Polish Boat Registration

“One of the most important decisions boat owners must make, is the choice of flag state”
No needless paperwork or survey and lifelong validity! Registering your boat or yacht in Poland has many benefits. Poland is a full European Union member. This has made Poland attractive to both operators, charterers and private yacht owners. As vessels flying the Polish flag are E.U. vessels, the Polish flag registration is valid all over the world.

Before we start explaining you about the Polish yacht registration benefits it is our belief that it is also important that we explain and inform you about the “negative sides” of the Polish yacht registration. We know that the Polish registration is a cheap form of yacht registration, but this is not without a reason.
The main negative sides of the Polish yacht registration from our point of view are:

  • Irregular length of the registration procedure. Mostly 4 weeks but this can also be (much) longer in specific cases.
  • Extreme long procedure for the Polish Radio License 4 + 8 weeks = 12 weeks.
  • Radio license only available for owners of a formal ITU radio operators certificate.
  • Formally it is not legal to sail without a valid Radio License on board.
  • Only Polish crew certificates are accepted. Other crew or skippers licenses are NOT accepted.
  • As it is a “Grey Listed” yacht registration our clients with a Polish yacht registration experience more inspections by the Coastguard, Financial authorities and border authorities than yacht owners with a “White Listed” yacht registration. Sometimes even every time they enter a new marina or border.
  • The Polish authorities do NOT provide a “Safety Certificate” together with their yacht registration. This can cause issues with insurers when an accident or claim occurs.
  • Polish authorities demand a sworn translation of the Bill of Sale which can sometimes lead to serious additional costs.

Because of these reasons we always recommend to consider another type of registration next to the Polish registration. We think that our San Marino registration is the best option we can offer. It is up to you to decide which fits you best!

Benefits of registering your boat under the Polish flag

  • Valid around the world
  • Official Flag Registration
  • Possible for all nationalities
  • Quick registration in 3-4 weeks.
  • Ultra Fast procedure of merely a few days is available (at an additional cost)
  • No registration survey needed for yachts till 15 meters long
  • No Maritime restrictions
  • No Polish translations needed. English is just fine!
  • Valid for Life!

Eligibility of Polish yacht registration

Anyone can own a boat under the Polish flag. Yet, only EU nationals are allowed to register the yacht under their personal name. Non-EU nationalities need their boat to be wholly owned by a EU company. The owner of the yacht is not required to reside in Poland or even in the EU. The place of residence of the owner is not relevant.

Polish boat registration for non EU-citizens

If you are not a citizen of the European Union, we will set up a LTD for you. You will transfer the ownership of your vessel into this dormant LTD. Since this LTD will only be used for this purpose, you are not required to pay taxes. The only thing that needs to be signed in order to transfer the ownership of your yacht to your new UK Ltd. is a bill of sale. You can make this bill yourself, or we can do it for you.
Registering your vessel does only take 3-4 weeks, from the moment you have provided us with the requested documents. Not fast enough? Ask for our Ultra Fast procedure, which will arrange the registration in a time frame of a few days.

Pleasure Vessel Registration In Poland

Which documents are required for the Pleasure Registration of a vessel?

  • Scan of the owners / directors passport or ID card

  • If the yacht is owned by a company we need the company documents (not older than 1 year)

  • Original purchase / sale contract / bill of sale (and sworn translation which we will provide)

  • Ownership declaration (with language certificate which we will provide)

  • POA (with language certificate which we will provide)

  • Picture of the CE design category plate

  • Photo of the engine or a document about engine

  • CE Certificate of the yacht. This is mandatory.

In case your yacht is over 15 meters long it is mandatory to have it inspected by the Polish inspectorate to have the safety certificate issued. The costs for the inspection are not included in our offer and must be requested separately.

You can find the contact details of the Polish inspectorate here: prs.pl/en/contact/worldwide-branch-offices-and-representatives

Registering your yacht is simple! It only takes 3 easy steps

  1. Fill in our online form and send us the needed documents along with the notarized documents.
  2. We check your paperwork and send you our invoice, which can be paid by any major creditcard or by bank transfer.
  3. The registration of your boat under the Polish flag begins! You will receive your registration certificate by overnight courier.
Register my boat in Poland today
Holland Boat Registration Services
16 May 2024