The following persons are qualified to be the owners of ships to be registered on Part 1 of the register or the charterer on Part 4 of the register:

• British citizen  
• Non-UK nationals exercising their right of freedom of movement of workers or right of establishment under Article 48 or 52 of the EEC Treaty or Article 28 or 31 of the EEA Agreement;
• British Dependent Territories citizen
• British Overseas citizen
• Persons who under the British Nationality Act 1981 are British subjects:
• Persons who under the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 are British Nationals (Overseas);  
• Commonwealth citizens
• Citizens of a country listed in Schedule 6 
• Non-UK nationals who are settled in the UK
• Bodies corporate incorporated in a Commonwealth state
• Bodies corporate incorporated in a country listed in Schedule 6
• Bodies corporate incorporated in the United Kingdom or one of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries 
• Bodies Corporate incorporated in any British overseas possession which has its principal place of business in the UK or those possessions 
• European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) Formed in pursuance in the UK 

If none of the qualified owners are resident in the UK, a representative must be appointed who is either of the following:

• An individual resident in the UK
• A company incorporated in one of the EEA countries with a place of business in the UK

Visit our Part 1 Merchant registration pages, Part 1 Pleasure registration, or Part 4 Bareboat for more information.

For a bareboat out registration, an approved register is a register from a:  

• European Economic Area (EEA) state 
• British Dependent Territory 
• Commonwealth State 
• Country listed in Schedule 6

Visit our Part 4 Bareboat out pages for more information.

For vessels to be registered on Part 2, all the owners listed must be qualified owners.

A vessel can be registered on Part 2 if the legal and beneficial owners are:

• British citizens  
• Non-UK nationals exercising their right of freedom of movement of workers or right of establishment under Article 48 or 52 of the EEC Treaty or Article 28 or 31 of the EEA Agreement
• Bodies corporate incorporated in the UK or a EEA State with a place of business in the UK
• European Economic Interest Groupings formed under Article 1 of Council regulation (EEC) No. 2137/85 and registered in the UK
• A local authority in the UK

Visit our Part 2 Fishing pages for more information.

For vessels to be registered on Part 3 of the register, all owners listed must be eligible owners. To be eligible, all owners must be ordinarily* resident in the UK and one of the following:

• British Citizens
• Non-UK nationals exercising their right of freedom of movement of workers or right of establishment under Article 48 or 52 of the EEC Treaty or Article 28 or 31 of the EEA Agreement
• Persons who are nationals of a European Union or European Economic Area country and are established** in the UK
• British Dependent Territories citizens
• British Overseas citizens
• Persons who under the British Nationality Act 1981 and are British subjects
• Persons who under the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order are British Nationals (Overseas) 
• Commonwealth citizens not falling within the above eligibility
• Non-UK nationals who are settled in the UK 

*Ordinarily resident – owners must reside in the UK for at least 185 days each year, we may need evidence to confirm this.

**Established – It is not sufficient to live in the UK to be “established” in accordance with Articles 48 and 52 of the EU Treaty. To be “established” a person must make an economic contribution to the UK by being the proprietor of a business, being employed, or having recently retired from such employment within the last 6 months. If you have any doubts about your “establishment” you should consult the Registry.

Visit our Part 3 Small Ships pages for more information.