Romania metal detecting question.

JustKeepDigging

Sr. Member
May 2, 2013
390
405
Jupiter, FL
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
PRL-1 Whites, Tesoro Sand Shark, Excalibur II
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hello all! I had a quick question in regards to metal detecting in Romania. My fathers side of the family lives in Romania and they own a bunch of land. They told me to just buy a ticket and I could detect all I wanted. Now, I read online that it may be illegal? Is that so even if I'm on my own land? What's the best way going about this?
 

Upvote 0

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,462
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,305
54,466
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

WaterScoop

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2017
2,181
3,710
SW Washington
Detector(s) used
Nox 800,
CTX 3030,
XP DEUS,
Excalibur II
Garrett AT Max,
Whites DFX,
Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Peace to all and to all a good nite.

Here is my last post on this thread.

C7A33B21-5556-4A51-9617-BEB7F7DCC0C5.jpeg
 

Calgarychef

Full Member
Jan 23, 2015
133
106
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Whenever I ask permission for anything (detecting, deer hunting etc) I keep this saying in mind:

"Never let anyone tell you NO if they don't have the authority to say YES".

Don't just scroll past that one, give it some thought.
 

Garret Digger

Jr. Member
Jun 26, 2016
58
61
Carpathian Mountain
Detector(s) used
Garret Ace 150 with Karma 33x33 cm Coil and Garret MS-2 Headphones
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
When you go to the police with you're romanian relative or friend tell me if he the turkey make bad at him.
Cop saying bad thing and asking to much things and let you to wait long time.
I am from northern part of this country if anyone have something underground and keep mouths shut i will help with great pleasure to find the lost/ancient treasure or family gold. Who need a little help i will help with great pleasure ;so send a PM and i will try to help him ;with some words i do not go poor.
But if you want to detecting in this country first thing will be to go with someone local and with many acquaintance.
So good luck and cătușe stail chained style (Gangnam Style) :laughing7:
 

Last edited:

Benjamin52

Sr. Member
Apr 26, 2011
436
695
Germany
Detector(s) used
XP DEUS :-:
Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hello Everyone, thanks to pepperj for redirecting me to this thread.
I hope I can answer some questions on metal detecting in Romania.

I am a German citizen.
I study medicine in Romania since October of 2017.
I have an authorization to metal detect here. (just got it 2 weeks ago)

So how did I get it and what are the rules?

I joined a facebook group and looked at some web pages and finally collected all the necessary info on the topic.
As a foreigner it is possible to get an authorization if you have a residency number called CNP number. It is like a social security number here. If you are a Romanian citizen it's not a problem anyways, but for foreigners we need to show we are at least legal residents here. (Students, for work, family visa, etc..)

When you get your CNP number for one of the above reasons, you have to do the following.
1. Go to the main police station in your city and speak to the Cultural heritage officer (Patrimony officer), he is in charge of issuing the authorizations. Explain the situation. He will tell you exactly what paperwork you need but usually it will go as follows:
2. Bring your detector to Romania AFTER you spoke to the patrimony officer. Be sure to have an invoice of when you bought the detector if you bought it in Romania.
3. If you bought your detector abroad (like me) or second hand, go to a notary and make a legal statement that you bought your detector abroad and that you are tho owner of a model XYZ detector with serial number 1234456...etc
4. Go to the police treasury and pay a fee of like 2USD.
5. Make a copy of your ID
6. Within 30 days of bringing the machine into the country or buying it in Romania, bring all that stuff with your detector back to the police officer and you will sign a declaration in front of him. he will check the serial number of your detector and then issue an authorization some days later.

Do's and Don'ts
It is important to know a detector is like a gun here. Every new machine you buy needs a new authorization. So the authorization is for the machine, not the person alone.

-Once you have an authorization, you are allowed to search anywhere in Romania, BUT not on known archeological areas or anywhere within a radius of about 500meters to 1km around that area, depending on the site.

-You can search anywhere on state-owned land like forests, meadows, etc.

-If you want to search on a private property you need the land owner's permission, after that you are good.

-Anything older than 100 years must be inspected by a museum and you will most likely have to give it up but you will be reimbursed a 40% cash reward on the appraised amount of the value of whatever you hand over to a museum.

- I strongly recommend hunting with others and carrying your authorization along if you do not speak the language fluently (I don't so I carry a copy)

-I would not bring my detector before someone in your family spoke to the local patrimony officer. When they say okay, bring it, you can tell the customs that you already contacted the police and they said it is okay to bring your detector because you will immediately apply for the permit.

To the OP: I would be happy to help/join you detect on your family's land (You can keep the finds)

If anyone is in Romania and wants to hunt together, I would be super happy to join them or let them join me.
Just pop a message for any further doubts!
 

Last edited:

pepperj

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2009
37,032
137,022
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Deus, Deus 2, Minelab 3030, E-Trac,
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Hello Everyone, thanks to pepperj for redirecting me to this thread.
I hope I can answer some questions on metal detecting in Romania.

I am a German citizen.
I study medicine in Romania since October of 2017.
I have an authorization to metal detect here. (just got it 2 weeks ago)

So how did I get it and what are the rules?

I joined a facebook group and looked at some web pages and finally collected all the necessary info on the topic.
As a foreigner it is possible to get an authorization if you have a residency number called CNP number. It is like a social security number here. If you are a Romanian citizen it's not a problem anyways, but for foreigners we need to show we are at least legal residents here. (Students, for work, family visa, etc..)

When you get your CNP number for one of the above reasons, you have to do the following.
1. Go to the main police station in your city and speak to the Cultural heritage officer (Patrimony officer), he is in charge of issuing the authorizations. Explain the situation. He will tell you exactly what paperwork you need but usually it will go as follows:
2. Bring your detector to Romania AFTER you spoke to the patrimony officer. Be sure to have an invoice of when you bought the detector if you bought it in Romania.
3. If you bought your detector abroad (like me) or second hand, go to a notary and make a legal statement that you bought your detector abroad and that you are tho owner of a model XYZ detector with serial number 1234456...etc
4. Go to the police treasury and pay a fee of like 2USD.
5. Make a copy of your ID
6. Within 30 days of bringing the machine into the country or buying it in Romania, bring all that stuff with your detector back to the police officer and you will sign a declaration in front of him. he will check the serial number of your detector and then issue an authorization some days later.

Do's and Don'ts
It is important to know a detector is like a gun here. Every new machine you buy needs a new authorization. So the authorization is for the machine, not the person alone.

-Once you have an authorization, you are allowed to search anywhere in Romania, BUT not on known archeological areas or anywhere within a radius of about 500meters to 1km around that area, depending on the site.

-You can search anywhere on state-owned land like forests, meadows, etc.

-If you want to search on a private property you need the land owner's permission, after that you are good.

-Anything older than 100 years must be inspected by a museum and you will most likely have to give it up but you will be reimbursed a 40% cash reward on the appraised amount of the value of whatever you hand over to a museum.

- I strongly recommend hunting with others and carrying your authorization along if you do not speak the language fluently (I don't so I carry a copy)

If anyone is in Romania and wants to hunt together, I would be super happy to join them or let them join me.
Just pop a message for any further doubts!

:icon_thumleft::hello2:Thank You very much in shedding light on this often dark topic.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
.... To the OP: I would be happy to help/join you detect on your family's land (You can keep the finds) ... !

Benjamin52, thanx for chiming in. Re.: the above quote : SAY IT ISN'T SO ! No "hands cut off" ? No "dungeons" ? No officials in trench coats on every corner watching for md'rs ?? I just don't believe it ! After all, it's not the UK or the USA ?

But ... seriously now .... thanx for chiming in .
 

WaterScoop

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2017
2,181
3,710
SW Washington
Detector(s) used
Nox 800,
CTX 3030,
XP DEUS,
Excalibur II
Garrett AT Max,
Whites DFX,
Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Benjamin52, thanx for chiming in. Re.: the above quote : SAY IT ISN'T SO ! No "hands cut off" ? No "dungeons" ? No officials in trench coats on every corner watching for md'rs ?? I just don't believe it ! After all, it's not the UK or the USA ?

But ... seriously now .... thanx for chiming in .

Coming out of thread retirement to make a smart ass comment to this ridiculous reply..

It’s just like in Salinas, California... no worries

No Hands cut off just your bank accounts amputated after you pay your fines
No dungeons, just modern jails with 3 square meals
No men in trench coats just modern police officers asking to see your paperwork.

Just like good Ole’ USA.... So I guess you are right Tom. ...My bad.

F6CB339B-55FF-45BF-BC56-156C95EDCDFF.jpeg
 

Benjamin52

Sr. Member
Apr 26, 2011
436
695
Germany
Detector(s) used
XP DEUS :-:
Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Benjamin52, thanx for chiming in. Re.: the above quote : SAY IT ISN'T SO ! No "hands cut off" ? No "dungeons" ? No officials in trench coats on every corner watching for md'rs ?? I just don't believe it ! After all, it's not the UK or the USA ?

But ... seriously now .... thanx for chiming in .

Well from what I can tell it seems to be pretty chill if you have the authorization, but communism did leave some traces and I don't even want to find out what happens if you detect illegally and get caught. I am sure some corrupt policemen would accept bribes and I know they have a big problem with black markets for antiques so....
I am simply not here long enough to know the whole story I can just report on what my experience is so far and with the authorization I was warmly accepted into a local detecting group and they said officials are pretty nice if you play by the rules. (but as I said, I don't even want to get in any sorts of trouble or find out what COULD happen)
 

WaterScoop

Bronze Member
Sep 12, 2017
2,181
3,710
SW Washington
Detector(s) used
Nox 800,
CTX 3030,
XP DEUS,
Excalibur II
Garrett AT Max,
Whites DFX,
Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well from what I can tell it seems to be pretty chill if you have the authorization, but communism did leave some traces and I don't even want to find out what happens if you detect illegally and get caught. I am sure some corrupt policemen would accept bribes and I know they have a big problem with black markets for antiques so....
I am simply not here long enough to know the whole story I can just report on what my experience is so far and with the authorization I was warmly accepted into a local detecting group and they said officials are pretty nice if you play by the rules. (but as I said, I don't even want to get in any sorts of trouble or find out what COULD happen)

Good luck Benjamin52 I hope you find a hoard/cache of Dacian or Roman Gold & Silver coins worth Millions and they have no choice other then to pay you 40% of their value.

Also good luck with your Medical Studies and thank you for making a difference in this world by choosing to help people.

EF1224AF-3230-4AF8-B89B-CD2B1228F9AB.jpeg
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
....

It’s just like in Salinas, California... no worries

No Hands cut off just your bank accounts amputated after you pay your fines
No dungeons, just modern jails with 3 square meals
No men in trench coats just modern police officers asking to see your paperwork. ....

Uh, what am I missing here ? Sure, no hands cut off, no dungeons, and no men in trench coats. If understood your post correctly, it is instead: "Just fines assessed, nice prisons with meals, and polite police officers". Right ?

BUT WAIT !! the post I was replying to was about ALL PERFECTLY LEGAL NON-PUNISHABLE metal detecting ?? So what the heck are we talking about ??
 

Dickn52

Newbie
Dec 17, 2012
1
1
Ocala, Florida
Detector(s) used
Whites V3x
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Shipping and declare it as a gift. If you bring it in you are a foreigner with a metalDetector without proper paperwork. The will "hold it" for you until such time that you do. Let me tell you bureaucracy like they have in Romania is hard to find.You will waste your time that you would metal detecting getting paperwork and bailing your metal detector.

Let your family pull the paperwork in their name and have the be with you when you detect.

Cheers and Good luck

Waterscoop

VAMA, and amazing times I had there in 95. Turnu Severin, Herculane, and all the way up river to Timis. I stayed in Ceausescu's villa in Turnu on the hillside looking at irongate 1. But for metal detecting, I'd definitely hit the hot baths in Herculane where the Romans used to spend the hottest parts of summer.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top