Pleasure boat registration card

An essential navigation document for any pleasure boat navigating in maritime areas as well as inland waters, the navigation permit is a mandatory administrative document. This boating authorization, similar to a vehicle's registration certificate, gathers information concerning the vessel and its owner.

Similar to land traffic regulations, maritime and river navigation rules require every owner of a pleasure boat (sailboat, motorboat, yacht, etc.) or PWC (Personal Watercraft: jet ski, sea scooter, etc.) meeting certain characteristics to possess a navigation title. This applies to both new and used boats.

While the registration certificate is mandatory for all, the francisation deed is only mandatory in certain cases, depending on the navigation area (maritime zone or inland water), the type of pleasure craft, its hull length, and its engine power.

This document proving the registration and ownership of a boat is the most common in France. It is issued by the DDT (Departmental Directorate of Territories) for inland navigation (rivers, canals, lakes, etc.) or by the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea), commonly known as the Bureau of Maritime Affairs, for sea navigation (coastal and offshore areas).

Only usable for the boat for which it was issued, the circulation permit is mandatory:

• at sea for recreational vessels with a hull length of less than 7 meters and an engine power not exceeding 22 administrative horsepower, and for all personal watercraft (PWCs);
• in inland waters for recreational boats with a length of 5 to 20 meters or with an engine with a real power of 4.5 kW (6 steam horsepower) as well as for PWCs.

The French registration of a pleasure craft is an authorization to fly the French flag. In this case, the boat (and its owner) is subject to French law and must comply with its regulations and be in good standing with tax authorities. Issued by the Customs Department, the act of French registration is mandatory for all pleasure boats with a hull length equal to or greater than 7 meters, regardless of their propulsion method (manual, engine, or sail).

It also applies to any boat with an engine power greater than or equal to 22 administrative horsepower and all personal watercraft with a power of 90 real kilowatts or more.

The pleasure craft registration certificate must be requested from the dedicated administrative service: DDT or DDTM (or from Customs for the act of francisation). Do you not want to undertake this tedious procedure yourself? Entrust the preparation of the administrative file and your request to our advisors.

Once the bill of sale has been signed by all signatories and the pleasure craft belongs to you, you have one month to complete your mandatory navigation title application procedures, both for the purchase of a new boat and a used boat. When you entrust us with your file, you must also provide us with certain mandatory documents. You will receive this list once the online form has been completed and the file has been reviewed by one of our experts.

There are two forms of circulation permits: the old one is a paper document, while the new one, which came into effect on October 1, 2019, is a digital document.

To navigate with peace of mind and legally in French or foreign waters if you are a French resident under a Polish flag, you will still have to pay the passport fee. Its amount is strictly identical to that of the DAFN (Annual Francization and Navigation Fee). Furthermore, it is mandatory regardless of the maritime navigation zone on the globe and also during wintering.

General characteristics of the vessel:

• Type of boat
• Type of propulsion: manual, sail, or motor
• Design category: category for which the vessel is approved, corresponding to its ability to handle given navigation conditions (A for ocean, B for offshore, C for coastal, and D for sheltered waters)
• LPG: indicates if the engine runs on LPG fuel
• Hull number - CIN (Craft Identification Number), HIN (Hull Identification Number: old designation) or WIN (Watercraft Identification Number): hull identification number for CE-approved vessels, unique and unalterable
• Series name or unit designation: series name of the boat
• Manufacturer / importer: name of the boat manufacturer
• Year of construction
• Hull width (in meters)
• Hull length (in meters)
• Unsinkability: the boat is declared unsinkable or not during its manufacture after undergoing a series of tests validated by maritime administrations, an unalterable characteristic.

General characteristics of the engine(s):

• Engine brand
• Engine number: unalterable serial number
• Power (kW): engine power expressed in kW.

Vessel name:

• Given name of the boat, modifiable upon request
• Registration number given by maritime administrations: the first two characters in letters correspond to the registration district, followed by 6 digits and a key letter. In the event of a change of owner AND home port, only the first two letters will be modified accordingly when you declare the transfer of ownership.

Information on the owner or co-owners:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Address
• City
• Postal Code.

Number of owners:

• 1 if there is a single owner, 2 or more in the case of co-ownership of the vessel.

Maritime Affairs:

• Stamp and signature of the instructing department: Maritime Affairs Office that processed the boat's registration file.

Since October 1, 2019, the maritime navigation permit is a secure digital document presented in the following format:

Document identification code:

• Application file management number for the navigation permit issued by the DDTM.

Owner(s) data:

• Last name and first name
• Company name
• Link: owner, co-owner of the boat, or manager (if applicable).

Vessel data - identifiers:

• Registration number provided by the DDTM: the first two letters refer to the registration district, followed by 6 digits and a key letter. In case of a change of owner AND home port, only the first two letters will be modified accordingly when declaring the change of ownership.
• Francization number: number given by the Customs Service when applying for the boat's francization certificate
• Updated by the service: the service responsible for processing the file at the DDTM
• WIN (Watercraft Identification Number): hull identification number of the boat, replaces the old HIN and CIN numbers.

Vessel data - boat characteristics:

• Name: boat's given name, modifiable upon request
• Manufacturer: name of the builder
• Model: name of the boat model given by the manufacturer
• Design category: boat's ability to withstand certain navigation conditions (A for ocean, B for offshore, C for coastal area and D for protected waters)
• Year of construction
• Type of vessel: motor vessel, sailboat, yacht, catamaran, trimaran, jet ski…
• Hull length in meters
• Hull width in meters
• Maximum recommended power (kW): maximum engine power that can be supported by the vessel, expressed in kilowatts
• Installed power (kW): actual power of the currently installed engine.

Engine(s) - engine characteristics:

• Engine brand
• Engine model
• Engine serial number: unique engine identifier
• Power (kW): actual engine power expressed in kilowatts
• Fuel: gasoline, diesel or LPG.

Special mentions:

• May concern the prohibition of selling a vessel within a given period, mainly concerns amateur constructions

Date of issue: start date of validity of the navigation title

Validity date: expiration date of the maritime circulation card (duration: 10 years).

Since October 1, 2019, the inland waterway navigation card is also available in dematerialized and secure form:

Boat Identification:

• Boat's name: boat's given name, modifiable upon request
• HIN or CIN number: hull identification number for CE approved vessels, unique and non-modifiable (CIN (Craft Identification Number), HIN (Hull Identification Number: old designation))
• Registration number: registration number provided by the inland waterway safety instruction center (DDT), whose first two letters refer to the registration district, followed by 6 digits and the letter F.
• Manufacturer: name of the boat manufacturer
• Series: boat model
• Year of construction
• Length (L), Width (w) and Draft (D): hull measurements expressed in meters
• Volume in m3: boat's light displacement, data obtained by multiplying the hull length by its width and by the draft (V = L x w x D)
• Design category: boat's ability to withstand certain navigation conditions (A for high seas, B for offshore, C for coastal zone and D for sheltered waters)
• Maximum number of persons recommended on board: variable number depending on the type of boat and its dimensions to ensure passenger safety
• Propulsion type: engine, sail or manual
• Max. authorized power in kW: maximum engine power that can be supported by the vessel, expressed in kilowatts
• Installed power in kW: actual power of the currently installed engine.

Identification of the holder of the inland waterway navigation card:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Date of Birth
• Address (full).

Owner or co-owner:

• holder's connection to the boat.

Seal of the authority:

• seal and signature of the DDT in charge of the file.

Document identification code:

• file management number for the navigation card application given by the DDT.

If you make changes to your pleasure boat or PWC such as an engine change, a boat name change, a transfer to a new home port, if your pleasure craft is scrapped or if it changes owner, you must inform the DDT or DDTM within one month.

While the old paper-format circulation permit had unlimited validity, its new digital version is valid for 10 years. When the expiration date approaches, you can request a renewal through our services.