Permits to interfere with an ancient monument

The Finnish Heritage Agency may grant a permit to interfere if an ancient monument causes unreasonable harm in relation to its significance (section 11 of the Antiquities Act). A permit to interfere is applied by the landowner or other actor who intends to implement a measure that may have an impact on an ancient monument. It is the applicant’s responsibility to determine whether the activity interfering with an ancient monument requires other official permits.

A permit to interfere is always required when operating in an area with an ancient monument. In other words, this also applies when a project has been granted another permit, such as a building permit or a land extraction permit.

Before applying for permit to interfere, the matter must be discussed with the regional museum-in-charge.

Applying for a permit to interfere

You can apply for a permit to interfere in writing in the Finnish Heritage Agency’s Permit and Collections Service at asiointi.museovirasto.fi/en. The application must be submitted well in advance of the start date of the planned construction work.

As a rule, permit to interfere matters are processed within 60 days. The processing time covers the time from when the matter is initiated to issuing a decision.

The application is initiated when the applicant has paid a fee for the permit to interfere in the Permit and Collections Service. If the application is incomplete, the Finnish Heritage Agency requests the application to be supplemented within a deadline given. If the application needs to be supplemented, this may extend the processing time of the permit matter.

Permit applications are processed in the Cultural Environment Services department of the Finnish Heritage Agency.

Price of the permit to interfere

Under the Decree issued by the Ministry of Education and Culture on the fees payable on the services provided by the Finnish Heritage Agency, a decision on a permit to interfere is a chargeable performance under public law.

The Finnish Heritage Agency will charge a fee for the permit to interfere in accordance with the decree in force at the time. The fee is charged when applying for a permit to interfere.

The fee for the permit to interfere is EUR 2,374 as of 1 January 2026.

Inquiries

For more information on applying for a permit to interfere and processing of the permit, please contact the service email arkeologinenkulttuuriperinto@museovirasto.fi.