Reporting lost or found items

How does it work?

Have you found an item? It is your duty to do your best to return a found object to its owner. If you know who it is, you can arrange this yourself. If you do not know who the owner is, you can report the object, if it was found in the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel, to us at www.verlorenofgevonden.nl.

• The law does not require you to find something, but it does require you to report it. Therefore, if you find something you are not obliged to pick it up. But if you do pick up the object, you must quickly report it to the municipality.
• The law also has no duty to surrender. You may therefore keep the found object at home. An exception is driving licenses and/or other identity papers. Because these are state property, you are obliged to surrender them (failure to do so is a crime).

Keeping found objects

You can drop off a found object at City Hall. We will then take care of it. If you keep it yourself, you must take care of its upkeep. The object must remain in the same condition. If the rightful owner comes forward, he/she is obliged to reimburse any maintenance costs and expenses for locating the owner within one month. If the owner does not pay in time, you become the owner of the lost object.

Becoming an owner

The municipality informs you when the owner comes to pick up the found object. If you keep the found object yourself and reported it, you become the owner after 12 months or after 3 months. The number of months depends on the value of the found object.

• If you want to become the rightful owner of the object yourself, you must indicate this on the form when reporting the found object.
• If the object has a value of more than €450, you become the owner after 12 months.
• If it is less than €450, you become the owner after 3 months.
• If you have deposited the found object with us for safekeeping, you must report to us within one month of the retention period (i.e., after 12 or 3 months) with the report form and proof of identity.

Recovering your lost item

Do you see what you lost on www.verlorenofgevonden.nl? Then you can report to the municipality. We will then ask you to describe the lost object properly, and compare that with the description as we know it. If this is correct, you can of course recover the object:

• If it is kept by the municipality you can report to the town hall.
• Is it kept by the finder? Then we will give the finder your contact information so that you can get your property back even then.

Destroy travel document

It is no longer permitted by law to return a found passport or Dutch identity card to its holder. Every travel document, which is found and returned to the municipality, is therefore immediately destroyed.Do you have a well-founded suspicion that you are going to be a victim of identity fraud? Then it is important to take action immediately.

Stolen items

Theft remains a police matter. Do you suspect your property has been stolen? Report it at www.politie.nl.

Bicycles found

Management of lost and found bicycles is in the hands of Estafette Kringloop in Burgum, Lageweg 17. Telephone: 0511 - 46 92 11. They also pick up bicycles that have been dumped, or left unattended for a long time. They also handle the sale of found bicycles whose owners have not reported within the set period. The rules of the game are the same as for lost and found. If you have found a bicycle, you can report it to the municipality. If you cannot bring the bicycle to the recycling center yourself, they can pick it up at your home. If you have lost your bicycle, you can also report it to the municipality.