Forms and documents

The documents required for each part of the registration process are listed in the relevant 'Guide to Registration' page, or can be found below.  All documents are PDFs.

If you are having compatibility issues with any of the forms, we recommend you download the forms to your computer (right mouse click and 'Save as') and open the form directly in Adobe PDF Reader. Please also make sure you have the latest version of Adobe PDF Reader installed. This can be downloaded for free from here.

Registration forms

MSF 4740 - Application to Register a British Ship  (27 KB)
Ports of Registry for Parts I & IV  (24 KB)
MSF 4740A - Application to Register a British Ship over 500 gt  (910 KB)
MSF 4738 - Application to Register a Bareboat Charter Ship  (19 KB)
MSF 4742 - Application for Duplicate Certificate of Registry  (13 KB)
MSF 4727 - Declaration of Eligibility  (21 KB)
MSF 4735 - Declaration of Eligibility for a Bareboat Charter Ship  (24 KB)
MSF 4705 - Bill of Sale  (16 KB)
MSF 4743 - Builders Certificate  (11 KB)
MSF 4741 - Application for a change of name or port of choice  (18 KB)
MSF 4744 - Application to remove a British Ship from the Register  (803 KB)
MSF 5623 - CSR amendment forms and guidance (56 KB)

MSF 5184 - Request to pay by credit card (RSS)  (21 KB)

Mortgage forms

MSF 4736 - Mortgage of a Ship to secure Account Current etc/other obligation (45 KB)
MSF 4737 - Mortgage of a ship to secure Principal sum and interest LLP  (45 KB)

MSF 4739 - Notice of Mortgage Intent  (17 KB)

Technical and Survey forms

MSF 4227 - Application for a Safe Manning Document  (39 KB)
MSF 4753 - Request to participate in the ACS scheme for UK Registered Vessels  (50 KB)

MSF 5100 - Application for Survey and Inspection of Ships and Fishing Vessels  (30 KB)

Civil Liability Certificates

MGN 402 - Oil Pollution: Liability and Compulsory Insurance for Bunker Oil  (164 KB)
MGN 403 - Oil Pollution: Liability and Compulsory Insurance  (160 KB)
MSF 3233 - Paper CLC Application Form (for both bunker and tanker certification)  (111 KB)
MSF 3241 - Electronic CLC Application Form (for both bunker and tanker certification)  (2,331 KB)

Explanatory notes (updated May 2009)  (66 KB)

Other useful information

Registering ships with the UK Ship Register (483 KB)

A Master's Guide to the UK Flag  (409 KB) A full version is available on request.

In addition to specific documents, the following are issued by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) on behalf of the UK Ship Register to give out safety, pollution prevention and other information or relevance to the industry:

Merchant Shipping Notices (MSN) – containing technical details and used to convey mandatory information that must be complied with under UK regulations;
Marine Guidance Notes (MGN) – providing advice and guidance to improve safety of shipping and pollution prevention;
Marine Information Notes (MIN) – provide information intended for a more limited audience such as training establishments or equipment manufacturers or which will only be used for a short time;
Instructions for the Guidance of Surveyors - provides the MCA's interpretation of the relevant regulations.


Please contact us if you are uncertain on the documents applicable to your particular application and we will be happy to help.