How To Register a Boat in Croatia?

Organization : Government of the Republic of Croatia
Facility : Boat Registration
Country : Croatia
Website : https://gov.hr/en/instructions-for-boat-registration/484

How To Register a Boat in Croatia?

Request for the first registration of a boat has to be submitted to the Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office where the boat is eligible to be registered in the Vessel Register.

Related / Similar Facility : How To Register a Vessel in Croatia?

Instructions For Boat Registration

Request for the first registration of a boat has to be submitted to the Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office where the boat is eligible to be registered in the Vessel Register

In Croatia, the Vessel Register has been the common register for maritime crafts of Croatian nationality since 01/01/2020, where maritime crafts and maritime crafts under construction are registered, with the exception of military vessels and vessels under construction built for the purposes of the Croatian Armed Forces or foreign armed forces.

According to their use, boats in Croatia are classified as follows:
** Boats for personal use;
** Boats for commercial use;
** Public boats.

Boats for commercial use are as follows:
** Boats for transporting passengers;
** Boats for transporting cargo;
** Work boats;
** Fishing boats;
** Other boats for commercial use.

Pursuant to Article 53 of the Ordinance1 boats cannot be registered in the Vessel Register if they have been built before 16 June 2000 unless they bear the CE conformity marking in accordance with applicable requirements from Directive 94/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 June 1994 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to recreational craft.

Submitting the Registration Request

Registration requests can be submitted:
** Through the public digital service available in the e-Citizens or e-Business platforms2;
** By e-mail or other appropriate means of digital delivery3;
** By direct delivery to the Harbourmaster’s Office keeping the Register; and
** By regular mail.

Note:
** Notwithstanding the above methods of delivery, the registration request shall be deemed duly delivered when recorded in the Central Information System for Digital Administration of the Ministry.
** If the registration request is delivered to the Harbourmaster’s Office which, according to Article 254 of the Croatian Maritime Code, is not competent to process it, the Harbourmaster’s Office shall immediately register the request in the Central Information System for Digital Administration of the Ministry and forward the request and its attachments to the competent Harbourmaster’s Office for processing.
** Each request for registration in the Vessel Register, with the exception of the request for the first registration, has to clearly indicate the NIB and/or the name of the boat for which the registration is requested.

Documents Required For First Registration of Boat

The following documents have to be submitted along with the request for the first registration of a new (newly built) boat:
1. Written sales contract concluded with the seller or an invoice issued by the seller
2. Document proving that the requirements for registering the vessel in the Vessel Register have been met in accordance with Articles 187 and 188 of the Maritime Code;
3. Documents and certificates proving technical eligibility, as prescribed in the Ordinance on the Vessel Register and the special regulation defining technical eligibility of boats and yachts of up to 24 m in length and
4. Document proving the status of the boat user if they are to be entered in the Vessel Register.

The authorized seller from point 1 can be a manufacturer, authorized representative, distributor or importer of a new boat of up to 24 meters lenght.

Registration of Changes

In the event of changes in data entered in the Vessel Register, a request for the registration of changes has to be submitted to the Harbourmaster’s Office or its branch office within 30 days from the day when the changes occurred. In case of circumstances due to which the boat has to be removed from the Vessel Register, see section Removal of a boat from the Vessel Register.

In the event of changes in ownership rights of the boat, the new owner shall request a change of data in the Vessel Register within 30 days from gaining ownership rights. If the new owner fails to do so, the previous owner of the boat has the right to submit the request for removing the boat from the Vessel Register.