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Metal Detecting Laws in Mozambique

By the LuckyFind team Sourced from national law and official guidance
Sources checked October 9, 2026 ~6 min read

Searching for archaeological objects in Mozambique requires a licensed archaeological project. That is a different question from looking solely for modern lost items: the cited heritage provisions do not determine the rules for ordinary lost-item detecting. Beaches, forests and privately used land still fall under the archaeological-search requirement, while national parks and certain reserves also restrict prospection and work that changes the terrain. Public access alone does not supply permission for those activities.

Can I detect in Mozambique?

The short answer for each kind of land. Tap a card for the detail and the rule’s own words.

Open in many areas without a permitPermit, registration, or designated beaches onlyProhibited or effectively closed

The rules, land by land

Anywhere: national heritage law

Research permits only

Searching for archaeological objects requires a licensed archaeological project; the cited heritage provisions do not determine the rule for detecting solely for modern lost items.

  • The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation) defines archaeological prospection as surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized. It requires a license for that search as well as for archaeological excavation (arts. 2–3).
  • The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4).
  • This rule covers searching for archaeological heritage. Articles 2–4 of the cited archaeological regulation do not determine the rule for detecting solely for modern lost items or establish general permission for that activity.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

Digging

Research permits only

Excavating archaeological remains requires an archaeological license and scientifically qualified supervision.

  • This row concerns archaeological excavation, not every hole dug for an ordinary modern object. The regulation defines archaeological excavation by its purpose of discovering and studying historical, anthropological, paleontological or associated evidence (art. 2).
  • The project must meet the archaeological license conditions in arts. 3–5, including the director’s archaeological qualifications and a plan specifying the operations. A license holder may not exceed approved prospection or excavation operations without written authorization (art. 5(6)).
  • Separate coastal, conservation and land-access restrictions still need to be satisfied.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

Keeping finds

Permit required

Archaeological objects are state property, with a narrow authorized route to receive part of a licensed project’s finds as an award.

  • Lei n.º 10/88, art. 10, makes archaeological sites and objects inalienable state property; finding an object does not itself grant ownership.
  • Under Decreto n.º 27/94, arts. 6–7, an applicant meeting the special archaeological-contract or license conditions may ask the culture minister to substitute ownership of part of the recovered material for a discovery award. Approval is not automatic.
  • The ownership award may cover only items similar to others from the same location, may not exceed 50 percent of each group of items that are not of exceptional value, and requires cancellation of the items’ heritage classification before transfer (art. 7(3)–(4)).
  • Movable finds from archaeological work must be deposited with museums or places licensed by the heritage authority (art. 13(2)). These cited heritage provisions do not determine ownership of ordinary modern lost property or non-archaeological treasure.
What the rule says
“O requerente, sujeito às condições definidas no artigo 6 do presente capítulo, pode requerer ao Ministro da Cultura e Juventude que o prémio pela descoberta dos elementos arqueológicos seja substituído pelo direito a se tornar proprietário de parte do espólio recolhido durante a realização de trabalhos arqueológicos.”

Reporting finds

Must be reported

Report an accidental archaeological discovery to the local authority within 48 hours and protect the finds.

  • Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 10(1), requires notification within 48 hours to the local authority referred to in Lei n.º 10/88, art. 6(3): the district administration or city executive council. That authority notifies the competent culture bodies.
  • Take appropriate protective measures. If the discovery occurs during work using machinery or other instruments that could endanger it, suspend that work (art. 10(1)–(2)).
  • The broader Lei n.º 10/88, art. 13, requires anyone finding places, constructions, objects or documents capable of classification as cultural heritage to notify the nearest administrative authority.
  • These are heritage reporting duties. The cited provisions do not determine the reporting rule for ordinary modern lost property.
What the rule says
“O autor de qualquer descoberta fortuita de elementos arqueológicos, deve comunicar com um prazo de 48 horas à autoridade local,”

Beaches & foreshore

Research permits only

Archaeological searching on beaches needs the national archaeological license; the cited provisions do not establish a general permission for ordinary lost-item detecting.

  • The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation) defines archaeological prospection as surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized. It requires a license for that search as well as for archaeological excavation (arts. 2–3).
  • The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4).
  • This rule covers searching for archaeological heritage. Articles 2–4 of the cited archaeological regulation do not determine the rule for detecting solely for modern lost items or establish general permission for that activity.
  • The coastal regulation makes coasts and beaches public for leisure, but regulates concessions, licenses and authorizations to use their resources separately (Decreto n.º 97/2020, art. 5). Public leisure access is not an archaeological-search license.
  • The same regulation prohibits extracting or removing sand from beaches, roads, verges and sidewalks except to return it to the beach, and prohibits destroying sensitive ecosystems or removing vegetation (art. 50(1)). The cited article contains no detector-specific clarification of how its sand rule applies to recovering a target and replacing the sand.
  • Lei de Terras (Land Law), arts. 6, 8(c) and 9, places the coastal strip up to 100 meters inland from the maximum high-water line in the public domain as a partial protection zone. Special activity licenses in protected zones are separate from the archaeological license.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

Protected monuments

Research permits only

Searching archaeological sites and monuments requires the archaeological license; protected sites also have restrictions on physical changes.

  • The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation) defines archaeological prospection as surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized. It requires a license for that search as well as for archaeological excavation (arts. 2–3).
  • The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4).
  • All archaeological monuments and elements are classified under Lei n.º 10/88, art. 7(2)(a).
  • In protection zones around immovable archaeological heritage, works that physically alter the area are prohibited; the culture minister may lift the prohibition or authorize interventions after consulting the cultural heritage council to enhance the protected heritage (Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 21(2)–(3)).
  • The cited archaeological-search license provisions do not establish permission to recover modern losses at a protected site.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

National parks & nature reserves

Research permits only

National parks, strict nature reserves and special reserves restrict prospection and ground-altering work; hobby target recovery is not authorized by their visitor-access rules.

  • The status covers national parks, strict nature reserves and special reserves. Article 78(1)–(3) of the conservation regulation prohibits prospection and work modifying the terrain in these categories. Its strict-reserve scientific exception requires no installation of infrastructure; national parks and special reserves also have management exceptions.
  • Even if detector sweeping alone causes no ground disturbance, digging up a target modifies the terrain and falls under the ground-work restriction. It is not limited to archaeological digging.
  • The law permits controlled scientific research and monitoring in national parks for area management. The regulation allows contemplative tourism unless the management plan prohibits it, and other activities only under the relevant category, plan and authorization conditions; this is not permission for hobby recovery (Lei n.º 16/2014 as republished in 2017, art. 16(3)–(4); Decreto n.º 89/2017, art. 79).
  • Other conservation categories have their own rules; this row does not apply the same ground-work ban to every conservation area. Searching for archaeological heritage still needs the national archaeological license.
  • For strict nature reserves, the parent law’s exception wording also refers to enforcement purposes and contemplative tourism, subject to no installation of infrastructure (Lei n.º 16/2014 as republished in 2017, art. 15(2)). The cited provisions do not specifically authorize hobby detecting or target recovery.
What the rule says
“b) Realizar pesquisa ou prospecção, sondagem ou construção de aterros; c) Todos os trabalhos tendentes a modificar o aspecto do terreno ou as características da vegetação bem como provocar a poluição das águas;”

State forests

Research permits only

The national archaeological-search license applies in forests; the cited forest provisions do not establish general permission for modern lost-item detecting in state forests.

  • The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation) defines archaeological prospection as surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized. It requires a license for that search as well as for archaeological excavation (arts. 2–3).
  • The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4).
  • This rule covers searching for archaeological heritage. Articles 2–4 of the cited archaeological regulation do not determine the rule for detecting solely for modern lost items or establish general permission for that activity.
  • Forest reserves are subject to the total-protection-zone regime under Lei n.º 17/2023, art. 31(4). That classification does not supply a hobby-detecting permission.
  • Forest access and resource-use arrangements under Lei n.º 17/2023 and Decreto n.º 78/2024 are separate from the license required for archaeological searching.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

Private land

Research permits only

Permission from a landholder does not replace the license for archaeological searching on privately used land.

  • The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation) defines archaeological prospection as surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized. It requires a license for that search as well as for archaeological excavation (arts. 2–3).
  • The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4).
  • This rule covers searching for archaeological heritage. Articles 2–4 of the cited archaeological regulation do not determine the rule for detecting solely for modern lost items or establish general permission for that activity.
  • The Land Law treats the land itself as state property and recognizes land-use rights for national individuals, legal persons and local communities (Lei n.º 19/97, arts. 3 and 10). Those rights are distinct from authorization to search for archaeological heritage.
  • The cited Land Law articles concern land ownership and land-use rights; they do not determine the rules for a visitor’s access or modern lost-item detecting on privately used land.
What the rule says
“Não é permitido realizar prospecções ou escavações arqueológicas sem ser portador de uma licença emitida pela autoridade competente, conforme o modelo que constitui o anexo deste Regulamento.”

Even where detecting is allowed, archaeological and historic sites are protected, and you must fill every hole and follow posted rules. Always confirm the current rule with the land manager.

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Open data: every rule in our Mozambique guide, with its quote, source and check date, free to reuse (CC BY-SA 4.0). Download the data →

Please read: this is general information for detectorists, not legal advice. Rules change and vary by individual park, city, and agency. We cite the official sources below, but always confirm the current rule with the specific land manager before you detect — and when in doubt, ask first. Sources checked October 9, 2026; see the source notes for scope.

Archaeological searching and digging

The Regulamento de Protecção do Património Arqueológico (Archaeological Heritage Protection Regulation), approved by Decreto n.º 27/94, requires a license for archaeological prospection and excavation. Prospection includes surface or underwater research to discover, explore or record archaeological elements, sites or monuments, with excavation or removal limited to what is authorized (arts. 2–3).

The license conditions require a university-trained archaeologist with proven experience and registration, a work plan, and authorization from the archaeological property’s custodian and the local authority (art. 4). A license holder may not exceed approved prospection or excavation operations without written authorization (art. 5(6)). These are archaeological project requirements; they do not establish a general hobby-detecting permission.

The archaeological excavation rule concerns work to discover and study historical, anthropological, paleontological or associated evidence. It is not a rule about every hole dug for a modern object. Separate coastal, conservation and land-access restrictions still apply.

Protected archaeological sites and monuments

All archaeological monuments and elements are classified under Lei n.º 10/88, art. 7(2)(a). Searching for archaeological material requires the national archaeological license.

In protection zones around immovable archaeological heritage, works that physically alter the area are prohibited. The culture minister may lift the prohibition or authorize interventions after consulting the cultural heritage council to enhance the protected heritage (Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 21(2)–(3)). The archaeological-search license provisions do not establish permission to recover modern losses at a protected site.

Beaches and the coast

The coastal regulation makes coasts and beaches public for leisure, but regulates concessions, licenses and authorizations to use their resources separately (Decreto n.º 97/2020, art. 5). Archaeological searching still requires its own license. These provisions do not establish general permission for ordinary lost-item detecting.

Article 50(1) prohibits extracting or removing sand from beaches, roads, verges and sidewalks except to return it to the beach. It also prohibits destroying sensitive ecosystems or removing vegetation. The article contains no detector-specific clarification of how its sand rule applies to recovering a target and replacing the sand.

The Lei de Terras (Land Law), arts. 6, 8(c) and 9, places the coastal strip up to 100 meters inland from the maximum high-water line in the public domain as a partial protection zone. Special activity licenses in protected zones are separate from the archaeological license.

Public forests

The national archaeological-search license applies in forests. Forest access and resource-use arrangements under Lei n.º 17/2023 and Decreto n.º 78/2024 are separate from that license.

Forest reserves are subject to the total-protection-zone regime under Lei n.º 17/2023, art. 31(4). That classification does not supply hobby-detecting permission, and the cited forest provisions do not establish general permission for modern lost-item detecting in state forests.

National parks and nature reserves

National parks, strict nature reserves and special reserves prohibit prospection and work modifying the terrain under art. 78(1)–(3) of the conservation regulation, Decreto n.º 89/2017. The regulation provides scientific exceptions; its strict-reserve exception requires no installation of infrastructure. National parks and special reserves also have management exceptions.

Digging up a detector target modifies the terrain and falls under this ground-work restriction, even if sweeping the detector alone causes no ground disturbance. The restriction is not limited to archaeological digging. Other conservation categories have their own rules; the same ban should not be assumed for every conservation area.

For strict nature reserves, the parent law uses different exception wording: it also refers to enforcement purposes and contemplative tourism, subject to no installation of infrastructure (Lei n.º 16/2014 as republished in 2017, art. 15(2)). The cited provisions do not specifically authorize hobby detecting or target recovery.

For national parks, the law permits controlled scientific research and monitoring for area management. The regulation allows contemplative tourism unless the management plan prohibits it, and other activities only under the relevant category, plan and authorization conditions (Lei n.º 16/2014, art. 16(3)–(4); Decreto n.º 89/2017, art. 79). These visitor-access provisions do not authorize hobby recovery. Archaeological searching also remains subject to the national archaeological license.

Privately used land

Permission from a landholder does not replace the license for archaeological searching. The Land Law treats the land itself as state property and recognizes land-use rights for national individuals, legal persons and local communities (Lei n.º 19/97, arts. 3 and 10). Those rights are distinct from archaeological-search authorization.

The cited Land Law articles concern ownership and land-use rights; they do not determine a visitor’s access rules or the rules for modern lost-item detecting on privately used land.

Keeping archaeological finds

Archaeological sites and objects are inalienable state property under Lei n.º 10/88, art. 10. Finding an object does not itself grant ownership. Movable finds from archaeological work must be deposited with museums or places licensed by the heritage authority (Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 13(2)).

A narrow award route exists for an applicant meeting the special archaeological-contract or license conditions in arts. 6–7 of Decreto n.º 27/94. The applicant may ask the culture minister to substitute ownership of part of the recovered material for a discovery award. Approval is not automatic.

That ownership award may cover only items similar to others from the same location, may not exceed 50 percent of each group of items that are not of exceptional value, and requires cancellation of the items’ heritage classification before transfer. These heritage provisions do not determine ownership of ordinary modern lost property or non-archaeological treasure.

Reporting an accidental discovery

Report an accidental archaeological discovery within 48 hours to the local authority: the district administration or city executive council. That authority notifies the competent culture bodies (Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 10(1); Lei n.º 10/88, art. 6(3)).

Take appropriate protective measures. If the discovery occurs during work using machinery or other instruments that could endanger it, suspend that work (Decreto n.º 27/94, art. 10(1)–(2)).

The broader heritage law also requires anyone finding places, constructions, objects or documents capable of classification as cultural heritage to notify the nearest administrative authority (Lei n.º 10/88, art. 13). These are heritage duties; the cited provisions do not determine the reporting rule for ordinary modern lost property.

Sources

Official and statutory sources this page is based on (source check: October 9, 2026):

The archaeological-search rules concern heritage research. The cited provisions do not establish general permission for modern lost-item detecting or determine ordinary lost-property ownership and reporting duties. Conservation restrictions here distinguish national parks, strict nature reserves and special reserves from other categories.

Keep your permitted Mozambique spots organized

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is metal detecting legal in Mozambique?
Searching for archaeological objects requires a licensed archaeological project. The cited heritage provisions do not determine the rules for detecting solely for modern lost items. Land access and conservation restrictions are separate questions, so this is not a general permission to detect.
Can I detect on a public beach?
Public leisure access does not replace the archaeological-search license. The coastal regulation also restricts sand removal and damage to sensitive ecosystems or vegetation. Its cited sand rule contains no detector-specific clarification about recovering a target and replacing the sand, and the cited provisions do not establish general permission for ordinary lost-item detecting.
Does permission from a landholder cover archaeological searching?
No. Archaeological searching still requires the national license and its project conditions. The cited Land Law articles do not determine the rules for a visitor’s access or modern lost-item detecting on privately used land.
Can I dig up detector targets in national parks?
The conservation regulation prohibits prospection and work changing the terrain in national parks, subject to scientific or management exceptions. Target digging falls under the terrain restriction. Visitor-access rules do not authorize hobby recovery, and archaeological searching also requires the archaeological license.
Can I keep an archaeological object I find?
Finding it does not itself give you ownership: archaeological objects are state property. A qualifying archaeological project may request an ownership award under narrow conditions, including approval, limits on eligible items and quantity, and cancellation of heritage classification before transfer. This is not an automatic finder’s entitlement. The cited heritage provisions do not determine ownership of ordinary modern lost property or non-archaeological treasure.
How soon must I report an accidental archaeological find?
Within 48 hours to the district administration or city executive council. Take appropriate protective measures and suspend work using machinery or other instruments if it could endanger the discovery. These heritage provisions do not determine the reporting rule for ordinary modern lost property.

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