To check a boat's ownership and liens in Panama, request a certificado de propiedad y gravámenes from the AMP's ship property registry (DGRPN) with form F-258, and a paz y salvo from the Marina Mercante. A clean certificate names the seller as owner and shows no mortgage, financial lease or court restriction.
Who keeps the record: two AMP offices
A Panamanian boat has two files at the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP), and you need both.
- Dirección General de Registro Público de Propiedad de Naves (DGRPN). The ship property registry. It records title, naval mortgages (hipotecas navales), financial leases and court orders against the vessel. The AMP created it in 2010; before that these records sat with the Registro Público de Panamá, which is why older documents and Ley 57 de 2008 still say "Registro Público".
- Dirección General de Marina Mercante (DGMM). The vessel registration itself: service class (interior or international, pleasure or commercial), the patente de navegación, the radio licence and whether the boat is paz y salvo (up to date with fees and taxes owed to the AMP).
Since 2025 the AMP has been rolling out a single online platform, the Registro Electrónico de Naves, that joins the two systems. Until it covers everything, treat them as separate checks.
Why the lien check matters under Panamanian law
Three rules make this check non-negotiable.
- Liens travel with the boat. Under the Ley de Comercio Marítimo (Ley 55 de 2008, Art. 15) a boat sold privately passes to the buyer "with all its charges and liens". A registered naval mortgage binds the vessel whoever owns it (Art. 270).
- The AMP will not update the papers without it. Ley 57 de 2008 (Art. 36) says a change of owner that keeps the boat on the Panamanian registry must be filed with a registry record showing the vessel free of liens, or the mortgagee's consent.
- Some claims are never on the register. Ley 55 (Art. 244) gives priority claims on the vessel to things like salvage, crew wages from the last voyage, State taxes and debts for the boat's supplies. After a private sale these survive for six months from the registration of the transfer (Art. 245). The mortgage is the exception: it does not lapse.
So the certificate tells you about registered charges. Your contract has to deal with the rest; see boat purchase agreements.
How to request the certificate
The DGRPN issues certificates of ownership and liens on request, after payment of the registry fee. Use form F-258, the Formulario único de solicitud de certificación de naves. It offers several options:
- Certificado de propiedad de naves: ownership and encumbrances, in Spanish.
- Certificado de naves en idioma inglés: the same in English, useful for a foreign lender or insurer.
- Información registral: a registry information report.
- Certificado negativo: confirms that no vessel is registered under the details given.
You need the vessel's name, the owner's name, the radio call letters (letra de radio) and, if it is registered, its ficha (file number). Ask the seller for a copy of the patente; the details are on it. The form charges B/.10 for each extra page of a property certificate; confirm the base fee with the AMP before you file, because the published form does not state it. You can file at the AMP head office in Diablo Heights or through a maritime lawyer.
Before you file, try the free online tools on the AMP's Servicios en línea page: Consulta de Información Registral, Consulta de Imágenes Registrales (scanned deeds) and Estado de Trámites. They help you spot problems early, but only the signed certificate is evidence.
What a clean certificate shows
| Line on the certificate | What you want to see |
|---|---|
| Owner (propietario) | Exactly the person or company selling to you. For a company, match the name and its Registro Público details to the company's own certificate. |
| Vessel name, ficha, patente and call letters | The same numbers as on the patente and the sale contract. Previous names should make sense. |
| Dimensions and tonnage | Consistent with the boat in front of you. |
| Hipotecas navales | None, or one the seller will cancel at closing with the bank's written cancellation. |
| Arrendamiento financiero | None. A financial lease means a bank or leasing company may own the boat. |
| Limitaciones al dominio | None. Embargo, secuestro or a demanda (lawsuit) can block a sale or a new registration. |
| Pending entries | No preliminary inscription of a sale to someone else. |
Check the issue date. A certificate shows the register on that day, so get a fresh one just before closing.
What the certificate will not tell you
- Unpaid AMP fees. Ask the Marina Mercante for a paz y salvo. Under Ley 57 (Art. 69) it only issues certifications on a vessel that is paz y salvo, which is itself a useful signal.
- Import status. Whether duty and ITBMS were paid is an Aduanas question. Ask for the import declaration; see in transit vs imported.
- Unregistered claims. Yard bills, marina arrears, crew wages. Ask the marina office for a written note that the slip account is current.
- Whether the hull matches. Compare the hull identification number and engine serials with every document during the survey.
A certificado negativo is not automatically fraud. Some small domestic boats sit only on the Marina Mercante's interior registry. In that case ask the DGMM what its file shows, and treat a seller who cannot explain the gap with care; see boat-purchase scams.
If you are used to Florida
In Florida you would pull a Coast Guard abstract of title for a documented boat, or check the state title for a lienholder. Panama has one national system instead: the DGRPN certificate for title and charges, and the Marina Mercante for registration and fees. The logic is the same as in checking ownership and liens in Florida; only the offices change.
Your practical starting checklist
- Ask the seller for a copy of the patente de navegación and the vessel's ficha number.
- Run the free Consulta de Información Registral on the AMP site to spot obvious problems.
- File form F-258 with the DGRPN for a certificado de propiedad y gravámenes, in English if a lender needs it.
- Ask the Marina Mercante for the boat's paz y salvo.
- Compare owner, ficha, patente and call letters with the seller's ID and the draft contract.
- Get a fresh certificate a day or two before closing and attach it to the contract.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a property and liens certificate valid?
The certificate shows the register on the day it is issued; it has no grace period for new entries. Pull a new one just before you pay the balance.
Can I request the certificate without a lawyer?
The form asks only for the applicant's name and cédula and the vessel details, so a buyer can file it. Many buyers still use a maritime lawyer, who will also review the deeds behind each entry.
What if the boat has a mortgage?
Make the closing conditional on the bank's written cancellation or its consent to the sale, as Ley 57 requires. Pay the bank directly from escrow so the cancellation and the payment happen together.
¿Cómo saber si una embarcación tiene gravamen en Panamá?
Solicite a la Dirección General de Registro Público de Propiedad de Naves de la AMP un certificado de propiedad y gravámenes con el formulario F-258. Pida también el paz y salvo a la Dirección General de Marina Mercante.
En español: búsqueda de gravámenes de una embarcación
Antes de comprar, pida a la AMP un certificado de propiedad y gravámenes (formulario F-258). Debe mostrar al vendedor como propietario y ninguna hipoteca naval, arrendamiento financiero ni limitación al dominio. Recuerde que, según la Ley 55 de 2008, la nave se transmite con sus cargas y que algunos créditos privilegiados no aparecen en el registro.
The next question to answer
The whole process, from listing to AMP transfer. Read How to buy a boat in Panama.
Contrato de compraventa, notary and bilingual drafting. Read Boat purchase agreements.
A printable list of every document to collect. Read Boat-buying checklist (Panama).
Same topic in Florida: coming from the US? Compare One moment, please....
Official resources
Use the relevant Panamanian authority for current requirements and fees. These resources are the next place to check; a practical recommendation is not an agency determination.
- AMP: Dirección General de Registro Público de Propiedad de Naves, tipos de inscripción ↗
- AMP: Emisión de certificaciones de propiedad y gravámenes de naves ↗
- AMP: Form F-258, Formulario único de solicitud de certificación de naves ↗
- Ley 57 de 2008, Marina Mercante (Justia copy of Gaceta Oficial 26100) ↗
- Ley 55 de 2008, Comercio Marítimo (Justia copy of Gaceta Oficial 26100) ↗
- AMP press note: Registro Electrónico de Naves, first phase (May 2025) ↗