Temporary export of national treasures Authorization
Source: BUS Rheinland-PfalzYou require a permit to export national cultural property from Germany (Sections 22, 25 and 26 of the Cultural Property Protection Act). Cultural goods are, for example, works of art, archaeological objects, archive material, manuscripts or antiques such as furniture, musical instruments or jewelry.
National cultural property is cultural property that
- is entered in a register of nationally valuable cultural property,
- is publicly owned and held by an institution under public law that preserves cultural property (e.g. museum, archive, library),
- is owned and held by an institution preserving cultural property (e.g. museum, archive, library) that is predominantly financed by public grants, or
- is part of a federal or state art collection.
You can apply for permission from the competent authority. A distinction is made between permanent and temporary export. The export is temporary if it takes place for a limited period of no more than 5 years from the outset.
You apply in writing to the competent authority of the federal state for approval of the temporary export of national cultural property,
- in whose register of nationally valuable cultural property the cultural property is entered or
- if it is not a registered cultural asset, in the federal state in which the cultural asset is located at the time of application.
If you are a legal entity, your head office in Germany is decisive for local jurisdiction.
You can apply in writing to the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media for approval of the permanent export of national cultural property (Section 23 of the Cultural Property Protection Act).
Note: You can also use a new online procedure in pilot operation to apply for export licenses for cultural property. The online procedure includes an optional preliminary check to determine whether an export license is required in a specific case on the basis of a few questions. In general, you no longer have to select the correct application yourself; it is determined automatically based on the information provided. The pilot operation serves to further test and optimize the procedure. At the same time, the procedure is to be expanded by the end of 2022 so that it will also be possible to issue the permit digitally.