Fly the Flag of San Marino,
From Wherever You Keep Your Boat
A compact European ship registry open to owners of every nationality. There's no coastline to visit and no residency test to pass — a licensed local agent stands in for you, and most craft under 24 metres skip a technical survey entirely in favour of a signed declaration.
Priced by Size, Not by Guesswork
Two length bands, a choice of annual or one-off lifetime terms — the figure below already covers the filing itself; the resident agent and our service fee are itemised separately, never folded in and hidden.
San Marino Ship Registration
Annual Term From- Provisional certificate typically ready within 48 hours
- Signed self-declaration stands in for a full survey
- Renews yearly — nothing locked in beyond the current term
- Open to individuals and companies, any nationality
- MMSI available as an optional extra below this size
- Limited charter use permitted alongside private use
- Resident agent sourced and appointed on your behalf
- Upgrade to a lifetime term later without starting over
San Marino Ship Registration
Lifetime Term From- Same 48-hour provisional turnaround as the annual term
- Self-declaration in place of a technical inspection
- Registered once — no yearly paperwork to track
- Open to individuals and companies, any nationality
- MMSI available as an optional extra below this size
- Limited charter use permitted alongside private use
- Resident agent sourced and appointed on your behalf
- Ideal if you plan to keep the boat for the long haul
San Marino Ship Registration
Lifetime Term From- MMSI and radio licence included, not an add-on
- Self-declaration in place of a technical inspection
- Registered once, valid for the life of the vessel
- Open to individuals and companies, any nationality
- Limited charter use permitted alongside private use
- Resident agent sourced and appointed on your behalf
- Provisional certificate typically ready within 48 hours
- Existing UK Ltd or Delaware LLC ownership can be kept as-is
Add-On Services
MMSI & Radio Licence
Compulsory once a vessel passes 10 metres, and available by request below that — no operator's certificate needed either way.
Company Ownership Setup
Hold the vessel through a fresh UK Limited Company or a Delaware LLC instead of your own name — arranged alongside the registration filing.
Ship's Certificate
Provisional in ~48 HoursFiling, resident-agent appointment and the provisional certificate itself, handled as one coordinated package rather than separate errands.
See Rates ›MMSI & Radio Licence
Included From 10 MetresA San Marino MMSI covering VHF, AIS and radar, issued in about two days — bundled in automatically once your vessel crosses the 10-metre mark.
See Rates ›A Small Registry Without the Usual Conditions
San Marino has no coast of its own, so its registry was never built around where you keep the boat — it was built around making the paperwork side straightforward for owners based anywhere else entirely.
Common Questions ›Open to Anyone, Anywhere
Registration sits with an individual or a company, regardless of nationality or country of residence — San Marino places no local-ownership condition on who may fly its flag.
No Survey Under 24 Metres
Most private and lightly-chartered vessels are entered on a signed technical declaration alone — a genuinely lighter path than the full survey regimes many flag states still require.
Provisional Papers in Days, Not Months
A provisional certificate is normally ready within about 48 hours of a complete file being lodged, with the permanent version following a few weeks later.
A Recognised European Flag
San Marino has held IMO membership since 2002, and its registry's certificates are treated as legitimate by port authorities and insurers well beyond its own borders.
Two Certificates, a Few Weeks Apart
A provisional certificate carries full legal standing from the moment it's issued — the permanent version that follows later is a formality, not a second approval you have to wait on.
File Lodged
Ownership evidence, vessel particulars and the self-declaration form are assembled and submitted to the registry, with a resident agent appointed in parallel.
Provisional Certificate
Your provisional certificate is issued — full legal cover to put to sea straight away, well before the permanent paperwork catches up.
Permanent Registration
The definitive registration document follows within a few weeks, closing out the file with no further action needed from you.
One Round of Paperwork, Assembled Up Front
Scanned copies are enough to start — originals are only requested afterward, and only for the specific items the registry flags.
Identity & Ownership
- Passport of the owner, or incorporation documents for a company
- Bill of sale or builder's certificate establishing title
- Deletion certificate from any previous flag, if the boat was registered elsewhere
- Current insurance policy, in the owner's or company's name
The Vessel Itself
- Completed self-declaration covering dimensions, construction and engine details, in place of a survey
- Existing class certificate or registered mortgage, where either applies
- Radio equipment details, for any MMSI application
- Photographs of the hull identification number and engine plate
Chartering the vessel privately from time to time is fine under this registration — up to 84 days a year — without triggering a full commercial reclassification.
A Landlocked Flag State, By Design
San Marino sits entirely inland, so the registry was never going to require a home harbour on its own coast — the certificate is issued from the registry seat, and the boat stays wherever you already keep it. These are simply the nearest stretches of coastline owners in the region tend to use.
Questions Worth Answering Upfront
Do I need to visit San Marino, or live there?
No. San Marino is landlocked, so there's no harbour to sail into in the first place — a licensed resident agent, appointed on your behalf, satisfies the local-presence requirement instead of you.
My boat is currently registered somewhere else.
It needs a deletion certificate from its existing flag state before the San Marino certificate can be issued. We sequence the two so there's no gap where the vessel is without valid papers.
What happens above 24 metres?
Vessels beyond that length move onto a standard survey path with a classification surveyor, rather than the self-declaration route used for smaller craft.
Is an MMSI compulsory?
Only from 10 metres upward, where it's included as standard. Below that it's entirely optional, and either way no operator radio certificate is required.
Can I take paying guests out occasionally?
Yes — private registration allows limited chartering, up to 84 days in a year, without needing to reclassify the vessel as fully commercial.
Tell Us About the Vessel
A short description of the boat and its current flag status is all we need to put together a quotation and a document checklist tailored to your case.
San Marino Flag Registration is an independent registration filing service. We are not a government body of the Republic of San Marino — filings are lodged on your behalf, with any statutory registry fees paid directly to the appropriate authority.