Chartering your yacht commercially: licenses, flags and coastal rules
Chartering legally takes two permissions at once: a flag that allows commercial use, and the coastal state's own rules where the charter starts.
Charter licensing is the set of permissions a yacht needs before it can charter legally, and it has two parts that owners routinely conflate. The first is the flag's permission: the register must allow the yacht to be used commercially. The second is the coastal state's rules: whatever the flag allows, the state where a charter begins sets its own licensing, tax and cabotage requirements on top. WhichFlagToFly keeps the two apart, because conflating them is the most common error in charter licensing.
Does my flag allow commercial charter?Link to this section
Every register in this comparison distinguishes a yacht registered for the owner's private use from one registered, or additionally certified, for commercial operation, and that distinction is usually the first gate a charter has to clear. Which registers permit which forms of commercial use, and what a register requires before it treats a yacht as commercial, is set out register by register on the yacht flag comparison and in commercial versus private yacht registration.
What does a coastal state require before a charter starts?Link to this section
Separately from the flag, the state where a charter begins commonly sets its own conditions: a local charter license or permission process, a matriculation or charter tax with an exemption that has to be applied for in advance rather than assumed, and in some states a restriction on which flags may charter there without a further local license. These are coastal-state rules, not flag rules, so a yacht's flag choice does not settle them on its own. Where a coastal state has a published position, it is set out below.
What does a charter license cost?Link to this section
The charge for a charter license is set by the coastal state, not by the flag, so it differs from one cruising ground to the next and each published position appears below this page's text with its source. No neutral source publishes what an agent charges to obtain a license, so this page states no professional fee for that work.
Is commercial registration the same as a charter license?Link to this section
Commercial registration with a flag state and a coastal charter license are two separate approvals from two separate authorities, and completing one does not complete the other. A yacht can be fully commercially registered and still be unable to charter legally in a given coastal state until its own process is satisfied, and the reverse can be true too. See ISM, ISPS and MLC for yachts for the safety and labor compliance that commercial registration typically brings with it, on top of the licensing question here.
How does charter income affect VAT?Link to this section
Chartering commercially can open VAT treatment that a privately used yacht cannot reach under the same flag, and the coastal state where a charter starts has its own VAT position on top of that. See VAT and importation for how the two questions relate, and once a yacht is chartering, central agents for how it is typically marketed to charter guests.
Where you'll cruise
These are rules of the country the vessel is in, and they apply whatever flag it carries.
| Croatia | |
|---|---|
| Flags eligible to charter here | Croatian and EEA flagged vessels need no cabotage approval; a third country flag does, and approvals up to 24 meters are suspended to about 16 October 2026, with no successor decision published.Pravilnik o uvjetima za obavljanje djelatnosti iznajmljivanja plovila sa ili bez posade i pružanje usluge smještaja gostiju na plovilu, Narodne novine 42/2017 od 28. travnja 2017., Ministarstvo mora, prometa i infrastrukturenarodne-novine.nn.hr · Članak 3.Retrieved 2026-09-06Effective 2017-05-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter license process | The charter company emails the Ministry of the Sea for eCrew access before its first charter; a third country flag needs a cabotage approval first; the annual foreign flag fee follows a length and power formula (our estimate: about €353 for a 20 meter, 880 kilowatt yacht); no processing time is published.Uputa za obavljanje charter djelatnosti u Republici Hrvatskoj, verzija 1.3, srpanj 2026., Ministarstvo mora, prometa i infrastrukturemmpi.gov.hr · § 4.1Retrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter VAT rate | A charter that includes accommodation on board is taxed at 13 percent VAT in Croatia, against a standard rate of 25 percent.Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o porezu na dodanu vrijednost, Narodne novine 115/2016 (članak 6., kojim se zamjenjuje članak 38. stavak 3. Zakona o PDV-u), Hrvatski sabornarodne-novine.nn.hr · Čl. 38. st. 3. t. a) (as amended)Retrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2017-01-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Matriculation tax | Croatia charges no one-off matriculation tax on a pleasure vessel and, since 1 July 2013, no tax on buying a used vessel privately: the vessel tax is annual, €13 to €664, and boats in registered use are exempt.Porez na plovila, Ministarstvo financija, Porezna uprava Republike Hrvatskeporezna-uprava.gov.hrRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Temporary admission in practice | Croatia admits a non EU pleasure vessel on an oral declaration at the customs office of entry, with no guarantee; the procedure must end within 18 months by re-export, and a genuine re-entry can begin a fresh 18 month period, up to 10 years in all.Privremeni uvoz i izvoz, Carinska uprava Republike Hrvatskecarina.gov.hrRetrieved 2026-09-07Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| France | |
| Flags eligible to charter here | France sets no flag condition on charter in its waters: in practice a charter starting and ending in France is handled as a service rather than reserved cabotage, a reading no French text states in terms, and a foreign flagged yacht files a prior declaration and meets French crew and social rules.Dispositif de l'Etat d'accueil, ministère de la Transition écologique / Direction générale des affaires maritimes, de la pêche et de l'aquaculture (mer.gouv.fr), mis à jour le 16/04/2026www.mer.gouv.frRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter license process | France issues a permis d'armement, valid indefinitely and with no published fee, to French flagged charter yachts; a foreign flag instead files an activity declaration 72 hours ahead, also with no published fee.Armement d'un navire professionnel, ministère de la Transition écologique / Direction générale des affaires maritimes, de la pêche et de l'aquaculture (mer.gouv.fr)www.mer.gouv.frRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter VAT rate | Charters starting in France carry French VAT at 20 percent on the whole hire, except the proportion of time actually spent outside EU waters.BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-50-30, TVA - Champ d'application et territorialité - Lieu des prestations de services - Dérogations aux règles générales, Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (BOFiP-Impots), version du 23/08/2023bofip.impots.gouv.fr · § 40Retrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2020-11-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Matriculation tax | France charges no one-off matriculation tax: registration is free, online for individuals and through the local maritime office (DDTM) for companies, but the annual tax runs from a €76 threshold to €200,000, tripled or quintupled for some non EU flags.La taxe annuelle sur les engins maritimes à usage personnel (TAEMUP), ministère de la Transition écologique / Direction générale des affaires maritimes, de la pêche et de l'aquaculture (mer.gouv.fr), mis à jour le 08/06/2026www.mer.gouv.frRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Temporary admission in practice | France runs the general EU temporary admission regime: an oral customs declaration with its accompanying document is accepted and usually needs no guarantee.Régime particulier : l'admission temporaire, Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (douane.gouv.fr), mise à jour le 15/02/2024www.douane.gouv.frRetrieved 2026-08-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Greece | |
| Flags eligible to charter here | Greek, EU and EEA flags may charter in Greece once on the e-Registry; a non EU or EEA flag only over 35 meters with a steel, plastic or aluminum hull.Νόμος 4926/2022, ΦΕΚ 82/Α/20-4-2022, Εκσυγχρονισμός του θεσμικού πλαισίου για τη δραστηριοποίηση των πλοίων αναψυχής και των τουριστικών ημερόπλοιων (κείμενο πρωτοτύπου ΦΕΚ, e-nomothesia.gr)www.e-nomothesia.gr · Άρθρο 2 παρ. 2 περ. γRetrieved 2026-08-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter license process | A Greek or EU flag charters once on the e-Registry with a tax office certificate; a foreign flag over 35 meters instead gets a port police charter permission online, valid 21 days a calendar year plus up to 7 more, on a €500 base fee plus a daily tonnage rate.Κοινή Υπουργική Απόφαση 3133.1/75335/2022, ΦΕΚ 5567/Β/31-10-2022, Ηλεκτρονική εφαρμογή για την έκδοση Άδειας εκναύλωσης ορισμένης ισχύος επαγγελματικού πλοίου αναψυχής αναγνωρισμένου σύμφωνα με το δίκαιο άλλης χώρας (e-nomothesia.gr)www.e-nomothesia.gr · Άρθρο 8 παρ. 1Retrieved 2026-08-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter VAT rate | A crewed charter starting in Greece bears 13 percent VAT as passenger transport, on a base cut for time beyond Greek waters and exempt entirely when the voyage calls at a foreign port; a bareboat charter bears the standard 24 percent.Νόμος 5144/2024, ΦΕΚ 162/Α/11-10-2024, Κώδικας Φόρου Προστιθέμενης Αξίας, κωδικοποιημένο κείμενο, τρέχουσα ενοποιημένη έκδοση 03.07.2026 με ενσωματωμένες τις διατάξεις του ν. 5313/2026, ΦΕΚ 102/Α/25-6-2026 (e-nomothesia.gr)www.e-nomothesia.gr · Άρθρο 26 παρ. 1Retrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Matriculation tax | Greece charges no one-off matriculation tax; the standing charge is the monthly TEPAI, €16 a month over 7 to 8 meters, rising to €8 a month per meter above 12 meters.Συχνές ερωτήσεις - απαντήσεις για e-ΤΕΠΑΗ/TEPAI, Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων (ΑΑΔΕ), έκδοση 23 Ιανουαρίου 2026, aade.gr/etepaiwww.aade.gr · FAQ 2.3Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2017-12-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Temporary admission in practice | Non EU pleasure boats over 7 meters get an 18 month Transit Log, extendable by 6 months to 24, filed digitally with customs at the first Greek port of entry.Special Procedure for Temporary Importation of private pleasure boats in Greece, Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), aade.grwww.aade.grRetrieved 2026-08-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Italy | |
| Flags eligible to charter here | EU and non EU flags may both charter in Italy, port to port included; a yacht kept under customs temporary admission must take the commercial-entry route for each paid itinerary.Decreto legislativo 18 luglio 2005, n. 171, Codice della nautica da diporto, articolo 2 (Unità da diporto utilizzata a fini commerciali), testo in vigore dal 10 maggio 2026, Normattivawww.normattiva.it · Art. 2, comma 3Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2026-05-10Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter license process | No license: an Italian flag yacht gets a commercial use annotation on the central boating register in about 60 days; a foreign flag operator files a sworn declaration at the online boating desk, roughly €9.50 to €25.50 in filing costs and an expected 30 to 60 day validation, both practitioner estimates.Decreto legislativo 18 luglio 2005, n. 171, Codice della nautica da diporto, articolo 2 (Unità da diporto utilizzata a fini commerciali), testo in vigore dal 10 maggio 2026, Normattivawww.normattiva.it · Art. 2, comma 2Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2026-05-10Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter VAT rate | Charters starting in Italy carry 22 percent Italian VAT, and since 2020 there is no flat discount: only proven use outside the EU comes out of the charge.Agenzia delle Entrate, Provvedimento del Direttore prot. n. 341339 del 29 ottobre 2020, Luogo della prestazione dei servizi di cui agli articoli 7-quater, comma 1, lettera e), e 7-sexies, comma 1, lettera e-bis), del DPR 26 ottobre 1972, n. 633, aventi ad oggetto imbarcazioni da diportowww.agenziaentrate.gov.it · § 3Retrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2020-10-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Matriculation tax | Italy charges no matriculation tax: the annual vessel tax of €870 to €25,000 ended on 1 January 2016 and registering costs only fees and stamp duty.Legge 28 dicembre 2015, n. 208 (legge di stabilità 2016), articolo 1, comma 366, testo vigente al 29 agosto 2026, Normattivawww.normattiva.it · Art. 1, comma 366Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2016-01-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Temporary admission in practice | A non EU yacht is in temporary admission once it crosses the 12 mile limit and may stay 18 months; a paid charter ends that and needs an exit and re entry.Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, Direzione Dogane, Circolare 11/2026 (prot. 279668 del 15 maggio 2026), Modalità di applicazione del regime di ammissione temporanea, imbarcazioni impiegate per uso privato e commercialewww.adm.gov.itRetrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2026-05-15Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Spain | |
| Flags eligible to charter here | A non EU flagged yacht is routinely cleared to charter in Spain once its first despacho (port clearance) is expressly authorized; the Balearic and Valencian regional rules, not the flag, set the limit.Real Decreto 186/2023, de 21 de marzo, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de Ordenación de la Navegación Marítima, texto consolidado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (última actualización publicada el 30/12/2025)www.boe.es · Art. 9.1.c)Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2025-12-31Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter license process | Charter needs a national despacho filed with the Capitanía Marítima plus a regional step that varies: a Balearic filing valid 1 year at €51.72 to €349.26, Valencian registration on the Spanish register's charter list (lista 6ª), or in Catalonia only ten days' notice to the port.Real Decreto 186/2023, de 21 de marzo, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de Ordenación de la Navegación Marítima, texto consolidado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (última actualización publicada el 30/12/2025)www.boe.es · Art. 6.1Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2025-08-15Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Charter VAT rate | Spain charges 21 percent VAT on a charter, and a hire of up to 90 days is taxed where the boat is handed to the customer.Ley 37/1992, de 28 de diciembre, del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido, texto consolidado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (última actualización publicada el 28/02/2026)www.boe.es · Art. 90.UnoRetrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2012-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Matriculation tax | Spain taxes pleasure vessels over 8 meters at 12 percent on first Spanish registration and on use in Spain by residents; a foreign flag yacht owned and used only by non residents is outside the charge however long she is berthed.Ley 38/1992, de 28 de diciembre, de Impuestos Especiales, texto consolidado, Boletín Oficial del Estado (última actualización publicada el 30/06/2026)www.boe.es · Art. 65.1.b)Retrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Temporary admission in practice | Spain admits a non EU vessel duty free for 18 months, and sailing out past the 12 mile customs frontier and back in starts a fresh period, with no minimum time outside, if it is declared as a re-export and a new entry.Agencia Tributaria, sede electrónica: Importaciones temporales de bienes de viajeros, Medios de transporte (página actualizada el 24 de junio de 2024)sede.agenciatributaria.gob.esRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
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