I found something in the street — can I keep it?
Conditional: you can keep the find, but only after following the procedure and waiting a year. The basis is arts. 1323 and 1324 of the Civil Code. Finding a lost thing, you have a duty to return it to the owner; if unknown, you must announce the find publicly and/or hand it to the authority (police/municipal lost-property service). The owner has 1 year to claim it; after that year unclaimed, you acquire ownership. You're entitled to a reward up to 10% of the value and reimbursement of expenses, and may keep the thing until paid. In short: yes, but only after announcing and waiting 1 year.
📋 The rules
- Duty to return to the owner or announce/hand in
- Owner has 1 year to claim
- After 1 year: you acquire ownership
- Entitled to a reward up to 10% of the value
- Reimbursement of expenses; you can retain until paid
🔓 Exceptions
- Treasure (art. 1324): old ownerless valuables split 50/50
- Objects of historical/archaeological value: belong to the State
- If the owner is immediately known: just return it (reward/expenses still due)
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Keeping a find without announcing or handing it in, intending to make it yours, can constitute the crime of unlawful appropriation of a found thing (Penal Code) — punishable by a fine or prison — and you lose the right to ownership and reward. The lawful reward is capped at 10% of the value. Beware the Brazil confusion: the Brazilian Civil Code sets a reward "no less than 5%" with its own procedure — don't cite the Brazilian 5% for Portugal, where the cap is up to 10%. Myth: "finders keepers" is false — ownership only passes to you after announcing/handing in and 1 year unclaimed. To act properly: announce or hand in the find to the authority and wait the 1-year period.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
I found something in the street, can I keep it?
Not immediately. You have a duty to return the thing to the owner or, if unknown, to announce it publicly and hand it to the competent authority, like the police or lost-property service. Only if no one claims it within 1 year do you acquire ownership of the found object.
How long does the owner have to claim it?
The owner has 1 year, from the announcement of the find, to claim it. During that period, you must keep the thing or hand it to the authority. After the year, with no one claiming it, you acquire ownership of the object, and can then dispose of it freely, under art. 1323 of the Civil Code.
Am I entitled to a reward?
Yes. Whoever finds and returns a lost thing is entitled to a reward, up to a limit of 10% of its value, graduated by the amount. In addition, you can claim reimbursement of the expenses you had keeping and announcing the find, and retain the thing until those expenses are paid.
And if I find treasure?
Treasure, i.e. valuables hidden long ago with no identifiable owner, is, as a rule, split 50/50 between the finder and the owner of the land or movable where it was, provided there was no deliberate search on another's property. Objects of archaeological value, however, belong to the State.
Does "finders keepers" apply?
No. Appropriating a found thing without announcing or handing it in, intending to make it yours, can be the crime of unlawful appropriation of a found thing. Ownership only passes to you after following the procedure and 1 year unclaimed. Unlike Brazil, the reward in Portugal goes up to 10%.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “found something street can i keep”
- “lost and found law portugal”
- “found lost thing 1 year”
- “reward found 10 percent”
- “appropriation found thing crime”
- “treasure civil code 1324”