Documents required for ship registration

As a basis for the admission of a ship, a document proving that the owner of the ship has ownership of the ship is required. The document is called a document of title, and for that there are a number of formal requirements.

As a starting point, there is a requirement to use the forms

• Form I 3 (Bill of lading)
• Blanket I 2 (Bill of Sale)

approved by the registrar of ships.

However, there is practice of waiving the form compulsion if a corresponding foreign Bill of Sale or Builder's Certificate contains the same information as the approved forms. In particular:

1. Unambiguous identification of the ship
2. Unambiguous identification of buyer and seller
3. Unambiguous timestamp of transfer of ownership from transferor to recipient; the time may instead be indicated/documented with a copy of a Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance;
4. To what extent the ship is transferred shall be indicated. For example, 100/100 is a whole ship. If half of the ship is sold, it is given as 50/100

An invoice or a purchase receipt will normally not be sufficient to constitute a document of title. The title document must normally be issued in Danish in order for it to be registered.

However, title documents in Swedish, Norwegian and English are usually also accepted.

Documents of title in other languages must have been translated by a sworn or approved translator. Both the original document and the translation must be submitted to the Register of Shipping.

The document of title must clearly state that ownership of the ship passes from the seller to the buyer. In the case of newly built ships, possibly from shipyard to builder.

If the title document does not specify a date for the buyer or the developer's acquisition of ownership, the title document may be supplemented by a Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance, which states the date of acquisition. A delivery protocol signed on behalf of each of the parties may be sent by e-mail. There is no requirement that the signatories are authorized signatories.

The document of title must always be signed by the transferor of the ship (seller or yard).

The document of title must be submitted to the Register of Shipping with the original signature(s) of the transferor (seller) or construction yard. All signatures must be dated, indicating the day, month and year of the time of signature. The names of the signatories must be repeated in block capitals, typescript, stamps or the like.

If the transferor is an undertaking, the document of title must be signed by the person of the undertaking who is an authorized signatory. If the transferor is a shipping partnership, all shipowners must sign.

The document of title may also be signed by a person who is an authorized signatory through a power of attorney. It is then a requirement that an original power of attorney is  presented and that the  power of attorney is signed by the seller, the signatory of the seller or all part owners.

Read more about power of attorney here

Separate documentation for a Danish company, a legal person or other plurality of natural persons does not have to be presented if the provisions regulating the power to bind and the authorized signatory is present in the CVR register. The Register of Shipping itself checks that the signatory is an authorized signatory by performing a lookup in the CVR register.

If the transferor is a Danish association, foundation or the like, without provisions regulating the power to bind and the authorized signatory  present in the CVR register, the signatories can be authorized through a public notary, or by submitting articles of association together with signed and dated minutes of a general meeting of shareholders. As many minutes of the general meeting of shareholders must be submitted as necessary in order to document that the signatories are elected and have the necessary function in the association.

If the transferor is a Danish municipality, a municipal institution, a region or a regional institution, a signature from the mayor/regional chairman or municipal director/regional director is required, unless a power of attorney is presented for the signatory's authority to sign.

If the transferor is a government agency, separate proof of the signatory’s authority to sign is usually not required.

If the transferor is a foreign company, the authority to sign can be documented by a notary confirming the identity and authority of the signatory on behalf of the company.

If the notary is not resident in the EU/EEA, the notary's confirmation must be legalized or apostilled. Legalization or apostillation is not needed if a notary from within the EU/EEA is used.

Authority to sign for foreign companies established in EU/EEA countries can also be documented by presenting a copy of a digital transcript from the register, or an original signed confirmation from the register in question.

If the transcript or confirmation is not in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian or English, it must normally always be translated into Danish or English by a certified or approved translator.

Who can and should sign depends on who is signed for:

1. Private individuals and individual companies: The individual person
2. Companies: Must be signed by the person authorized to sign in accordance with the provisions regulating the power to bind
3. Shipping partnerships: All shipowners must sign – except in the case of pledging only the concerned party’s part of the ship
4. Associations, limited partnerships, partnerships and the like: Signatures must be made in accordance with the articles of association of persons appointed under the articles of association.
5. Municipalities: Must be signed by the mayor, municipal director or according to directives/power of attorney given by the mayor or municipal director
6. State: Must be signed by a, for the registration, relevant government official.

An objective party witness is a person who confirms by his/her signature that the signature is the signatory’s, and that the date of the signature is correct. If the document issuer is a natural person, the witness must also confirm the authority of the signatory.

A person who may have financial interest in the transaction or is the spouse of the signatory shall not be accepted by the Register of Shipping as an objective party witness.

The objective party witnesses names, positions and places of residence must be indicated and the names of the witnesses must be reproduced in capital letters, stamps or typescript.

If a Danish lawyer signs as an objective party witness, the title, name and business address must be clearly stated.

If a notary confirms the document, the confirmation must be signed and stamped.

Denmark

• 2 objective party witnesses
• 1 lawyer with Danish appointment
• 1 notary

Other countries

• 2 objective party witnesses, and copies of each witness’ passport.
• 1 notary

The Register of Shipping must have documentation of who has owned the ship, all the way back to the ship's delivery from the shipyard or until the ship was last registered in the Danish register or the Boat Register. The documentation must consist of a complete unbroken timeline.

The documentation of previous owners can be done by presenting documentation of previous transfers with a copy of deeds / bill of sale / receipts, etc. Alternatively, the previous owners can fill out a Declaration of Previous Ownership confirming when they bought the ship, whom they bought the ship from and to whom they sold it afterwards. The declaration must be presented in original to the Register of Shipping.

If the ship at some point has been entered in a foreign ship register  or is imported from abroad, documentation must only be submitted back to the person who was registered as an owner in the foreign ship register when the ship was deleted from there.

If the ship has been imported into Denmark from abroad at some point, but has not been entered in a foreign register, a non-registration certificate from the relevant foreign register(s) must be presented. Documentation must only be provided for Danish owners of the ship from and including the time when it was last entered in the Danish Register of Shipping.

When the registered owner of a ship changes address, it must be reported to the Register of Shipping - send an e-mail to srg@dma.dk.

Please note that the Register of Shipping cannot register the new address until it is registered in the CPR or CVR register.

The change is then registered and you receive a new nationality certificate.

When the Danish Maritime Authority receives this form, the ship is assigned an Official Number and a set of signal letters. There are no special requirements for who can sign the form on behalf of the shipping company. In connection with submission, an entry for the ship is created in the Ship Register.

Please submit the form as early as possible so that inspections etc. can be scheduled.

If a commercial vessel, including fishing vessels, is to be registered in DAS, DIS or FTJ with a foreign owner, an original declaration of fulfilment of the activity and contact conditions (Link blanket II 16 – 19), signed by the owner, or someone authorized to sign on behalf of the owner, as well as by the person who is authorized to sign on behalf of the person who meets the activity and contact conditions, must be presented in connection with the registration to the DIS.

If the form is signed originally on behalf of the ship's owner, the original form must be submitted to the Register of Shipping. The Danish signatories can sign on the physical form or sign an identically completed form with MitID, as long as it is pointed out when filing both forms that the form is signed partly original and partly with MitID.

Read more about foreign shipowner

When a ship is registered or registered with a deadline, a final certificate of nationality may be issued to the ship. One of the particulars contained in the final certificate of nationality is a short text describing the place in the interior fixed structure of the ship where the signal letters are marked/carved.

You must therefore send us an e-mail, srg@dma.dk or a letter in which the marking point is described with a short text. We can only issue the final certificate of nationality once we have this information.

Example text: "on the inner side of the aft-most crossbeam".

The tonnage certificate must be issued by a surveyor authorized by the Danish Maritime Authority, including one of the Recognized Organizations authorized by the Danish Maritime Authority.

When registering a used ship from a foreign country, a copy of an international Tonnage Certificate issued by a non-Danish authorized surveyor shall first be submitted. Within 3 months from when registration has taken place, a Tonnage Certificate must be issued by a Danish authorized surveyor.

After 16 January 2023, all Danish Tonnage Certificates will be issued directly in DSRG, the Self-Service Solution of the authorized Danish ship-surveyor.

If you need a physical Tonnage Certificate, contact the surveyor.

In connection with the registration of a ship, the owner must be registered in the Register of Shipping as a shipping company.

There are several different forms for reporting the shipping company, depending on the legal structure of the owner of the ship. For example, if the owner is a Danish association, it is form25 that must be filled in. Link til blanket 25 – hjemmesiden)

See who can sign here

There are several different forms for reporting a ship depending on which register the ship is to be registered in, see Forms II 1 – 6 (Link til hjemmesiden blanket II 1 – 6.)

The submission of a signed form counts as reporting the ship in DAS, DIS or The Vessel Register.

If you report a pleasure craft or have not already submitted the form for reporting a commercial ship to a Danish register, it is now that the ship will be assigned an Official Number and a set of signal letters, as well as an electronic entry in the Ship Register.

See who can sign here

If a ship is already registered in another country's register of ships, the ship must be deleted from this register before it can be entered in a Danish register.

A Certificate of Deletion must be provided from the register of this other country, showing that the ship is no longer registered and that the ship is free from registered mortgages and encumbrances.

The certificate must have been issued by the ship registration authority of the country in which the ship was registered immediately prior to its entry into a Danish register.

Certificates of Deletion are normally not required to be legalized or apostilled.

The Certificate of Deletion must be presented to the ship register in its original form before the ship can be registered. Please note that digitally verifiable Certificates of Deletion are usually accepted as original and can therefore be sent to the Register of Shipping as an attachment by e-mail.

If all other requirements for registration are met, except that the Register of Shipping has not received an original Certificate of Deletion,  it is possible for ships to be registered with a time limit of 7 working days, on the basis of a copy of the Certificate of Deletion. The reporter must request registration with a time limit. The request can be made by e-mail. If the 7-day time limit is exceeded, it means that the ship and any mortgage will be wiped out of the Danish register. However, the registrar of ships may, on request and in exceptional circumstances, extend the time limit.

Registration with a time limit is usually only used if a mortgage is to be registered on the ship in connection with the registration. If no mortgage is to be registered, it is usually chosen to obtain a provisional Certificate of Nationality until the original certificate has been received by the Register of Shipping.

The Register of Shipping also has the possibility to issue a provisional Certificate of Nationality to a ship reported on the basis of copies of the documents normally required for registration.

If the foreign ship registration authority does not issue Certificates of Deletion, a legal opinion from a licensed lawyer in that country can usually be presented instead, who can confirm that such a certificate is not issued. At the same time, it must be specifically agreed with the Register of Shipping how it is instead confirmed that the ship is not registered and that it is free from encumbrances.

In the case of a newly built ship which has not been previously registered, a Certificate of Non-Registration, issued by the ship registration authority of the country in which the ship was built, showing that the ship has not been registered there, must be presented instead of a Certificate of Deletion.

Certificates of Non-Registration are usually not required to be legalized or apostilled.