Revised on 7 November 2026. Should any information have changed, please notify me and I shall update it.
Moving a work between countries may require three distinct permits, depending on its age, value, legal status and destination: the Spanish permit, the European export licence and the European import licence. For the majority of contemporary works, none are required. This guide separates them.
Leaving Spain: the Historical Heritage Act
Assets of Historical Heritage that are over one hundred years old, and in any case those registered in the General Inventory of Movable Property, require authorisation to leave Spanish territory. Those declared an Asset of Cultural Interest are, as a rule, non-exportable, except for authorised temporary departures.
The application is submitted to the Ministry of Culture or, depending on the case, to the autonomous community, with a description and photograph of each work. The Board of Qualification, Valuation and Exportation issues an opinion and the competent General Directorate resolves the matter. If it is denied, the State may acquire the work, and the denial may be accompanied by a declaration of non-exportability.
The illicit export of a movable asset of the Spanish Historical Heritage produces the consequences set forth in Article 29 of Law 16/1985, including its ownership by the State.
The fact that a work is one hundred years old is not sufficient to describe its regime: it is also necessary to verify whether it forms part of the Spanish Historical Heritage and whether it has autonomous protection. The autonomous communities maintain their own categories and procedures. In case of doubt, consult the Ministry of Culture or the body of your autonomous community before contracting transport.
Temporary or permanent. The authorisation may be for permanent export, temporary export, or temporary export with the possibility of sale. The temporary permit sets a return deadline and may impose conditions regarding conservation, insurance and transport; if the work does not return on time, the departure may become illicit. The loan agreement and the policy must conform to what has been authorised.
What to provide. Full identification of each work, photographs of the obverse, reverse and marks, provenance and title of ownership, destination, purpose and duration if the departure is temporary, and the declared value with the documentation that supports it. The application is processed via the electronic office and is not considered submitted until it is signed and registered.
The declared value. In the case of permanent export, the value you declare is considered an irrevocable offer of sale in favour of the State, which may accept it within the legal period and purchase the work for that price. Declaring an artificially low value may be to your detriment. Document it with comparables or with a valuation.
A work that has been legally imported and documented upon entry has its own regime that facilitates its subsequent departure for a period of time. If you purchase an antique work abroad to bring it into the country, document the import.
Leaving the European Union: the export licence
To remove cultural goods from the Union, Regulation (EC) 116/2009 requires an export licence for the categories in its annex, which combine age and value. It is issued by the authority of the State where the artwork is located and is presented at the customs office of exit. Being the work of a living artist or less than fifty years old usually excludes the piece, but the categories and their thresholds must be verified in the annex. These are some of the most common:
| Category | Age | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Paintings and pictures executed entirely by hand | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 150.000 € |
| Watercolours, gouaches and pastels | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 30.000 € |
| Mosaics and drawings | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 15.000 € |
| Original engravings, prints, serigraphs and lithographs | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 15.000 € |
| Original sculptures | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 50.000 € |
| Photographs, films and negatives | More than 50 years old and not belonging to its author | 15.000 € |
| Archaeological objects and elements of dismembered monuments | More than 100 years | No threshold |
The table is a selection: the annex contains further categories and specific rules.
Three cases. A painting from 1990 without protection sold to New York for 200,000 euros is not one hundred years old nor does it exceed the European age threshold, so in principle it does not require these permits. A painting from 1900 sold to Switzerland for the same price may require the Spanish authorisation and the European licence. If that painting goes to France, it may require the Spanish one, but not the European one.
Entering the European Union: the 2019 regulation
As of 28 June 2025, Regulation (EU) 2019/880 is fully applicable. It prohibits the introduction of cultural goods exported illegally from their country of origin and, for some, requires prior documents processed in the ICG electronic system:
- Import licence for goods most exposed to trafficking, such as archaeological objects and dismembered parts of monuments, more than 250 years old.
- Importer's declaration for other categories over 200 years old and with a value of at least 18,000 euros per piece.
Contemporary work is excluded due to its age. The regulation is relevant to the collector of antiques, archaeology or old master paintings who purchases outside the Union.
The general prohibition is not contingent upon price: the fact that an item is sold legally in the final country of transit does not prove that it left the country of origin legally. The importer's declaration is not a mere customs checkbox; it contains the affirmation, under your responsibility, that the asset was exported lawfully and includes a standardised description, and it must be supported by documents you retain: permits from the country of origin, invoices, titles, customs and transport records, photographs, and historical publications. A seller's declaration does not rectify a broken chain of provenance; the guide on restitution and responsible acquisition explains the necessary steps.
Returned goods and certain temporary imports for educational, scientific, conservation, restoration, exhibition, digitisation, or museum cooperation purposes are excluded. At trade fairs, an item that would normally require a licence may enter temporarily with an importer's declaration, but if it remains in the Union after the fair, the licence will be required.
An example: a painting from 1790 purchased in the United States for 40,000 euros requires a declaration; an archaeological ceramic piece 2,000 years old purchased for 800 euros requires a licence despite its low value; an engraving from 1900 valued at 25,000 euros requires neither document, although it remains subject to the general prohibition.
Movement within the Union
There is no customs between Member States, but the Spanish permit remains necessary for goods that require it, and Law 1/2017 allows another State to reclaim goods that left its territory illegally.
Before concluding the transaction
If you sell to a foreign buyer, include a condition precedent in the contract linked to obtaining the permits and do not promise a delivery date until the procedure is known. Transport does not commence until they are obtained. Inform the carrier, the insurer, and the organiser of the authorisation conditions. The guide on shipping or transporting an artwork covers the logistical aspects, and the guide on Cultural Interest Asset and inexportability covers the highest level of protection.
VAT
The export of an artwork outside the Union is exempt from VAT if the departure is evidenced. The import of works of art, collectors' items, and antiques is taxed at a reduced rate. Between Member States, the rules depend on whether the seller is a private individual or a professional and whether the buyer is a business entity. The invoicing guide covers the artist's perspective.
Further reading
On the open conversation
If you work in the export of cultural goods or in customs and observe a procedure described incompletely, please write to me. This notebook remains open.
Sources
- Law 16/1985, on the Spanish Historical Heritage, arts. 5, 29, 31, 32 and 33.
- Royal Decree 111/1986, partially developing Law 16/1985, art. 8.
- Council Regulation (EC) 116/2009 on the export of cultural goods.
- Ministry of Culture, export procedure and Qualification, Valuation and Export Board.
- Ministry of Culture, import of cultural goods; Tax Agency, information note 16/2025.
- Regulation (EU) 2019/880; European Commission, application note; Tax Agency, cultural goods.
- Law 1/2017, on the restitution of cultural goods.