Parcel maps and owner lookup in Denmark

Last updated: 14 September 2026

You've found a promising field — but before you start, you need to know who owns it and who to ask for permission. On private land in Denmark you must have the landowner's permission before you detect. Muld shows parcel boundaries (matrikelskel) on the map so you can see the registered boundaries, and Find owner opens the OIS record for the selected parcel, where you can see the publicly available owner details. Here's how to get from a field on the map to the right owner to contact.

What parcel boundaries show

The cadastre (Matriklen) is the authoritative record of real property in Denmark. It registers plots of land with parcel numbers, and a single property can consist of one or more parcels. The parcel boundaries show the registered lines between the plots — so a boundary does not necessarily mean the owner changes.

On an aerial photo or a LiDAR map a field can look like one continuous piece of land even where it crosses several parcels. Whether the owner also changes is something you check with Find owner.

That matters to a detectorist. The promising rise you spotted on the LiDAR map might cross two parcels — so you should check the owner details for both before you know who to ask. Muld draws the parcel boundaries on top of the other map layers, so you can read the boundaries and the terrain at once. The layer is free in Muld.

Find owner — who owns the field?

Seeing the boundary is half of it; the other half is knowing who owns the land. Tap a parcel in Muld and choose Find owner, and the app opens the OIS record for the selected parcel, where you can see the owner's name when it's publicly available. Owner details for real property are generally publicly available in Denmark. Muld doesn't show them itself — it opens the record on OIS, the public property information server.

That removes what is usually the hard step: working out who to approach at all. Instead of knocking on random doors, you can contact the registered owner directly. Find owner is free in Muld.

What Muld stores — and doesn't

Here we made a deliberate choice. Muld does not pull the owner's name from OIS into the app and does not store it automatically. The app simply opens the OIS record, and you read the detail there. If you want to save the name in Muld, you type it in yourself. Only what you choose to enter is stored, as your own notes on your device.

It fits the rest of Muld: your finds and saved fields stay on your phone. See our privacy policy for the details.

From owner to permission

Knowing the owner is the start, not the goal. The goal is an agreement — clear permission to search that field. If it's only one field, keeping track of the agreement is usually manageable. But as you work more fields over time, it gets hard to remember: who have you asked, who said yes, and where are you actually allowed to go?

That's what the permission tracking in Muld+ is for. You can save each field, set its status to Not asked, Awaiting reply, Granted or Declined, and see the status right on the map. Each status has its own marker icon, so a glance tells you where each field stands. Parcel boundaries and Find owner are free; it's the Agreements workflow that's part of Muld+.

To understand what you're actually asking a landowner for, read our guide for landowners — it covers what a detecting agreement can involve.

Using it in the field

Parcel boundaries and owner lookup are part of the preparation before a trip, alongside the rest of your detecting map. A simple workflow:

• Find promising ground on the LiDAR map and the historical maps.
• Turn on parcel boundaries and see which parcels the field falls on — and whether it crosses several boundaries.
• Use Find owner to open the OIS record and see the publicly available owner details.
• Check protected zones and ancient monuments so you can see areas with special restrictions.
• Get the landowner's permission before you start — and keep track of your agreements with Muld+.

The map helps you with boundaries, owner lookup and restrictions — you still need the landowner's permission yourself. See the full guide to the rules for metal detecting in Denmark.

Official sources

This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Cadastral and owner records are maintained by the authorities; always check the information at the source, and remember that ownership may have changed before the registers are updated.