Reporting a loss and viewing lost property

The Munich Lost Property Office records the SIM card number and forwards it to the mobile network provider. The provider will notify the customer that the phone has been found, provided the customer’s records are still on file. You must block your SIM card yourself.

The following details are required when collecting the item; you’ll find them on the original packaging or the receipt:

• SIM card: provider and number
• Mobile phone: make, model and IMEI number (if the SIM card is no longer in the phone or has been replaced)

Unfortunately, it is not possible to view lost mobile phones.

Identity documents:

• Foreign official documents (such as passports and driving licences) belonging to people not registered in Munich are sent via the Federal Office of Administration in Cologne to the embassies of the respective countries.
• Bank cards and identity documents belonging to people not registered in Munich are sent directly to the relevant financial institution or the issuing authority.
• People registered in Munich who have lost their identity documents will be notified in writing. You should wait around four weeks before applying for a new identity document. If you have already applied for a new identity document, you must return the old one to the issuing authority without delay.
• Spectacles: Please bring the spectacles certificate from your optician; this may help with identification. Please also have the make, shape and material of the frames to hand.
• Keys: Please bring a reference key or spare key for comparison. If ownership is in doubt, we will only hand over the key or bunch of keys upon payment of an additional deposit of 100 euros. The deposit will be refunded upon return of the key or bunch of keys, or upon proof of ownership.
  

Unfortunately, it is not possible to send digital storage devices (such as smartphones or laptops) abroad due to a general ban on the dispatch of lithium-ion batteries. These are classified as dangerous goods.

We will only post lost property on request outside Munich and outside the Munich S-Bahn area. Furthermore, the costs must be reimbursed before dispatch; the standard terms and conditions of Deutsche Post apply in this regard. Collection by a courier is possible provided we have received a written authorisation, our costs have been reimbursed and no further costs are incurred by us as a result. Please do not send us any stamps, cash or cheques. Payment can only be made by bank transfer.

If an item has been stolen from you, you must report it to the police immediately. Reporting the theft is an essential prerequisite for the return of a bicycle to the person who lost it and for claiming insurance benefits. Should it transpire that the item was not stolen, you must withdraw the report. You should have your debit, credit and mobile phone cards blocked immediately.

If the finder claims it, you must pay a finder’s fee.

For items worth up to 500 euros, the finder’s reward is five per cent of the value. If the item is worth more than 500 euros, the finder’s reward is 3 per cent.

Example calculation: Value of the item: 800 euros.

• 5 per cent of the first 500 euros = 25 euros
• 3 per cent of the remaining 300 euros = 9 euros
• This amounts to a finder’s fee of 34 euros.

Different rules apply to items found on the premises of public authorities or in the vehicles of public transport operators. In such cases, for items worth at least 50 euros, the finder receives only half the statutory finder’s fee.

Lost property is usually kept for three months. Lost property subject to retention of title is kept for six months. Low-value lost property worth less than ten euros is kept for a maximum of four weeks.

Once the collection period has expired, these lost items become the property of the City of Munich, provided the finder has not asserted any rights to them. They are then auctioned off, destroyed or donated to charitable causes. Data protection is, of course, taken into account in this process.