Registration of a yacht in marine registrar of the BVI. Service offer

The ship register of the BVI was established in 2006. Currently, all types of yachts and cargo ships without tonnage restrictions can be registered in it.

In accordance with the BVI Merchant Shipping Act, 2001, for the purposes of registering a ship, the following persons are recognized in the BVI ship registry as a “qualified owner”:

• citizens and / or legal entities registered in the BVI;
• citizens and / or legal entities registered in the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories or Crown ownerships;
• citizens and / or legal entities registered in a country that is a member of the EU or in the EEA (European Economic Area), or in the overseas territories of a country that is a member of the EU or in the EEA; in the case of a legal entity, its place of business must be in the territory of the EU or EEA country or overseas territory;
• legal entities incorporated in a country belonging to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) or the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) (and registered in the BVI).

Prior to registration, the ship must undergo a surveyor inspection and obtain the appropriate certificate - Certificate of Survey / Tonnage Certificate - measuring (tonnage) certificate.

The assessment can be carried out by one of the following Classification Societies:

• Lloyds Register of Shipping;
• American Bureau of Shipping;
• Bureau Veritas;
• Det Norske Veritas;
• Germanischer Lloyd;
• Registro Italiano Navale;
• Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK).

The ship can be inspected at any port in the world where there are surveyors from one of the above Classification Societies.

If the owner of the ship is not a resident of BVI, a representative must be appointed.

As a representative can act:

• an individual who is a resident of the BVI;
• legal entity registered and operating in the territory of the BVI.

Required documents:

• application for registration in the prescribed form;
• Declaration of Eligibility (declaration of compliance of the ship owner with the requirements for registering a ship in the BVI ship registry);
• original documents proving ownership of the ship;
• Builder's Certificate (factory certificate) - upon initial registration;
• in other cases, a Document of Sale or Transfer is provided - a bill of sale or other document confirming the transfer of ownership;
• Certificate of Survey and Tonnage Measurement (measurement certificate) issued by one of the authorized Classification Societies;
• ships of 24 m or more in length require an international tonnage certificate (ITC69);
• certified copies of company documents if the owner of the ship is a legal entity;
• also in the case of the owner, who is a legal entity, an appointment of an authorized officer (Appointment of Authorized Officer) is provided for signing on behalf of the company of documents related to the registration of the ship;
• document on the appointment of a representative (resident of the BVI);
• if the ship was previously registered in another jurisdiction, a certificate of cancellation of registration is provided, which also indicates the name of the last owner;
• if the ship was previously registered in the ship registry, included in the Red Ensign Group, an extract from the registry on registration cancellation (Closed Transcript) and a copy of the original Certificate of Survey / Tonnage Certificate are provided;
• proof of payment of the relevant government fees.

If the ship meets the requirements of the registry, a Carving and Marking Note (certificate of marking) is issued within two weeks. The name and port of registration is put on pleasure yachts up to 24 m long. For other ships - the name of the ship, port of registration, number and tonnage. The correctness of marking is checked by a certified surveyor (inspector), after which the document certified by the surveyor Carving and Marking Note must be returned to the ship register of the BVI.

An application (in the prescribed form) with details of the vessel and radio and telecommunications equipment on board is submitted to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).

The following documents are attached to the application:

• a certified copy of the skipper's passport,
• two passport-size photographs and
• a document confirming the qualification.

*The fees are valid as of August 2025.