Do I need to apply for an export license?
Permission must be obtained in order to export:
- Cultural objects from the period before 1660.
- Cultural objects older than 50 years and with a value over a certain amount (see the actual minimum amount below).
- Photographs (regardless of age) if they have a value of DKK 30,000 or more.
Permission will be obtained, unless the objects in question are assessed to be of crucial importance for the Danish national cultural heritage.
If an application or an export license is refused, the Danish Government must offer to buy the object at market price, though without having any right of pre-emption on this account.
How are cultural assets defined?
Cultural objects from before 1660 can e.g. be:
- antiquities, tools and weapons of flint, stone and metal;
- ceramics and jewelry or ornate articles of bone, deer, amber or metal;
- church fixtures such as altar boards, crucifixes, pulpits and sacred vessels;
- books, cards, incunables (i.e. books from before 1500) and archival materials.
Cultural objects older than 50 years and with a value above the amount limit can e.g. be:
- manuscripts, diaries, cards;
- visual arts, including paintings and sculptures;
- furniture, fixtures, musical instruments, etc.
Coins and medals are the only cultural objects explicitly exempted from the regulations of the Act.
In exceptional cases the Minister of Culture can decide that the Act is also applicable to other objects of cultural interest than the above mentioned.
Application for export license
The Commission uses two different forms when applying for an export license:
- A form for exporting to another EU-country . This form is online.
- A form for exporting outside EU (“EU form”). Paper form; see below how to obtain this.
Export to Great Britain. Read about the consequences of BREXIT here.
Deadlines (processing time)
According to the Cultural Assets Act, the secretariat’s processing time must not exceed 3 months. In very rare cases, the Cultural Assets Committee may nevertheless extend for up to 6 months. However, please note the following:
- Permanent export permits are usually processed within one month.
- Temporary export permits can in some cases be dealt with within two weeks.
Hence, the Committee recommends that applications should be submitted in due time and never later than one month before the intended export date.
Actual minimum value
Please note, that objects that are older than 50 years (but from after 1660) only need an export license, if their value exceeds DKK 173,000 (as of January 2022).
Form with in the EU
The form is online: Go to the form.
Form out side the EU
The EU form is a carbon paper; it can be obtained by ordering it online using this form: Use the destination “Outside EU” and enter your address etc. on the next page.