How long does a disposal procedure take?

Count on months rather than weeks. Publication on the Disposals Database alone takes two months. If an independent committee has to advise on protected status, add the time that takes. And where an object in public ownership is designated as of special significance, the minister has to be notified at least thirteen weeks before the disposal. So do not schedule a disposal in the last quarter before a move or a closure.

Can a museum spend the proceeds of deaccessioned works freely?

No. The LAMO and the Ethical Code for Museums provide that proceeds from disposal flow back into the collection, for acquisitions or conservation. Spending them on running costs, rent or debt repayment is not permitted under the code. The Heritage Act says nothing explicit about this, but the sector rules are clear.

Our museum holds both private and publicly owned objects. Which rules apply?

You assess that object by object, because it depends on who owns each one. Objects in public ownership fall under the mandatory disposal procedure of the Heritage Act. Private pieces do not, but the LAMO still applies. That overlap regularly causes confusion, especially where ownership is poorly documented. Have it checked before you start.

What if our museum is facing closure?

The collection then has to be disposed of or transferred, and that has to be done properly. The LAMO and the Ethical Code for Museums contain specific provisions for this scenario. There is almost always time pressure, while the interests of the municipality, donors, heirs and the public all run at once. That is exactly when guidance prevents mistakes the museum and the sector carry for years.

Collection management and the Heritage Act

Every museum that works professionally has a collection plan. It sets out what the collection holds and which direction the museum wants to take. It also names the works actively sought and the objects that may be considered for disposal.

As long as it stays on paper, nothing much happens. The moment a museum actually starts disposing of objects, legal ground comes into play that most museum professionals rarely walk on.

This page describes Dutch rules and Dutch sector practice.

The LAMO disposal procedure in four steps

The LAMO, in full the Leidraad Afstoting Museale Objecten, is the self-regulatory instrument of the Dutch museum sector for disposing of collection items. The Dutch Museums Association (Museumvereniging) draws it up and keeps it current. The 2023 version also addresses digital material, serially produced objects, natural history collections, objects from a colonial context and work by living artists.

The procedure has four steps.

It starts with internal research. Why do you want to dispose of this object? Does it no longer fit the collection profile, is it damaged beyond repair, or is it a duplicate? The reasoning has to be sound and it is recorded.

The museum then publishes the intended disposal on the Disposals Database (Afstotingsdatabase). It stays visible there for two months, so other museums and heritage institutions can come forward if they want to take the object over. Relocation within the museum sector is preferred. The database is public, so anyone can see which objects are up for disposal.

Where there is reason to suspect the object is of special significance for Dutch cultural heritage, a step is added. An independent committee advises on whether the object warrants protection. If it does, the process becomes more complicated and calls for extra care.

Then comes the actual execution. Relocation to another museum, transfer to a heritage institution, sale, exchange, destruction or another form of repurposing. The administrative side includes a signed transfer statement, handing over the object documentation, and removing the object from the collection register.

When the disposal procedure under the Heritage Act applies

The LAMO is not a statute but a sector instrument. Museums registered with Museumregister Nederland are expected to follow it. Where the collection is owned by a public authority, so by a municipality, province, water authority, university or the State, the disposal procedure under the Heritage Act (Erfgoedwet) applies on top. That procedure is mandatory and takes precedence over the LAMO and over municipal guidelines.

It applies to public authorities and bodies governed by public law that want to dispose of cultural goods. The Act targets objects that may be of special cultural, historical or scientific significance and that are irreplaceable and indispensable for Dutch cultural heritage.

Where there is reasonable ground to suspect special significance, you seek advice from a committee of independent experts. The LAMO committee meets that requirement. If the committee finds that the object is indeed of special significance, the competent authority, for instance the municipal executive in the case of a municipal museum, notifies the minister at least thirteen weeks before the intended disposal. During that period the minister can take measures to keep the object in the public domain.

Where disposal goes wrong in practice

Jaap sees the same situations return at museums dealing with disposal.

The overlap of LAMO and Heritage Act. A municipal museum disposing of objects follows both. In theory they dovetail; in practice there are grey areas between them. What if an object the museum does not consider worth protecting is designated as such by the committee? And how do you handle a collection that is partly private and partly public property?

Long-running loans that were never properly recorded. Many museums hold objects that came in on loan, sometimes decades ago, without a current agreement. The lender has died, the heirs cannot be traced, or the original arrangements are simply lost. If the museum wants to dispose of such an object, or if heirs do come forward, there is a question that has to be resolved with care.

Gifts with conditions. A donor may have stipulated on transfer that the work is permanently on display, or that it may not be lent out or resold. Years later those conditions constrain the collection policy. The question then becomes whether they are legally enforceable, and if so by whom.

Cuts and closure. A municipality can decide to shrink or close a museum. The collection then has to be disposed of or transferred, usually under heavy time pressure, while every procedure still has to be followed. The Ethical Code for Museums and the LAMO contain specific provisions for this scenario.

The consequences of a procedure done wrong are not small. A museum can lose its registration with Museumregister Nederland, and with it membership of the Museums Association and participation in the Museumkaart. Reputational damage comes on top, and the Inspectorate for Government Information and Heritage can enforce.

More about legal advice for museums →

More about provenance research and restitution →

Get in touch with Jaap Versteeg

Is your museum facing a disposal process and do you want certainty that you are following the right procedure? Or do you have questions about how the LAMO and the Heritage Act interact? Get in touch with Jaap Versteeg. Call 020 675 88 21 or email him for an initial consultation.

The LAMO is self-regulation, so there is no fine attached. The consequences sit elsewhere.

The Museum Register checks whether you followed the procedure. Dispose of an object without doing so and you risk a formal remark, and in the worst case the loss of your registration. That ends your participation in the Museumkaart, which shows up directly in visitor income. Funds and grant providers also tend to set registration as a condition.

Then there are your colleagues. Museums lend to one another on the basis of trust. A contested disposal makes loans harder to arrange, years later as well.

There is a legal side too. Works often arrive by gift or bequest, sometimes with conditions attached. Sell such a work and the donor or the donor’s heirs may come forward. And where the collection is in public hands, the LAMO does not apply but the Heritage Act does, with its own procedure and a duty to publish. That one is mandatory.