Instructions for registering a yacht

Request for the first registration of a yacht in the Vessel Register has to be submitted to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office

(1) The following yachts can be registered in the Vessel Register:
  1. Yacht owned in whole or in part by a Croatian national;
  2. Yacht owned in whole by a foreign natural person or a legal entity if it predominantly stays in Croatia.
Application for the first entry of a yacht less than 24m long into the register of ships
 
Application for the first entry of a yacht longer than 24m into the register of ships
 

Submitting the Registration Request

Registration requests can be submitted:
  1. Through the public digital service available in the e-Citizens or e-Business platforms1;
  2. By e-mail or other appropriate means of digital delivery2;
  3. By direct delivery to the Harbourmaster’s Office keeping the Register; and
  4. By regular mail.
 
Notwithstanding the above methods of delivery, the registration request shall be deemed duly delivered when recorded in the Central Information System for Digital Administration of the Ministry.

If the registration request is delivered to the Harbourmaster’s Office which, according to Article 254 of the Croatian Maritime Code, is not competent to process it, the Harbourmaster’s Office shall immediately register the request in the Central Information System for Digital Administration of the Ministry and forward the request and its attachments to the competent Harbourmaster’s Office for processing.

Each request for registration in the Vessel Register, with the exception of the request for the first registration, has to clearly indicate the NIB and/or the name of the boat for which the registration is requested.
 
The Harbourmaster’s Office where the owner of the yacht, its operator or the company are registered is competent for the registration of the yacht.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, the Harbourmaster’s Office where the registration request has been submitted or the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure are both competent for the registration of a yacht of 24 m or more in length engaged in international navigation.

The Harbourmaster’s Office where the request for the first registration of a yacht has been submitted is competent for the registration of a yacht whose owner, operator, company or user does not have residence or registered seat within the territory of the Harbourmaster’s Office.

A list of Harbourmaster’s Offices can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure:

Harbourmaster’s Offices

You can submit the request on the prescribed form, which you can download from the link of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
 
Application for the first entry of a yacht less than 24m long into the register of ships
 
Application for the first entry of a yacht longer than 24m into the register of ships
 
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NOTES:
1. Documents that serve as the basis for registration in Sheet B and Sheet C (registration/pre-registration/notice) must be submitted as original documents, while other documents can be submitted as notarised copies (which is why these documents cannot be scanned and send by e-mail and have to be sent by regular mail or delivered in person to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office when sending the form and other documents to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office e-mail
2. Documents that serve as the basis for registration in Sheet B and Sheet C (registration/pre-registration/notice) must be submitted as original documents, while other documents can be submitted as notarised copies (which is why these documents cannot be scanned and send by e-mail and have to be sent by regular mail or delivered in person to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office when sending the form and other documents to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office e-mail


 

Documents Required for the First Registration of a Yacht

The following documents have to be submitted along with the request for the first registration of a new (newly built) yacht of more than 24 m in length:
  1. Document proving the ownership of the yacht;
  2. Document proving that the requirements for registering the vessel in the Vessel Register have been met in accordance with Articles 187 and 188 of the Maritime Code;
  3. Shipbuilding certificate issued by the shipbuilder or the shipyard;
  4. Attestation from a classification society that the vessel was completed, containing all data to be entered into Sheet A;
  5. Documents proving the status of the operator, the company or the yacht user, if they are to be entered in the Vessel Register;
  6. Wreck Removal Certificate for a yacht with a gross tonnage of 300 tonnes or more;
  7. Bunker Certificate if the gross tonnage of a yacht is greater than 1000 tonnes; 
  8. PLR (Athens) Certificate if the yacht shall be used for international transport in whole or in part, and the yacht is authorised to transport more than 12 passengers.
A foreign company shall submit proof of registration from a court, craft, professional or other relevant register in the country of its establishment, and a foreign natural person shall submit a copy of an identification document.

The request for the first registration of a new (newly built) yacht of more than 24 m in length in the Vessel Register has to indicate three proposed names for the yacht.

The request form for naming a yacht has to be submitted on a prescribed form, which you can download in the Additional information section by clicking on the link of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.
 
The following documents have to be submitted along with the request for the first registration of an existing yacht of more than 24 m in length:
  1. Document proving the ownership of the yacht;
  2. Document proving that the requirements for registering the vessel in the Vessel Register have been met in accordance with Articles 187 and 188 of the Maritime Code;
  3. Documents and certificates determining the age and technical eligibility, depending on the size, intended use, and the area of navigation, as prescribed in the Ordinance on the Vessel Register and technical rules for that type of yacht, larger than 24 m, of Croatian nationality; 
  4. Certificate from a foreign registrar that the yacht has been removed from that register if the yacht is transferred from a foreign register into the Croatian Vessel Register;
  5. Documents proving the status of the operator, the company, or the yacht user, if they are to be entered in the Vessel Register;
  6. Wreck Removal Certificate for a yacht with a gross tonnage of 300 tonnes or more;
  7. Bunker Certificate if the gross tonnage of a yacht is greater than 1000 tonnes; 
  8. PLR (Athens) Certificate if the yacht shall be used for international transport in whole or in part, and the yacht is authorised to transport more than 12 passengers.
A foreign company shall submit proof of registration from a court, craft, professional or other relevant register in the country of its establishment, and a foreign natural person shall submit a copy of an identification document.

The request for the first registration of an existing yacht of more than 24 m in length in the Vessel Register has to indicate three proposed names for the yacht.
 
The following documents have to be submitted along with the request for the first registration of a new (newly built) yacht of up to 24 m in length:
  1. Document proving the ownership:
    1. Building certificate and invoice from the manufacturer or authorised representative; or
    2. Purchase and sale agreement concluded with the manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor, in written form;
  2. Document proving that the requirements for registering the vessel in the Vessel Register have been met in accordance with Articles 187 and 188 of the Maritime Code;
  3. Documents and certificates proving technical eligibility of a yacht of up to 24 m in length, as prescribed in the Ordinance on the Vessel Register and the special regulation defining technical eligibility of yachts of up to 24 m in length; and
  4. Documents proving the status of the yacht user if they are to be entered in the Vessel Register;
If the Harbourmaster’s Office where the request for the first registration of a yacht built for the personal needs of the builder (yacht built for own use) has not supervised the construction, instead of documents set out in Article 39(1)(i) and (iii)  of the Ordinance on the Vessel Register, the request has to be accompanied by a building certificate.

A foreign company shall submit proof of registration from a court, craft, professional or other relevant register in the country of its establishment, and a foreign natural person shall submit a copy of an identification document.

If a yacht is registered, the request has to indicate three proposed names for the yacht.
 
The following documents have to be submitted along with the request for the first registration of an existing yacht of up to 24 m in length:
  1. Document proving the ownership of the yacht;
  2. Document proving that the requirements for registering the vessel in the Vessel Register have been met in accordance with Articles 187 and 188 of the Maritime Code;
  3. Documents and certificates proving the age and technical eligibility of a yacht of less than 24 m in length, as prescribed in the Ordinance on the Vessel Register and the special regulation defining technical eligibility of yachts of up to 24 m in length;
  4. Certificate from a foreign registrar that the yacht has been removed from that register if the yacht is transferred from a foreign register into the Croatian Vessel Register; and
  5. Documents proving the status of the yacht user if they are to be entered in the Vessel Register;
If ownership is obtained on the basis of a legal transaction, the transaction has to be made in writing with a certified signature of the person whose right is being transferred.

For the first registration of a yacht of up to 24 m in length, placed on the market or put to use in one of the EU Member States, which complies with the requirement for the maximum permitted age as set out in Article 51 of the Ordinance on the Vessel Register, the document in point (3) may be replaced by the document in point (4).

If the above yacht of up to 24 m in length was not subject to registering in the register of a country under whose flag it sailed, the registration request shall not be accompanied by the document in point (4), but documents in point (3) are mandatory, including the documents for the outboard propulsion engine.

A foreign company shall submit proof of registration from a court, craft, professional or other relevant register in the country of its establishment, and a foreign natural person shall submit a copy of an identification document.
 
If a yacht is registered, the request has to indicate three proposed names for the yacht.
 
When registering a yacht owned by a foreign natural person or legal entity, along with the request, the owner shall submit a power of attorney set out in Article 190 of the Maritime Code.
 
The power of attorney is co-signed by the authorised representative and the giver of the power of attorney. The data indicated on the power of attorney shall be correct and include the full name and permanent address or company name and registered seat, as well as PINs of the giver of the power of attorney and the authorised representative. Signatures on the power of attorney do not have to be certified by an authority authorised for signature certification.

If the owner of the yacht fails to deliver a valid power of attorney, the yacht shall be deemed to have failed to meet the requirements for being registered in the Vessel Register as prescribed by the Maritime Code.

When submitting a request for registering any type of yacht in the Vessel Register, except the request for removing a yacht from the Vessel Register, after the Ordinance came into force, foreign natural persons and legal entities as yacht owners shall also submit a power of attorney (Article 26 of the Ordinance) if they do not have a registered representative or if they have a registered representative on the basis of an authorisation letter to receive documents or other authorisation letter that does not fall within the scope of a power of attorney as set out in Article 26 of the Ordinance.

All domestic and foreign yachts with total propulsion engine power greater than 15 kW, which travel in internal sea waters, the territorial sea and internal waters of the Republic of Croatia, shall have a valid liability insurance policy in accordance with the special regulation on compulsory marine liability insurance.

Request for yachts
 
Application for naming a yacht

 

Registration of Changes

In the event of changes in data entered in the Vessel Register, a request for the registration of changes has to be submitted to the Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office within 30 days from the day when the changes occurred. In case of circumstances due to which the yacht has to be removed from the Vessel Register, see section Removal of a Yacht from the Vessel Register.

In the event of changes in ownership rights of the yacht, the new owner shall request a change of data in the Vessel Register within 30 days from gaining ownership rights. If the new owner fails to do so, the previous owner of the yacht has the right to submit the request for removing the yacht from the Vessel Register.

You can download the forms of various requests related to yachts from the website of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
 
Request for yachts

 

Registering and Removing a Mortgage

Mortgage on a yacht may be established on the basis of a contract (contractual mortgage) or a court decision (court-ordered mortgage).

If a mortgage contract or document on which the debtor's signature has been publicly notarised contains a statement of the debtor that the creditor may request the entry of the mortgage into the Vessel Register directly on the basis of the contract or a document, as well as the debtor's statement that he agrees, based on the said contract or document, that direct enforcement may be conducted on the mortgaged yacht for settling claims established by this contract or document following the maturity of these claims, then this contract shall be considered as an enforceable document, on the basis of which such enforcement may be carried out without an attestation of its enforceability.

Proprietary rights with which the vessel or part thereof is encumbered and rights acquired on the basis of these rights, charter by demise, time charter for the whole yacht, pre-emptive rights and any other restriction regarding rights of disposal of an encumbered maritime craft by which an owner of an encumbered maritime craft is bound, the ban on encumbering and alienating and all notices for which it has not been explicitly specified that they shall be registered in another sheet of the folio shall be registered into Sheet C of the main register folio.

If a mortgage has been established on the yacht, mortgage creditors shall give their consent for removing the yacht from the Vessel Register.
When a yacht with a mortgage has to be removed on official duty, the removal from the Vessel Register shall be performed at the end of a three-month period following notice to mortgage creditors that the conditions for the removal of the yacht have been met or immediately after the creditor grants their consent for the removal of the yacht from the Vessel Register.

Notice to mortgage creditors shall be carried out in accordance with Article 384(č) of the Maritime Code.

These provisions also apply to yachts under construction.

Request for yachts
 

Removal of a Yacht from the Vessel Register

A yacht is removed from the Vessel Register:
1. On official duty:
  • If it has been wrecked or it is presumed wrecked;
  • If it no longer meets the requirements for being registered in the Vessel Register as prescribed by the Maritime Code;
2. At the Owner’s request.
A yacht is presumed wrecked if a period of three months has elapsed from last receiving news about it. In that case, it is presumed that the yacht has been wrecked on the date when the last available news regarding it has been received.

The above provisions also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the removal of a yacht under construction from the Vessel Register.

The owner of the yacht shall notify the Harbourmaster’s Office about the removal of the yacht on official duty within 15 days of the occurrence.

If a mortgage has been established on the yacht, mortgage creditors shall give their consent for removing the yacht from the Vessel Register.

When a yacht with a mortgage has to be removed on official duty, the removal from the Vessel Register shall be performed at the end of a three-month period following notice to mortgage creditors that the conditions for the removal of the yacht have been met or immediately after the creditor grants their consent for the removal of the yacht from the Vessel Register.

Notice to mortgage creditors shall be carried out in accordance with Article 384(č) of the Maritime Code.

These provisions also apply to yachts under construction.

The request form for removing a yacht from the Vessel Register can be downloaded from the link of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure:
 
Application for deleting a yacht

 

Legal Remedies

Appeals are not permitted against decisions from the Harbourmaster’s Office managing the Vessel Register; however, one can initiate an administrative proceeding within 30 days of receiving the decision (in accordance with Article 376 of the Maritime Code).

Costs

Costs linked to the first registration of a vessel:
  • Other costs (e.g. cost of translation, notarisation, and/or apostille, cost of issuing the removal certificate, etc.).
 
The registration sheet is issued free of charge.
 
After registering the yacht in the Vessel Register, each year you have to pay the following fees:
  • Fee for the use of the maritime domain;
  • Fee for the safety of navigation and protection of the sea from pollution3

You can find more details on the above fees at the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure website: 

About fees

You shall also pay attention to other additional costs: berthing fee, periodic/extraordinary inspection costs, boat tax, insurance, in some cases sojourn tax, etc.

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NOTES:
3. Previously: fee for the use of navigation safety facilities (2014 – 2015) and safety of navigation fee (2016 – 2019)
 

Name and Port of Registration

At the request of the party, the Harbourmaster’s Office competent for the registration of the yacht in the Vessel Register issues a decision on naming the yacht.

Name, designation, and port of registration shall be legibly written in capital letters, in Latin script and technical lettering, with a colour which is visibly different from the colour of the paint on the maritime craft.

The letters indicating the name, designation, and the port of registration shall be proportional to the size of the maritime craft, and their height has to be at least 20 cm. 

The main components of the designation shall be separated at least 10 cm.

The name, designation, and the port of registration cannot be erased, damaged, covered or obscured in any way.

The name of the yacht shall be written on both sides of the bow and the stern.

The port of registration shall be written on the stern, below the name of the yacht. 

The name and the port of registration of a yacht with a cruiser stern shall be written on both sides of the stern.

During the first registration of a yacht, if the request for the first registration has been approved and there are no obstacles for the yacht to be given the suggested name, the decision on the first registration shall specify the name of the yacht.

The above provisions also apply, mutatis mutandis, to the first registration of a yacht under construction.

By way of derogation from Article 53 of the Ordinance on the Vessel Register, the name of a yacht of 24 m or more in length, engaged in international navigation, can be specified in a decision prior to registration. 

The above decision on naming the yacht expires after three years from its issuing if the yacht is not registered in the Vessel Register.

Only the owner of the yacht can submit a request for naming it.

The request for naming the yacht shall include: full name and permanent address or company name and registered seat of the applicant; personal identification number (PIN) of the applicant; three proposed names; craft identification number (CIN); intended use; previous name and/or designation.

Along with the request, the applicant shall submit a copy of the proof of ownership of the yacht.

A yacht cannot bear a name inappropriate on ethical, religious or historical grounds or a name that is contrary to the interests of the Republic of Croatia.

A yacht can have a name that consists of abbreviated words, and it can have a Roman or Arabic numeral added to the name.

Two yachts cannot bear the same name.

The request form for naming a yacht can be downloaded from the link of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure.
 
Application for naming a yacht

 

Temporary Certificate of Registration

At the request from a user or a builder of a yacht under construction of over 24 m in length engaged in international navigation, the Croatian Vessel Registrar or a recognised organisation can issue a temporary authorisation for the purpose of navigation for a maximum of 30 days in order to carry out sea trials or arrive at the port where the Harbourmaster’s Office is located in order to register the yacht, in accordance with provisions of the “Sea Trial Rules”.

A Temporary Certificate of Registration is issued to a yacht when the requirements for its registration have not yet been met; a yacht purchased abroad that has not yet obtained a Certificate of Registration; a yacht that is abroad and whose Certificate of Registration has been lost; and a yacht under construction when the requirements for registering it into the Vessel Register as a yacht have not yet been met.

By obtaining a Temporary Certificate of Registration, a yacht and a yacht under construction that has not yet been registered in the Croatian Vessel Register is granted the status of a Croatian ship, as well as the right and obligation to fly the flag of the Republic of Croatia.

The Temporary Certificate of Registration is valid for a maximum of three months from the date of its issuing.

The Temporary Certificate of Registration is issued by the competent Harbourmaster’s Office under Article 254 of the Maritime Code.

Digital Registration of a Yacht in the Vessel Register

The procedure is as follows:
  • Fill out the request (form) and sign it (place your stamp, if applicable).
  • The request shall then be sent to the e-mail of the competent Harbourmaster’s Office, along with the required documents (all as scanned PDFs).
  • Documents that serve as the basis for registration in Sheet B and Sheet C (registration/pre-registration/notice) shall be submitted as original documents, while other documents can be submitted as notarised copies (which is why these documents cannot be scanned and send by e-mail and have to be sent by regular mail or delivered in person to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office when sending the form and other documents to the relevant Harbourmaster’s Office e-mail);
  • If the request can be complied, the Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office issues a decision authorising the registration in the relevant Vessel Register.
 
The deadline for issuing a decision is 30 days from receiving a duly delivered request and 60 days from receiving a duly delivered request in the case of conducting an investigation.

The registration of a yacht of 24 m or more in length, engaged in international navigation, is processed without delay and, in exceptional circumstances, not later than three days from the day of receiving a duly delivered registration request.

e-Vessel

By using e-Vessel you can check the technical data of the vessel in Sheet A, ownership data in Sheet B, and encumbrances and notices in Sheet C of the folio. The e-Vessel platform also shows the information on the validity of the technical inspection of a vessel, as well as the charged fee for the safety of navigation and protection of the sea from pollution (previously: safety navigation fee or fee for the use of navigation safety facilities); learn more at the following link
 
e-Vessel
 


Public Vessel Register

A portion of data from the Vessel Register of ships, boats, yachts, and small vessels can be searched through the Public Vessel Register. The Public Vessel Register is available on the website of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure

Public Vessel Register.

You can find more information on the Public Vessel Register on the website of the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure

About the Public Vessel Register.