Pleasure Yacht Registration

Maltese Owner (Individual or Company)

Provisional registration is normally valid for 6 months and may be extended up to one year, by which time permanent registration must be completed.

In order to apply for provisional registration, the following documentation and details must be submitted in respect of a Maltese owner:

• Application for Registration Form;
• Declaration of Ownership Form;
• Letter of Request for Change of Name;
• Owner’s Declaration;
• Certificate of Registry;
• International Tonnage Certificate and Certificate of Survey;
• Mortgage Confirmation;
• Payment of Relative Fees and other ancillary charges;
• Memorandum & Articles of Association (if the owner is a Company);
• Good Standing Certificate (if the owner is a Company).

International Owner

Foreign companies or other entities which enjoy legal personality to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Shipping, and individual EU citizens are qualified to be registered as owners Maltese yachts.

In order to apply for provisional registration, the following documentation and details must be submitted in respect of an International Owner:

• Application for Registration Form;
• Declaration of Ownership Form;
• Letter of Request for Change of Name;
• Owner’s Declaration;
• Certificate of Registry;
• International Tonnage Certificate and Certificate of Survey;
• Mortgage Confirmation;
• Payment of Relative Fees and other ancillary charges;
• An original Memorandum & Articles of Association (Statute) of the foreign owner, or else a certified copy, certified by the Registrar of Companies in that country, or equivalent, or by the lawyer providing the legal opinion indicated in (k) below (if the owner is a company or other entity enjoying separate legal personality);
• A Good Standing Certificate of the foreign entity, issued by the relevant authority (if the owner is a company or other entity enjoying separate legal personality);
• An original, legalised and apostilled legal opinion by a qualified lawyer in the jurisdiction where the foreign owning entity is registered.
• Relative powers of attorney, when required; and
• An original Declaration of Appointment of Resident Agent, signed by a duly authorised representative of the company, a specimen of which will be provided to you. A non-Maltese owner is required to appoint a Resident Agent in Malta to liaise on its behalf with the Malt Registrar in relation to the yacht’s registration.  Our office provides a Resident Agent service upon request.

The Malta Registrar may in addition to the above requirements in connection with the registration of a vessel on the Maltese Register by a non-Maltese company, request additional documentation to ensure that its conditions in relation to the foreign owning company are satisfied.

All documents must be in the English language or accompanied by a legal translation.

Permanent Registration

In order to obtain permanent registration the following requirements must be satisfied:

Within one month of Provisional Registration

• Carving and Marking Notes;
• Within six months of Provisional Registration
• Bill of Sale;
• Deletion Certificate;
• Certificate of Survey; and
• International Tonnage Certificate.

Once the yacht is permanently registered, the Certificate of Malta Registry is renewable on an annual basis against the payment of an annual fee payable to the Malta Registrar. The effective date of renewal is the date of initial registration and not the date of permanent registration.