The material found during preventive archaeology operations is entrusted to the operator (for example, Inrap). Once the report has been written and, at the latest after a period of two years, the material and the site documents are handed over by the operator to the Ministry of Culture for storage and archiving.

The ownership of the archaeological objects found during the preventive excavation is divided equally between the State and the property owner. If the latter, a year after the reception of the final excavation report, has not staked his claim to his part of the archaeological material, it can be considered that he has no interest in it. Ownership of the objects is then transferred, without cost, to the State which can, in its turn, transfer them to the local authority on whose territory they were discovered, once a formal request has been made and proper conservation of the material is assured. In the case of the owner who has not renounced his property rights, the State can claim its right of property in return for an indemnity agreed out-of-court or after expert opinion.