hand in lost property

Prerequisites

You have found an item worth at least 10 euros.

Documents required

• Identity document

Please note

If you have found something, you can hand it in to the Hamburg Central Lost Property Office, the customer centers or the police stations without an appointment. Regardless of the day or time, every Hamburg police station accepts lost property and forwards it to the central lost property office as quickly as possible.

If you find something on a Hamburg public transport subway or bus, please hand it over to a public transport employee straight away. These lost items are also quickly forwarded to the central lost property office.

Bicycles may only be accepted by the Hamburg Police Department.
The police officers check whether the bicycles found have been reported stolen. After comparing the theft reports, which can take up to 10 weeks, the police hand over the bicycles to the central Hamburg lost property office.

Animals may only be accepted by the Süderstraße animal shelter.
Hamburg Animal Welfare Association from 1841 eV Süderstraße 399
20504 Hamburg
Tel: 040 - 21 11 06 11
www.hamburger-tierschutzverein.de

Finder's fee claims/reimbursement of expenses
You must request claims for finder's fees or reimbursement of expenses independently from the owner of the item you found. According to Section 971 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the finder's fee depends on the value of the item: 5% up to EUR 500 and 3% from EUR 500.

Acquisition of ownership after the expiry of the storage period is excluded in the following cases:
The legislature has made different regulations in Section 978 BGB, paragraph 2, for finds in business premises or means of transport of public authorities (police, district offices, customer centers, specialist offices, etc.) and transport companies (subways and buses). Here you will receive half of the statutory finder's fee for items worth at least EUR 50.

The acquisition of ownership or the right to a finder's fee for items found in private business premises. This applies, for example, to savings banks, banks, theaters, exhibition rooms, department stores, restaurants and other rooms accessible to a larger group of the public, and taxis are only possible if a written waiver from the business owner is available.

According to case law, in these cases you are not to be seen as a finder, but as a discoverer.

Deadlines

The retention period begins with the processing of the find date in the corresponding storage software of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.




All lost property will be kept for 6 months.


Lost property only:

• from subways and buses of the Hamburger Hochbahn are kept for 8 weeks.


• Key finds are kept for the current month + 2 additional months.

Procedure

• You hand over the lost property.
• Fill out a lost property report at the Hamburg police station. In this you state where and when you found the item.
• You can provide your personal information such as name, address and contact details.
• You will receive a corresponding letter with which you can request the item back if necessary.

Processing time

5 to 10 minutes

Fees

There are no fees.

Payment methods available

• Girocard
• Cash payment

Legal remedies

no

Legal basis

§§ 965 ff. Civil Code (BGB)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/BJNR001950896.html#BJNR001950896BJNG008902377

If you find a lost item worth more than 10 euros, you must hand it in.