

✓ Always get landowner permission before detecting — track it in DetectMap Properties.
✓ Check whether a location is a protected archaeological zone or site BEFORE detecting there — Art. 37 approval only exists for professional research.
✓ Report presumed cultural finds to the Ministry immediately — Art. 4 puts that duty on everyone.
✓ Log GPS, depth and photos for every find; context is what makes a find scientifically valuable.

✗ Never use a detector on archaeological zones, sites or individual-find areas (incl. underwater) without Ministry approval — it is a criminal offence, not a mere fine (Art. 37).
✗ Never keep an archaeological find contrary to the Act — the find AND your equipment can be seized (Art. 37).
✗ Never continue working after hitting an archaeological layer — stop and report the same or next working day (Art. 39).
✗ Never rely on pre-2024 summaries of Croatian law — the Act was replaced in December 2024.

More countries are on the way — the guide you see follows where you detect.