FAQ

Yes. San Marino is a reputable IMO member state on the White List, and its ship register is a respected, structured European registry recognised worldwide.

Yes. A commercially flagged San Marino yacht may also be used privately for up to ninety days per year.

For a private pleasure yacht the provisional San Marino registration is usually issued within about two working days of a complete file.

You purchase a five-year service package, so the supporting services renew every five years. Importantly, the Certificate of Registry itself remains valid indefinitely.

Yes. A mortgage can be recorded against a yacht registered in San Marino, which is useful for financed vessels.

Yes. The San Marino registration allows bareboat charter. We confirm the conditions that apply so your charter activity stays fully compliant.

Your yacht’s existing VAT-paid status in the European Union stays intact when you register under the San Marino flag – registration does not change it.

San Marino accepts the major classification societies, including RINA, Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, DNV and the American Bureau of Shipping. The inspection can usually be carried out locally.

San Marino accepts a wide range of skipper qualifications. Certificates of Competency issued by countries that have ratified the STCW convention are all recognised, with no nationality restrictions.

For a commercially registered San Marino yacht, an STCW II/2 Master certificate and equivalent Certificates of Competency from STCW countries are accepted.

The core documents are the same as for a pleasure yacht. A commercial registration simply adds the classification survey and any additional technical or safety paperwork that goes with commercial use.

For commercial use an initial inspection is mandatory regardless of the yacht’s size. Only private pleasure yachts under 24 metres are exempt from a survey.

No. The classification society sends the full digital dossier straight to the San Marino authorities, so you do not need to forward the survey report yourself.

Once the complete dossier has been provided by you and the classification society, the San Marino registration step itself is completed quickly – typically within a couple of working days.

For details on the crew endorsement for a commercially registered Polish yacht, contact our team – we will confirm exactly what is required for your situation.

Yes. If your boat carries a Polish flag registration, we can obtain the matching Polish AIS & MMSI radio licence for it.

A Polish radio licence requires a Polish flag registration for the vessel, together with the boat and radio equipment details. We take care of the application for you.

Yes. The UK radio licence is designed to accompany a UK or Red Ensign flag registration. For other flags we issue the corresponding national radio licence.

No, this is not possible. In such case the current radio license needs to be deleted. Once deleted the new owner can make a request for a new UK AIS & MMSI Radio license . New numbers and a new call sign will be provided. It is not possible to maintain the old numbers and call sign.

No. You do not need to show a radio operator’s certificate to obtain the UK radio licence. We only need your vessel and owner details to apply.

The UK package includes the official MMSI number, your call sign and the AIS registration – everything needed to use DSC radio and AIS legally.

The UK Ship Radio Licence has no annual fee. Once issued it stays valid long-term, so there are no yearly renewal costs.

The UK radio licence is normally issued within a few working days of your application.

It is available to owners whose vessel holds a UK or Red Ensign flag registration. If your boat flies a different flag, we will arrange the matching radio licence instead.

The Dutch AIS & MMSI radio licence is available to owners who hold a Dutch Zeebrief registration or a Dutch passport. If neither applies, we can arrange a Polish or UK MMSI instead.

The Dutch radio licence is normally issued within about two weeks of your application.

Yes, the Dutch AIS & MMSI licence carries a modest annual management fee. We include everything you need to keep it valid.

The Dutch package covers the official MMSI number, your call sign and the AIS registration – everything required to use DSC radio and AIS legally on board.

No. You do not need to present a radio operator’s certificate to obtain the Dutch AIS & MMSI licence. We only need the vessel and owner details to apply.

No. A Dutch AIS & MMSI licence is tied to the vessel and owner and cannot be transferred to a new owner. The new owner simply applies for a fresh licence, which we arrange.

Yes. Every UK Limited company must have a statutory (registered office) address in the UK. We provide that address as part of our service, so you do not need one of your own.

Yes, there is a single yearly cost that keeps the UK Limited company in good standing. It covers the statutory address, all Companies House filings and the associated fees – there is nothing extra to pay on top.

Yes. Anyone, of any nationality, can request a UK Limited company through us. It is a common and fully legal route for international owners to hold a UK Part 1 registration.

The companies we set up are dormant, meaning they do not trade or carry out business activity. They exist purely to own your vessel, which keeps their upkeep and reporting to a minimum.

If the yearly costs are not paid, the company falls out of good standing and can eventually be struck off the register – which would also affect any registration held in its name. We send reminders in good time so this does not happen.

Closing it is straightforward: we file a dissolution request with Companies House on your behalf and the company is formally removed from the register.

There is no need. We provide the required UK statutory address as part of our service, so you do not have to rely on a friend’s or relative’s address.

Only minimal filings: a dormant company submits dormant accounts and an annual confirmation statement, with no trading tax to pay. We prepare and file all of it for you.

A UK Limited company is typically incorporated within about two working days. We handle the full Companies House setup for you.

A non-EU-flagged yacht may generally stay in EU waters under the temporary admission rules for up to eighteen months before it must leave or be formally imported. Your own residency status can affect this, so ask us if you are unsure.

For the MMSI licence itself no radio course is required. Bear in mind, though, that actually operating a VHF radio can require an operator’s certificate in some countries – we are happy to explain what applies to you.

Yes, you can only obtain a Polish AIS & MMSI Radio License once your Polish yacht registration has been completed. You can upload the Polish yacht registration when making the Polish radio license request.

The Polish AIS & MMSI radio licence is valid for life – there is no expiry date and no annual renewal.

A Polish inspection only applies to certain vessels, mainly larger or commercially used boats. For most private pleasure yachts up to 15 metres no inspection is required at all.

Where an inspection does apply, it is a one-off requirement rather than a recurring one. For the majority of private yachts under the Polish flag no periodic inspection is needed.

Yes. Poland is one of the few EU registries open to everyone: a citizen of any country, EU or not, can register a boat in their own personal name with just a valid passport, without a local address or company.

Restrictions are minimal. For a UK Limited company almost anyone can act as director, subject to standard age and eligibility rules. We confirm the details for your situation when we set the company up.

Yes. For UK Limited companies we provide a registered office and mail-handling service, so correspondence reaches you wherever you live.

There is no strict maximum length for the Dutch Zeebrief – larger yachts are accepted. For very large or commercial vessels we simply confirm any extra requirements in advance.

No. UK Part 1 accepts vessels of all sizes, from small craft to superyachts, since it is a full national ship registration.

The Polish registration is aimed at pleasure yachts up to 24 metres. For vessels above that length we will recommend a more suitable flag.

The Dutch Zeebrief places no rigid equipment rules on pleasure yachts, but you should always carry sensible safety gear – lifejackets, flares, a fire extinguisher and working navigation lights – for your own safety and for foreign port checks.

Flag and VAT are two separate things. Registering under an EU flag does not by itself trigger VAT; whether VAT is due depends on where the boat is kept and used and on its existing VAT status. Tell us your situation and we will point you to the right check.

The Dutch Zeebrief has unlimited validity – it remains valid for as long as you own the vessel, with no renewal required.

UK Part 1 registration is valid for five years and is then simply renewed. We can remind you and handle the renewal when the time comes.

The Polish EU registration is valid for life. There are no annual renewals and no expiry date.

Yes. Most flags require the registration or official number to be permanently marked on the vessel. We tell you exactly what to display and where for your chosen flag.

Yes. The vessel’s name and its port of registry (for example San Marino) must be shown clearly, usually on the hull or stern. We confirm the exact requirement for your flag when your papers are issued.

Yes. Always keep the original registration certificate on board, together with your insurance and radio licence. Harbourmasters and coastguards ask for ship’s papers regularly, so they belong in the boat, not at home.

Yes. Changes such as a new owner, a change of vessel name or updated technical details can be filed after registration. Just let us know what needs to change and we handle the amendment with the registry.

Yes and no, we can update the Dutch radio license at any moment. Most of the time the update will be ready the same day. To request us the update we need to receive a email with the old and new radio license details. To update a radio license there are additional costs. For the UK radio license we can update the equipment and emergency contact only. For the Polish radio license we can not make any updates at all.

Yes. You can end a registration or radio licence whenever you wish. We simply file the deregistration and return the correct forms; a deletion certificate is then issued, which is also handy when selling or re-flagging the boat.

The Dutch Zeebrief is designed for pleasure use. For genuine commercial operation a different flag or structure is usually the better fit – send us your charter plans and we will advise on the most suitable route.

Yes. UK Part 1 is available for commercial vessels as well as private yachts, and the British flag is well respected by charter authorities worldwide.

Yes. Poland offers a commercial registration alongside its private one, and it is among the most affordable EU commercial flags. Commercial files require an initial inspection, which we coordinate for you.

You can usually arrange cover, but insurers strongly prefer – and often require – an identifiable, registered vessel, and registration also lowers your risk profile. In practice, registering first makes insurance simpler and cheaper.

No. We designed the process to remove the bureaucracy: you upload your documents once through our portal and we take care of the forms, the registry contact and the follow-up.

It depends on the flag. Poland requires no local address; San Marino uses a Resident Agent that we arrange for you; and for UK Part 1 non-residents register through a UK Limited company, which we can set up. We always tell you upfront what your chosen flag needs.

For a Dutch Zeebrief you provide proof of ownership (a bill of sale or builder’s certificate), a copy of your passport, and the vessel’s technical details. If the boat was registered elsewhere before, a deletion certificate from that registry completes the file.

For UK Part 1 we need proof of ownership, your passport or – for a company-owned vessel – the company papers, plus the boat’s technical and tonnage details. A deletion certificate is required if the yacht was previously registered under another flag.

A Polish EU registration needs three things: proof of ownership (bill of sale or builder’s certificate), a copy of your passport, and the vessel’s technical details. That is all that is required, and no local address is needed.

We register virtually every type of pleasure and commercial craft – sailing yachts, motor yachts, catamarans, RIBs, houseboats, jet skis and charter yachts – whether owned privately or through a company.

The Power of Attorney authorises us to submit and sign the registration with the flag registry on your behalf. It is what allows the whole process to be handled remotely, so you never need to appear in person.

Yes. A company can own a registered vessel. In that case we work from the company’s incorporation documents together with the passport of the person authorised to act for the company.

Yes, but we handle all of it, so there is nothing for you to keep track of. A dormant UK Limited company must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement, keep a statutory address in the UK and pay the usual filing fees. Every one of those costs is included in the single yearly invoice we send you, so there is nothing to pay on top of that.

Yes. For a vessel still under construction we work from the Builder’s Certificate, which lists the manufacturer, the owner and the technical details of hull and engine. That lets us start the registration before the boat is completed.

Yes, a self-built boat can be registered. We need evidence that you own the vessel (build invoices or a builder’s declaration) together with the technical details of the hull and engine, and we prepare the rest for you.

Registration turns your boat into a legally identifiable vessel: it proves nationality and ownership, clears you quickly through foreign ports, is required before you can hold an MMSI radio licence, and makes insurance and resale far simpler.

Yes. A registration certificate is an official record linking the vessel to you, which is exactly what police, insurers and authorities rely on to identify and return a stolen yacht.

Microdots are tiny markers, each carrying a unique code, that can be applied across a vessel to prove its identity. Because they are almost impossible to remove entirely, they help deter theft and support recovery.

Our pricing is lower because the process is fully digital, we work directly with the registries every day and we handle high volumes without intermediaries. That efficiency is passed straight on to you as a fixed, transparent fee.

Yes. The flags we register – Polish EU, San Marino, UK and the Dutch Zeebrief – are internationally recognised and accepted in ports worldwide.

That depends on the flag. Some registries let you choose the port of registry shown on your papers, while others assign a fixed home port. We tell you which applies to your chosen flag before you start.

The Ultra Fast option delivers your UK Part 1 registration in about three working days. The standard route takes roughly three to four weeks.