About the Danish registers
In Denmark there are three ship registers; The Danish Ship Register (DAS) (including the Shipbuilding Register), the Danish International Register of Shipping and the Boat Register.
All Danish ships to be used commercially must be registered in one of the registers. However, cargo vessels, barges, battens, dredging machines, floating cranes and the like which have a gross tonnage (GT) of less than four and do not have fully continuous decks are exempt from this requirement.
In the Shipbuilding Register, which is a special section of the Danish Ship Register (DAS), all ships under construction in the Kingdom of Denmark can be entered as long as the ships' construction is so long that the ships can be identified and GT is expected to be measured at a gross tonnage of 5 or more. However, ships built for recreational purposes can only be entered if they are estimated to have a GT of 20 or more.
Below are the size requirements for a ship to be entered in the various registers:
- The Danish Ship Register (DAS): Here, all Danish commercial ships with a GT of 5 or more can be registered. In addition, pleasure crafts, including houseboats, which are used as a private residency, are included if they have a GT of 20 or more.
- The Danish International Register of Shipping (DIS): Merchant ships (not fishing ships) that have a GT of 20 or more can be registered here. Ships registered in DIS are not allowed to transport passengers between Danish ports, unless it is a matter of sailing to and from offshore installations.
- The Boat Register (FTJ): Commercial ships of between 5 and 20 gross tonnage may be included either here or in the DAS. Commercial ships of less than 5 gross tonnage can only be admitted here.
- The Shipbuilding Register: Here, all ships under construction can be recorded at a Danish shipyard, as long as they are expected to have a GT of 5 or more.
- Please note that pleasure crafts with a GT under 20 cannot be entered or re-entered into any ship register. When a ship is declared for registration, it is assigned signal letters. When a registered ship is deleted and later reported once more (resumption), the ship does not receive the same signal letters as it previously had. However, ships that are deleted and resumed on the same day may, by prior agreement with the Ship Register, keep the same signal letters.
About Certificates of Nationality
1. Once the ship is registered – issue of a certificate of nationality
A Danish certificate of nationality documents that the ship is entitled to fly the Danish flag and is thus documentation of the ship's nationality as Danish.
All Certificates of Nationality are issued as electronic, verifiable documents. You can at any time scan the QR code on the nationality certificate and verify that the certificate is valid.
Issued Certificates of Nationality are invalidated when a new certificate of nationality is issued to the ship, if the ship is deleted from the Danish register, when a bareboat-in registration expires or if the ship changes use to "former fishing ship".
You can access the certificate of nationality on the website of the Danish Maritime Authority in the self-service solution for ship owners with MitID or after registering as a user. See guidance here.
The certificate of nationality must always be available on board the ship, either in physical or electronic form.
A. Digital report
When the reporting of a ship, or the request to change an already registered ship, is registered, the reporter receives an email message stating: "Your report has been processed by a case worker and you can now resume your report".
You can then resume the report and must then enter the place in the ship's interior, fixed structure where the ship's signal letters are permanently marked in the ship's internal, fixed construction. You can then request the issuance of the certificate of nationality, which can be downloaded as a PDF file.
You can see an actual guide to this step in the guides for the different types of digital report.
B. Reporting when digital report cannot be done
You will be asked by the Register of Shipping no later than in connection with the completion of the manual processing of your report to state in writing – preferably by email – where the ship's signal letters are permanently marked in the ship's internal, fixed construction. Only when you have provided this information can the certificate of nationality be issued.
Provisional certificate of nationality
The Register of Shipping may, upon written request – preferably by e-mail – issue a provisional certificate of nationality. Issuing and requesting provisional certificates of nationality cannot be made in DSRG, the Self-Service solution.
A provisional certificate of nationality may be issued to ships that have been registered for registration in Denmark when the ship is completed or under construction for a test drive or similar purposes. Furthermore, various things must be documented and proved.
A provisional certificate of nationality is issued for a short, limited period, usually 7 – 30 days. Provisional certificates of nationality may be extended upon written request after evaluation of the circumstances.
A provisional certificate of nationality can serve as a basis for issuing a list of operational limits, crew specification, insurance certificate, etc. issued by the Danish Maritime Authority.
A provisional certificate of nationality makes it possible to sail under the Danish flag before the ship is registered. A provisional certificate of nationality is not a registration of the ship and no mortgage or other rights can be registered in the ship on that basis.
Report of documentary evidence and documents for the issuance of a provisional certificate of nationality
A. Digital report
If you wish to report digitally, you must complete the report of the ship, and the ship's new owner must sign the report.
So that you do not get slowed down in the flow, you must state that the seller is foreign (and thus cannot sign with MitID), regardless of whether it is correct or not.
Furthermore, you must also submit the following in copy to the ship register:
- Copy of final document of title
- Proof of the gross tonnage (GT) of the ship, for example by a copy of a Tonnage Certificate
- Copy of deletion or non-registration certificate if the ship is imported from abroad
B. Reporting when a digital report cannot be done
In order to be issued a provisional certificate of nationality, you must submit the following:
- Original signed form on reporting of the ship for registration corresponding to the register you want to report the ship to – one of the following: Form II 1 Ship with a GT of 20 or more, Danish Ship Register, or Form II 2 Ship without registration obligations, Danish Ship Register , or Form II 3 Ship in the Danish International Ship Register, or Form II 4 Ship in the Boat Register
- Copy of final document of title
- Copy of tonnage certificate
- Copy of deletion or non-registration certificate if the ship is imported from abroad
Report for registration or resumption of ships
A. Digital report
See guidance for registration or resumption of ships
Please note that if you have a title document that is older than 30 days (issued more than 30 days ago) or the issuer of the deed does not have MitID, you can start the report digitally and then tick the box "power of attorney is sent" and then send the original deed to the Danish Ship Register. If the issuer of the deed has MitID, the report can also be done fully digitally in DSRG, the Self-Service solution.
B. Reporting when a digital report cannot be done
Here you get an overview of which documents and forms you should expect to submit to the Danish Ship Register when you report a ship for registration.
A number of form requirements apply to the documents, and we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the requirements