Yacht like a car. The obligation to pre -registration is coming

The Ministry of Infrastructure plans to introduce the obligation to pre -review the yacht and other vessels of a length up to 24 m before their registration – according to the assumptions of the bill, published on the website of the National Health Faculty

On Tuesday, in the list of legislative work of the government, the assumptions of the Act on the amendment to the Act on registration of yachts and other units up to 24 m and the Act on maritime safety appeared. The author of the new regulations is the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The information noted that in 2018 a register of yachts and other vessels up to 24 m long was created, including inland and sea recreational and sea recreation units, sail and motor units, as well as inland units for fishing. The obligation to register applies to yachts and other vessels with a length of more than 7.5 m or with the power of a engine greater than 15 kW, which are Polish property. Units not constituting Polish ownership and with a smaller hull length or engine power can be recorded at the owner's request.

“The register is open and enables registration, and thus obtaining Polish affiliation, units without restrictions as to the country of origin of the owner of the unit. The registration document is issued indefinitely. According to the state as at August 6, 2025, the number of units in the system exceeded 92,000, of which approx. 40 percent (36.5 thousand) are the units whose owner indicated the place (legal person) or resident Physical), apart from the territory of the Republic of Poland. – noted the Ministry of Infrastructure.

According to Mi, there are tens of thousands of yachts operated outside Polish maritime areas that have obtained the right to raise the Polish flag. In addition, as the ministry pointed out, registration authorities and maritime administration bodies do not have enough tools to verify units wanting to obtain Polish affiliation and effectively implement the supervision of individuals already registered.

“The lack of mechanisms for verification and updating of data in the register further hinders the possibility of reaching the shipowner and supervising the administrative bodies, and thus creates the risk of not being fulfilled by the fulfillment of the sailing safety regulations,” the ministry noted.

The bill is to introduce an obligation to review, which will be subject to entities that want to obtain Polish affiliation. The initial inspection will be carried out by the authorized recognized organization, and its cost will be covered by the owner of the unit. The documentation from the preliminary review will be the basis for the registration authority for issuing a decision to enter the unit in the register.

“Introduction of preliminary inspections and the obligation to update data will ensure that shipowners/owners of units entering the Polish flag will receive reliable information about the requirements of the provisions of Polish law in the scope of their duties. enforcement ” – emphasized the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The information indicates that the project does not provide for an increase in administrative or financial burdens for owners of units who will apply for a document to obtain a document confirming Polish affiliation – for this group of owners the registration procedure will remain unchanged.

In addition, the draft act is to be introduced – for all registered units – the obligation to cyclically confirm the validity of the data in the register or update, which will take place at least every two years. This obligation will apply to both new entries in the register and entities already registered before the entry into force of the provisions of the Act. In the absence of data confirmation within the required period, the registration authority will be entitled to remove the entity from the registry ex officio. (PAP)

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