Transferring ownership of a boat in France: bill of sale, registration certificate, leasing, procedures

Selling a boat is not just about getting paid and handing over the keys: until the transfer is registered, the seller remains the owner in the eyes of the authorities. This guide describes the procedures for transferring ownership of a pleasure vessel sailing at sea and registered in France, as described by the French ministry responsible for the sea (mer.gouv.fr — buying, selling, registering, in French). Boats that sail only on inland waters fall under a different system (inland waterway registration), not covered here.

The title: the registration certificate

Since January 2022, French registration (immatriculation) and French flagging (francisation) have merged into a single registration procedure, and the carte de circulation (registration card) and the acte de francisation (French flag certificate) into a single document, the registration certificate (certificat d’enregistrement), valid for ten years as long as nothing has changed. Customs are no longer responsible for francisation. If your boat still has a carte de circulation or an acte de francisation, that is normal: these are the former titles, they are used for the sale procedure, and the buyer will receive a registration certificate in their name.

The title must be in the seller’s name. Check this before putting the boat up for sale: a title still in the name of a former owner, a deceased spouse or a dissolved company has to be put right before the sale.

The bill of sale

The sale is recorded in a bill of sale signed by the seller and the buyer. The ministry publishes a template bill of sale for a pleasure vessel (in French); you can use it as it is. The bill of sale identifies the vessel (name, registration number, hull number, make and model, engines) and the two parties (full identity, address), states the price and the date, and contains the agreed terms: declared condition, equipment included, documents handed over, any warranty clause (see the hidden defects guide). Each party keeps an original.

The online procedure, step by step

• The seller logs in to demarches-plaisance.gouv.fr, declares the sale giving the buyer’s identity and attaching the scanned bill of sale, and receives a transfer code.
• The seller passes this code on to the buyer, together with the title (registration certificate or former title) and the original bill of sale.
• The buyer completes the change of ownership online with the code: signed bill of sale, title handed over by the seller, pleasure craft form, ID document, proof of address (and a certificate of address for service for a European resident who has been living in France for less than six months).
• The new registration certificate is issued in the buyer’s name.

The formalities must be completed within one month of the sale. And this is the point sellers forget: if the buyer does not complete their procedure, the seller remains the registered owner of the boat — and remains liable for the annual tax. Sellers, follow the procedure through to the end; buyers, do not put it off.

Special cases

Several owners

If the title is in several names (a couple, joint ownership, co-ownership), all the co-owners must confirm their agreement online to the transfer. A bill of sale signed by only one of them is not enough. Plan for this before finding a buyer: chasing a co-owner who cannot be reached can block the sale for weeks.

Boat under a hire purchase or leasing agreement

The title is then in the name of the finance company, not the boat owner who uses the boat. Selling first means exercising the purchase option (paying off the balance and becoming the owner), or having the buyer take over the agreement with the finance company’s consent. In both cases, the sale goes through the finance company: contact it before advertising a price. The Hullteam sale file flags this situation to the buyer when the title uploaded by the seller is in the name of a finance company.

Inheritance, company

An inherited boat must first be registered in the name of the heir (or heirs) before being sold; a boat held by a company is sold by its legal representative, with the company’s documents. In both cases, check with the registration office before putting the boat up for sale.

Boat coming from abroad

A boat under a foreign flag bought by a French resident must be registered in France, which requires in particular conditions on the buyer’s nationality and on the boat’s conformity (CE marking or equivalent). The conditions are set out on the ministry’s website; they are among the questions to settle before paying, not after.

The annual tax

The former annual French flag and navigation duty (DAFN) and the passport duty have become the “annual tax on maritime craft for personal use”, paid online on the portal. It is due from the registered owner; hence the importance, for the seller, of the change of ownership being completed before the next due date.

What the seller hands over to the buyer

• The original signed bill of sale, and the transfer code.
• The registration certificate (or carte de circulation / acte de francisation).
• The CE declaration of conformity and the owner’s manual where they exist.
• The invoices for major equipment, the manuals, the keys and codes (engine, electronics, anti-theft).
• The maintenance history: with Hullteam, the log is transferred from the app — the seller designates the buyer by their email address, chooses the documents that go with it, and the buyer receives the entire sealed log with a timestamped transfer certificate. The seller and their crew lose access; the buyer continues the history.

Payment

The administrative transfer says nothing about payment: it is the bill of sale that records it. Prefer a bank transfer received and checked on your account before handing over the title and the transfer code; for a banker’s draft, call the issuing bank on the number shown on its website, not the one on the cheque. Cash payments are capped by law between private residents and professionals; above a few thousand euros, they are in any case impractical and dangerous.

Before the sale: the guide selling your used boat. On the buyer’s side: the checklist before signing.