If your merchant vessel is provisionally registered with a valid Certificate of Provisional Registration, you can upgrade the registration to fully register the vessel onto Part 1 of the UK Ship Register.

If you have previously completed your provisional registration using the UK Ship Register online service, you can log in to your account to close the provisional registration and begin a new registration through the online account.

You will be required to provide supporting documents and pay the appropriate fee.

Documents required for full merchant vessel registration from a provisional registration

Please note that any documents used to support your application for merchant vessel (Part 1) registration, if not in English, must be accompanied by a notarised translation. You will need to print off and sign any documents, as we cannot accept digital signatures.

• Copy of Certificate of Incorporation (if the owner is a body corporate)
• Bill of Sale from current registered owner to the new owner MSF 4705
• UK Certificate of Survey for Tonnage & Measurement issued within the last 12 months
• International Tonnage Certificate (ITC69) (for vessels over 24 metres)
• British Tonnage Certificate and Survey (for vessels less than 24 metres)
• A copy of the valid Code Certificate or appropriate safety Certificate (for vessels less than 24 metres)
• Deletion certificate or transcript from the current register, or a written undertaking to provide one within six weeks
• Copy of the Ships Radio licence with call sign, applications should be made with Ofcom
• Civil Liability Certification (CLC), when you receive the P&I “Blue Cards”. Apply for CLC certificates through the UK Ship Register online service
• Safe Manning Document
• Copy of the ship’s current Continuous Synopsis Record (CSR) and completed CSR amendment form 2 (for vessels over 500 GT if applicable)
• Builder’s Certificate (for new builds) MSF 4743
• Online payment of £75 registration fee via GOV.UK through the secure payment link (for a five year period)

Once documentation is received, a Carving and Marking Note will be issued which will need to be witnessed by a UK authorised organisation. When completed it will need to be returned via email to uksr@mcga.gov.uk and the Certificate of Registry can then be issued.