Report found property

If you find a property item, leave it where you found it if possible – especially if it is in a demarcated room or territory. It is very likely that the person who lost it will come looking for it.

If you found the item in a public place (such as a park, street, bus stop, etc.) and you feel that it is more likely to be returned to its owner if it is in your possession or in the possession of the police, or if it is otherwise unreasonable to leave the item where you found it (for instance, because of weather conditions), you may keep it until the owner is found.

When you take a property item into your possession, you are obliged to inform the owner of the item, if you know him or her.

If the value of the found property is estimated to be EUR 50 or more and you do not know the owner of the property or the person who lost it, you are also obliged to inform the police by sending an email to ....

Please include the following information in your message to the police:

• the date on which and location where (address) you found the item
• as detailed a description as possible of what you found and a photo, if possible
• if possible, also the serial number of the item in the case of an electronic device, the IMEI code and SIM card number in the case of a mobile phone
• your personal details that you authorise the police to pass on to the owner of the item (your name, telephone number or email address).

If possible, the police will contact the owner of the property, give them the contact details you provided and you can then agree to hand over the property item.

If you find property on public transport, including a taxi, you must immediately hand it over to the public transport driver or taxi driver. If you find property in a shop, an office building, a public institution, or a stairwell of a block of flats, you must immediately hand it over to, for instance, the information desk of the shop or building, the owner or possessor of the building, or the police.

You can also hand over anything of value (over EUR 50) found in a public place to the police. In this case, please bring it to your nearest police station or district police office. By handing over the property to the police, you relieve yourself of your finder’s obligations, the rights of finders are transferred to the police, and you do not retain the right to the finder’s fee, the expenses incurred or the acquisition of the finding.

You may keep the found property in your possession, you do not have to hand it over to the police, but it must be kept in a way that ensures its preservation. If you have reported a valuable finding to the police and the owner of the property has not been identified within a year of the date of the report, you acquire the property item. If the owner of the property is identified, you are obliged to return the property to the owner, but you are entitled to claim a finder’s fee from the owner and reimbursement of the costs incurred in keeping the property. If you do not agree on the finder’s fee and the reimbursement of expenses, the finder must return the property, but you have the right to take recourse to a court for compensation.