Last checked: August 2026.
Germany is one of the most tightly regulated countries in Europe for magnet fishing. There is no federal statute that names the activity, but that is not the good news it sounds like — the rules are set at Bundesland level, and most states require a permit.
Several state authorities state that they do not issue one.
Three separate layers apply at once
1. Water law. Water authorities characterise magnet fishing as a Gewasserbenutzung — a use of a water body — requiring a permit under § 8 WHG. The Umweltamt Nurnberg states that using a water body without the required permit is an Ordnungswidrigkeit that "kann mit Bussgeld in einer Hohe von bis zu 50.000 Euro geahndet werden".
2. Heritage law. Each Land has its own Denkmalschutzgesetz. This is where the permit requirement usually bites.
3. Ordnance and site rules. Nature reserves, reservoir bye-laws and Kampfmittel regulations sit on top.
The key point: magnets are treated like metal detectors
This is the mechanism most people miss. Several Lander expressly apply their metal-detecting (Sondengehen) permit regime to magnets.
LWL-Archaologie for Westfalen (NRW) states it plainly: "Auch das Magnetangeln ist genehmigungspflichtig. Hier gelten dieselben Regelungen wie fur Sondenganger:innen." — magnet fishing is permit-required, and the same rules apply as for detectorists.
Berlin's Senate has stated that "Magnetfischen in Gewassern so zu behandeln ist wie das Suchen mittels Metallsonden im Gelande". Bremen's heritage act expressly extends the detector rule to "das Suchen und Bergen von Kulturdenkmalern aus einem Gewasser". Mecklenburg-Vorpommern counts magnets among "Suchgerate, die geeignet sind, Bodendenkmale aufzufinden". Rheinland-Pfalz names Magneten in its permit page directly.
Authorities in Niedersachsen also report that courts have held a permit is needed where someone searches with aids and considers it possible they may encounter archaeological finds — "Es kommt nicht darauf an, ob altertumliche Schatze gefunden werden, der Versuch allein reicht aus." Intent to find scrap rather than treasure does not remove the requirement.
State-by-state
| Bundesland | Reported position | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Wurttemberg | Conditional. Water authority must be informed; heritage authority states a Nachforschungsgenehmigung "kann nicht erteilt werden" where protected material is at risk | Untere Wasserbehorde; Landesamt fur Denkmalpflege |
| Bayern | Not permit-free. Water permit required under § 8 WHG; Nurnberg states permits generally cannot be issued for its waters | Untere Wasserbehorde |
| Berlin | Permit required. Heritage office states private individuals generally receive none | Landesdenkmalamt Berlin |
| Bremen | Permit required. Landesarchaologie states: "Aktuell konnen wir KEINE Genehmigung... erteilen" | Landesarchaologie Bremen |
| Hamburg | Genehmigungspflichtige Sondernutzung, plus water-owner permission. Page headed "Magnetangeln ist ordnungswidrig" | BUKEA; Bezirksamt |
| Hessen | Stated not permissible across the entire Hessian stretch of the Main, on safety grounds | RP Darmstadt |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Permit required. Unpermitted searching is stated to be a criminal offence, not merely an administrative one | LAKD M-V Landesarchaologie |
| Niedersachsen | Permit required: "Die Suche mit einem Metalldetektor und das Magnetangeln sind verboten, solange keine Nachforschungsgenehmigung vorliegt" | NLD |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | Permit required, treated identically to detecting. Grabungsgenehmigung, fee reported at EUR 75, permit must be carried | Obere Denkmalbehorde; LWL-Archaologie |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | Permit required where searching targets Kulturdenkmaler. Capped intake, annual deadline, lottery, mandatory training | Untere Denkmalschutzbehorde with GDKE |
| Sachsen | A 2023 Allgemeinverfugung grants general heritage permission for magnet searching. Read the caveat below. | Landesamt fur Archaologie Sachsen |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | Permit required. Halle requires owner consent plus a binding ordnance-clearance declaration plus proof of competence before any application | Untere Denkmalschutzbehorde |
| Schleswig-Holstein | Stated prohibited: "In allen landeseigenen Gewassern ist das 'Magnetfischen' somit verboten" | LKN.SH; Landesdenkmalamt |
| Brandenburg, Saarland, Thuringen | Not established here. Reported as permit-required but we could not confirm from a primary source — contact the state authority directly | — |
Federal waterways are separate again: the WSA Oder-Havel has expressly prohibited magnet fishing in its district as owner of the waterways.
The Saxony caveat
Saxony's general permission covers heritage law only. The Allgemeinverfugung expressly preserves everything else — "namentlich nach Wasserrecht, Naturschutzrecht oder Strassenrecht sowie privatrechtliche Einigungen bleiben... unberuhrt". It would be wrong to read it as "magnet fishing is legal in Saxony".
Who owns what you find
Several Lander operate a Schatzregal, under which significant finds become state property on discovery. Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt all do, with Berlin's heritage act expressly covering things found "in Gewassern". In M-V, finds recovered during unpermitted searching become state property regardless of their scientific value.
Objects worth more than EUR 10 must generally be reported; keeping them risks Fundunterschlagung.
Ordnance — the reason much of this exists
German authorities consistently identify unexploded wartime ordnance as the dominant risk. The guidance is uniform: do not touch it, do not move it, do not transport it. Mark the spot, keep away, and notify the police, Ordnungsamt or Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst. Hamburg and Halle both say call 110.
The reason for the emphasis is not theoretical. Niedersachsen's clearance service reports a 2020 case in which a father and son recovered a phosphorus incendiary bomb while magnet fishing and took it home, where the white phosphorus later self-ignited and three people were injured. In a separate incident a magnet angler left a recovered hand grenade hanging from the magnet on a bridge railing.
Deliberately searching for ordnance is separately penalised in several Lander.
Before you go
- Identify your Bundesland and contact its heritage authority — assume a permit is needed.
- Contact the untere Wasserbehorde about the water-law side. They are different bodies with different answers.
- Establish who owns the water. Owner permission is separate again.
- Never keep or transport anything resembling a munition.
This article is general information about published rules, not legal advice, and it is not a statement of what will or will not happen to you. Rules differ by Bundesland and by water body, and they change. Always confirm the current position with the responsible authority, and seek qualified legal advice if anything material turns on it.
