Apply for a ship's tonnage certificate

Do you own a recreational craft and want or need to register it in the register of seagoing vessels? To do this, you need a ship's tonnage certificate, which you can apply for at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH).

The BSH issues internationally recognized tonnage certificates for recreational craft. These are a prerequisite for entry in a maritime register.

The issuance of tonnage certificates depends on the length of your vessel.

• In the case of pleasure craft under 24 meters in length (as defined in Article 2 paragraph 8 of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships), a simplified survey is carried out; it is limited to establishing the length. The issued tonnage certificate is generally sufficient for the registration of the recreational craft in a maritime register.
  • On request, these smaller pleasure craft can also be measured according to the international rules for vessels over 24 meters in length. This will give you the International Vessel Measurement Certificate.
• For vessels over 24 meters in length, an exact measurement is carried out on board according to the rules of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships. These vessels then receive an International Vessel Measurement Certificate.
  
  

• Drawing or sketch of the recreational craft; for example, shipyard general plan (copy)
• brochure of the recreational craft (copy), also in extracts
• one photo each of the side and stern view of the recreational craft
• if applicable, a copy of the declaration of conformity
• if applicable, a copy of the manufacturer's certificate

- Forms: yes

- Online procedure possible: no

- Written form required: yes

- Personal appearance required: no

• You own a recreational craft with a hull length of less than 15 meters and wish to voluntarily register in a register of seagoing vessels.
• You own a recreational craft with a hull length of more than 15 meters and therefore have to comply with the obligation to register in a register of seagoing vessels.
  
  

• Objection in case of rejection notice
• Administrative court action

You can apply for the issuance of the ship's tonnage certificate at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH):

• On the BSH website, you have the option of filling out the application as a PDF file on the computer and printing it out, or downloading it first and printing it out in order to fill it out by hand.
• You send the completed application form together with the required documents and proofs by mail or
• scan the documents and send them by email to the BSH.
• Mail address: spotbootvermessung@bsh.de

Explanations of the application and information about the ship's tonnage certificate can also be found on the BSH website.

You do not have to meet any deadlines.

Provided that the documents are complete and no queries are necessary on the part of the BSH, the processing of your application usually takes 1 week.

The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) charges fees for ship surveying.

• The fee for the survey of pleasure craft according to the simplified procedure is divided into two points:
• Surveying according to the simplified procedure for pleasure craft (length measurement only: EUR 117.00.
• The issuance of a tonnage certificate on the measurement according to the simplified procedure for pleasure craft: EUR 133.00.
• The fee for the survey according to the rules of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships refers to the result of this survey and can therefore only be indicated roughly in advance (basic fee EUR 1,000.00 + EUR 0.7 per GT + issue of a tonnage certificate EUR 175.00).
• Applicants who are domiciled abroad must pay the fee in advance. In these cases, the application can only be processed by the BSH after receipt of the fee for the recreational craft survey.
  
  

As an applicant resident or domiciled outside Germany, you must have permanently commissioned one or more responsible persons resident or domiciled in the Federal Republic of Germany to ensure that the legal provisions applicable to seagoing vessels in the Federal Republic of Germany are complied with in technical, social and administrative matters. The BSH will provide more detailed information on request about the further evidence to be provided in these cases in accordance with the Flag Law Ordinance.