Boat Registration

Buying a new boat?

Our agency will look after you from start to finish!

Documents required:

• Original invoice or purchase contract signed by both parties
• Boat certificate of conformity
• Engine power certificates
• Buyer's identity document (for companies, a Chamber of Commerce company search no more than 3 months old and the legal representative's identity document)
• Copies of the relevant licences if charter / hire / diving / sailing school use must also be recorded.

Step one: registering the purchase contract

To make your purchase a matter of public record, the invoice signed by buyer and seller, or the sale contract, must be registered with the Italian Revenue Agency. This must be done within 20 days of the date of the invoice or contract.

Step two: the survey for the Safety Certificate or Charter Suitability Certificate

Before the application can be filed with the chosen Harbour Office (Capitaneria di Porto), the boat must be surveyed by an authorised body.

Our surveyors will travel to wherever the boat is in Italy to carry out the survey.

The initial survey consists of a test ashore and a sea trial.

Once the boat has been found seaworthy, our surveyor will issue a Certificate of Suitability, which is filed with the Harbour Office for the issue of the Safety Certificate or Charter Suitability Certificate.

Step three: filing with the Harbour Office

You choose the Harbour Office you prefer! We will submit your application and take care of the registration!

If the boat has a radio installation on board, at the same time as filing the registration with the Harbour Office we will apply to the relevant Ministry of Economic Development (formerly the Ministry of Telecommunications) for the VHF licence.

For the VHF licence application we need:

• Certificate of conformity of the installation
• Copy of the boat owner's identity document
• Restricted radiotelephone operator's certificate (RTF licence)
• Serial number of the installation (shown on the plate fixed to the equipment)

Registering an imported boat

BOATS FROM EU COUNTRIES

Little changes compared with a new boat: the only extra document is the certificate of deregistration from the foreign register. This is issued by the foreign flag state and certifies that the boat has been removed from its register. It must state the boat's identification details. If it is in a foreign language, it must be translated and sworn before the court.

BOATS FROM NON-EU COUNTRIES

In addition to the certificate of deregistration from the foreign register, the boat's customs clearance certificate must be provided. For this you need a customs broker licensed by the Italian Customs Agency (ADM). Our agency works with a number of customs brokers throughout Italy.

For customs clearance to go smoothly, it is essential to provide the certificate of departure from the non-EU port. All the other documents remain the same.

Every case is different, so tell us about yours and we will do our best to complete your registration as quickly as possible.

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