San Marino Registration Guidelines

C26007 | 20 January 2026

Notice to: Ship Owners / Managers / Operators

The Maritime Authority of the Republic of San Marino has issued, with effect from 01 February 2026:
• a revised Maritime Regulation, SMMAR-2025-ADM-005_Rev.00, Registration Guidelines, and
• a revised Policy Letter, SMPL-2022-TEC-010_Rev01, Pre-registration Inspection Requirements.

The revisions to both documents concern the registration of merchant vessels 15 years of age and older, which is generally not accepted. However, the Administration reserves the right to grant exceptions in specific cases, based on a pre-registration inspection, and possibly applying additional requirements. Registration of tankers older than 25 years of age is not permitted.

Points to Note:

Application:

Pre-registration inspections shall be required for authorising the registration of all vessels of 500GT or above, and older than 15 years.

For yachts older than 15 years in commercial use up to 499GT or vessels below 500 GT:
• alternative arrangements to a pre-registration inspection shall be evaluated by the Administration on a case-by-case basis;
• an initial safety survey by an authorised surveyor or authorised RO may be considered as equivalent to a pre-registration inspection.

Implementation:

The pre-registration inspection includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
1) Class status;
2) Flag Administration records;
3) Vessel internal records;
4) Port State Control records;
5) Company records;
6) Vessel’s and equipment’s condition.

Following the inspection, corrective action in the form of audits, additional surveys, repairs, or maintenance work, to the satisfaction of the Administration, may be required as a condition for registration.

The pre-registration inspection shall be carried out by an authorised Flag State Inspector, and a report of inspection submitted to the Administration for review and approval.

In specific cases, the pre-registration inspection may be carried out by an authorised RO, provided that the vessel is inspected by a Flag State Inspector at the next Flag State Inspection window. A record of the pre-registration inspection shall be kept in the register.

Act now

Ship Owners/Managers/Operators wishing to register their vessels under the San Marino flag should be guided by the contents of the Policy Letter and Maritime Regulation.