Applying for a temporary export permit for national treasures
Description
For the export of national cultural property from Germany you need a permit (§§ 22, 25 and 26 Cultural Property Protection Act). Cultural assets are, for example, works of art, archaeological objects, archival material, manuscripts or antiques such as furniture, musical instruments or jewellery.
National treasure is cultural property that:
- is entered in a register of nationally valuable cultural property,
- is publicly owned and in the holdings of a public institution that preserves cultural property (e.g. museum, archive, library),
- is owned and held by an institution that preserves cultural property (e.g. museum, archive, library) and is mainly financed by public grants, or
- is part of an art collection of the Federation or the Länder.
You can apply for authorisation from the competent authority. A distinction is made between permanent and temporary exports. Export is temporary if it is carried out for a period limited from the outset not exceeding 5 years.
You must apply in writing to the competent authority of the federal state for authorisation to temporarily export national treasures.
- in whose register of nationally valuable cultural property the cultural object is entered, or
- if it is not a registered cultural property, in the federal state in which the cultural object is located at the time of application.
If you are a legal entity, your head office in Germany is decisive for local jurisdiction.
You must apply in writing to the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media for the authorisation of the permanent export of national cultural property (§ 23 of the Cultural Property Protection Act).
Note: You can also use a new online pilot procedure to apply for export permits for cultural goods. The online procedure includes an optional preliminary check in order to be able to determine on the basis of a few questions whether an export license is required in a specific case. In general, you no longer have to select the right application yourself, it is automatically determined on the basis of the information. The pilot operation serves to further test and optimize the process. At the same time, the procedure is to be expanded by the end of 2022 so that the digital granting of approval is also possible.
A permit for the one-time temporary export of national cultural property (§ 22 Cultural Property Protection Act) is granted to you if:
- You are entitled to apply,
- as owner or as authorised third party
- you have submitted the required documents and
- As the applicant person, you guarantee that the cultural property intended for export will be reimported into the Federal territory in an undamaged condition and in due time.
A permit for the repeated temporary export of a specific cultural property (specific open permit, § 26 Cultural Property Protection Act) can be granted to you if:
- You are eligible to apply
- as the owner or as the lawful direct owner of the cultural property,
- you have submitted the required documents,
- As the applicant, you offer the guarantee that the cultural property intended for export will be reimported into the Federal territory in an undamaged condition and in due time.
A permit for the repeated temporary export of national cultural property (general open permit, § 25 Cultural Property Protection Act) can be granted to you if:
- You are eligible to apply
- as an institution that preserves cultural property and regularly temporarily exports parts of its holdings for public exhibitions, restorations or research purposes,
- you have submitted the required documents,
- As the applicant, you offer the guarantee that the cultural property intended for export will be reimported into the Federal territory in an undamaged condition and in due time.
For permits pursuant to § 25 and § 26 of the Cultural Property Protection Act, the period of validity is up to 5 years. The following applies to permits pursuant to § 25 and § 26 of the Cultural Property Protection Act: The (temporary) export is possible until the last day of the period of validity, the re-importation must take place within 5 years. The re-importation period (up to 5 years) for the one-time temporary export of national cultural property according to § 22 of the Cultural Property Protection Act is determined by the authority according to the purpose of the export.
The processing time depends on the completeness of the submitted application documents and the complexity of the application. The permit must be applied for in good time before the planned export of the cultural property.
- Forms available: Yes
- Written form required: Yes
- Informal application possible: No
- Personal appearance required: No
To apply for a permit for the export of national treasures online, you can use a new online service in pilot operation. The online procedure includes an optional pre-check to determine whether an export license is required based on a few questions. You no longer have to choose the right application yourself; it is determined automatically on the basis of the information. The pilot operation serves to further test and optimize the process. At the same time, the procedure is to be expanded by the end of 2022 so that the digital granting of approval is also possible.
In order to apply in writing for a permit for the export of national treasures, the following steps are required:
- Use the authority finder to find out the competent authority and the form for your federal state: https://www.kulturgutschutz-deutschland.de/DE/Service/Formulare/Behoerdenfinder/behoerdenfinder_node.html
- Download the correct PDF form: Export licence according to § 22, § 25 or § 26 Kulturgutschutzgesetz for export to third countries or for export to member states of the European Union.
- Fill out the PDF form on your PC.
- Print the documents:
- Export permit according to § 22 of the Cultural Property Protection Act: in triplicate (export to third countries) or in duplicate (export to member states of the European Union),
- Export licences according to § 25 and § 26 of the Cultural Property Protection Act in duplicate (Attention: the forms for export to third countries already contain all copies).
- Sign each copy in the boxes provided, stamp them if necessary and attach the necessary supporting documents to each copy.
- Send the documents to the competent authority.
- The authority will examine your application and return the documents completed, signed and sealed, together with a fee notice if necessary.
- In the case of § 22 of the Cultural Property Protection Act (export to third countries), you will receive two copies and
- in the cases of § 22 Cultural Property Protection Act (export to member states of the European Union), § 25 and § 26 Cultural Property Protection Act, you will each receive a copy.
- Copy 1 is the application and remains with the authority. Copy 2 will be returned to you (in the case of third country exports according to § 22 of the Cultural Property Protection Act: copies 2 and 3 will be returned). When exporting to a third country in accordance with § 22 of the Cultural Property Protection Act, you must submit copies 2 and 3 to the competent German export customs office with the export declaration. The customs office of export shall complete box 26 and give you copy 2. After the actual outcome, the German customs office of export shall confirm it in box 27 and return copy 3 to the authority which issued the licence.
If the application for an export licence is rejected, you will receive a written notification stating the reasons and instructions on how to appeal.
A licence obtained by threat, bribery or collusion or obtained by false or incomplete information pursuant to Section 22 (1) of the Cultural Property Protection Act is void pursuant to Section 22 (5) of the Cultural Property Protection Act. This applies mutatis mutandis to permits pursuant to § 24 (1) numbers 1 and 2 of the Cultural Property Protection Act (§ 24 (9) of the Cultural Property Protection Act).
The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
