What is the Small Ships Register (SSR)?

UPDATED 12 NOVEMBER 2026 · 2 SOURCES

The Small Ships Register, Part 3 of the UK Ship Register, proves a boat's nationality outside UK waters. Who can use it, what it costs and why it doesn't prove ownership.

DEFINITION

Small Ships Register (SSR)

Part 3 of the UK Ship Register: a low-cost register for UK-resident owners' pleasure boats under 24 m that proves nationality abroad but doesn't record ownership.

ALSO CALLED: SSR, PART 3 REGISTRATION

The Small Ships Register is Part 3 of the UK Ship Register. GOV.UK says it's for pleasure boats under 24 m owned by people living in the UK at least 185 days a year, costs £35 for 5 years, and proves the boat's nationality when sailing outside UK waters. Businesses can't use it, and it doesn't record ownership or mortgages.

What a surveyor checks

The SSR number on the certificate and its expiry, and that the boat carries the number. Because the SSR isn't a title register, a buyer relies on the bills of sale: PBO quotes a broker who looks for at least five years of clear title. See Part 1 registration for the title register.

In the report

"Registration: Small Ships Register, certificate seen and in date. The SSR doesn't record ownership; title to be established from the bills of sale."

Frequently asked

Does the SSR prove who owns the boat?

No. It proves the boat's nationality for sailing outside UK waters. Ownership comes from the bills of sale.

Who can register on the SSR?

GOV.UK says pleasure boats under 24 m whose owners live in the UK for at least 185 days a year. Businesses can't use it.

Related terms

Glossary

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

Part 1 registration

The part of the UK Ship Register for pleasure and commercial boats that records ownership and lets a marine mortgage be registered against the boat.

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

Brodica

The Croatian term for a boat over 2.5 m up to 15 m, registered and inspected by the harbourmaster; craft over 15 m are yachts surveyed by the Croatian Register of Shipping.

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

Certificado de navegabilidad

The Spanish certificate that a recreational boat meets the rules, recording each compulsory inspection and the date of the next one; it must be kept on board.

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

Certificat d'enregistrement

The single French registration document for pleasure craft that replaced the carte de circulation and the acte de francisation.

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

DAFN

France's annual tax on pleasure craft, now called the taxe annuelle sur les engins maritimes à usage personnel, based on hull length and engine power.

EUROPEAN PAPERWORK

Declaration of conformity

The builder's signed statement that a recreational boat meets the EU Recreational Craft Directive, which must accompany the craft.

Related guides

BUYING A BOAT IN EUROPE · 3 MIN

Buying a used boat in the UK: Part 1 or the SSR, VAT evidence, title and the survey

What to check when buying a used boat in the UK: what Part 1 and the Small Ships Register prove, the VAT evidence HMRC accepts, five years of bills of sale, the RCD paperwork, inland licences and the survey.

Your full survey report, minutes after the walk-round

Dictate as you inspect. Axsail builds the findings and the report for your signature

Start free