Pre-sale Survey (DPV): A new framework to secure the sale of used boats

Supported by the Fédération des Industries Nautiques with the backing of the DGAMPA and France Assureurs, and officially unveiled at the Paris Nautic Show 2025, the Pre-sale Diagnostic marks a new stage for the used recreational boating market.

Also known as the DPV, this new mechanism aims to better regulate private boat transactions.

The Pre-Sale Diagnostic (DPV) is a tool for transparency and prevention: it addresses the long-expressed need by both professionals and recreational boaters for a reliable inventory of a used boat before it is put up for sale, without requiring a complete expert assessment.

While tens of thousands of used boats change hands each year in France, the project leaders emphasize that this new system is part of a desire to contribute to the safety of recreational boating.

Since its implementation at the end of 2025, the DPV has enabled early resolution of issues concerning the condition of used boats and promotes better-informed buyers.

The VDP is not a mandatory regulatory device. It is neither a technical inspection nor a legal obligation.

With the VDP, the process is voluntary: the seller chooses to have a diagnostic carried out on their boat before the sale.

The diagnostic is carried out upstream of any transaction, financed by the seller, and allows for a clear and structured overview of the vessel to be presented to potential buyers.

In the context of a boat purchase and sale, it is essential to distinguish the Pre-Sale Diagnostic from
the classic marine survey.
Indeed, unlike the marine survey, the Pre-Sale Diagnostic:

• Is based on a common reference framework and a minimum list of checkpoints
  
• Has no expert value
  
• Relies on a visual and informational inspection.

The role of the Pre-Sale Diagnostic or PSD is not to certify the value or compliance of the boat, but to offer an objective snapshot of its apparent condition at a given time.

With the arrival of the PDS, the project owners aim to facilitate transactions for both buyers and sellers:

• Buyers are better informed, with factual information about the motorboat or sailboat they are considering purchasing.
• Sellers have an additional way to showcase their boat, with a tool that helps to objectively assess its overall condition.

Serving the relationship between the two parties, the Pre-Sale Diagnostic helps to establish a climate of trust, which is always conducive to a successful sale.

Misunderstandings are reduced, as are the risks of disputes and post-transaction disappointments.

The Pre-Sale Survey can be carried out on any pleasure boat.

In practice, it mainly concerns pleasure boats up to 12 meters, and particularly units under 9 meters: until now, these boats, which are very present on the market, were not subject to a formal marine survey during sales between private individuals.

The Pre-Sale Survey (PSS) is carried out at the request of the seller of the used boat, who is responsible for paying for the operation. But not just anyone can carry out a Pre-Sale Survey:

The PSS must be carried out by a marine expert with at least three years of professional experience.

This guarantees a consistent level of competence and strengthens the credibility of the survey for both sellers and buyers.

The PVI consists of a visual inspection of the boat and its main components, based on checklists adapted to the type of vessel. No dismantling or destructive testing is carried out.

The diagnostic can be performed afloat or ashore, and results in a detailed report given to the seller.

To ensure consistency, a shared framework has been developed by FIN, DGAMPA, and France Assureurs.

It defines essential control points and regulates the practice of professional surveyors, ensuring that the DPVs (Pleasure Craft Surveys) carried out are always neutral, reliable, and of high quality.

However, marine surveyors remain free to use the tool or methodology of their choice, provided they adhere to this common framework: this approach allows for operational flexibility and
harmonization of practices.

The pre-sale diagnostic of a boat is valid for 6 months. It must be renewed if the deadline is exceeded, and if the motorboat or sailboat is put up for sale again.

For Gilles Chiorri, a maritime expert who has been working for over 40 years in the field of recreational and professional vessels, the Pre-Sale Diagnostic is a pragmatic step forward that the market has been waiting for.

"It is clearly a diagnostic that allows the owner to have an objective, structured, and independent snapshot of the apparent condition of their boat at a given moment. In the
segment primarily concerned – that of vessels under 12 meters – we are facing an aging fleet, sometimes insufficiently maintained, and very active in private transactions. The PSD provides a reassuring and homogeneous framework in this context."

According to him, the device offers a double benefit:

• First, for the seller: The Pre-Sale Diagnostic makes it possible to identify potential visible anomalies or defects upstream that could hinder the transaction. It offers the possibility of carrying out priority repairs before putting the boat on the market, adjusting the price with full transparency, or anticipating buyers' questions. It is also a valuation tool, demonstrating a voluntary approach of seriousness and good faith.

• Second, for the buyer: The PSD constitutes a first level of factual information. It reduces the information asymmetry between the parties and allows them to approach the transaction with greater serenity. Without replacing a full appraisal, it clarifies the decision and helps to establish a climate of trust.

Gilles Chiorri, however, points out an essential fact:

"The Pre-Sale Diagnostic does not replace a pre-purchase survey commissioned by the buyer. A marine survey remains a thorough technical act, engaging the expert's liability, and may include trials, additional investigations, or dry docking. The PSD comes beforehand, as a tool for transparency and preparation for the transaction."

In a market where post-sale disputes remain frequent, he believes that the PSD contributes to a gradual professionalization of practices:

"Any approach that helps to objectify the condition of a vessel before a transaction is beneficial. It protects the parties, limits misunderstandings, and strengthens the overall credibility of the used boat market."