When a foreign buyer will sail your boat out of Panama, the sale has three extra jobs: deal with the flag (keep the Panama registration, transfer it, or cancel it), close the customs side, and get the buyer an exit zarpe. Do all of it only after the full price is in your account as cleared funds.
Which of three cases is your sale?
How much work a foreign sale takes depends on the boat's flag and what the buyer will do with it.
- Foreign-flagged boat in transit, buyer keeps it foreign. The simplest case. Ownership changes under the flag state's rules, and the buyer clears out of Panama as a visiting yacht. Decreto Ejecutivo 4 of 2025 treats a yacht as in transit for up to 24 months, so check how long the boat has been here. See temporary vs full import.
- Panama-registered boat, buyer keeps the Panama flag. Many foreigners do: Panama runs an international registry. The AMP transfer under Ley 57 de 2008 applies (arts. 34–37); an internationally registered yacht files through a Panamanian lawyer. See Panama-flag yacht registration.
- Panama-registered boat, buyer reflags elsewhere. The Panamanian registration must be cancelled, which takes the most planning. See the next section.
Cancelling the Panamanian registration
Ley 57 lets the owner ask the AMP's Dirección General de Marina Mercante to cancel a boat's registration if (art. 46):
- the boat is paz y salvo;
- it is free of liens;
- the cancellation fees are paid;
- the applicant proves title to the boat; and
- evidence of any previous registration's cancellation, or a builder's certificate, is on file.
The application names the buyer, the boat's new registry and the reason (art. 47). As a first step, the AMP can issue an anuencia de cancelación, a consent to cancel, valid for 30 calendar days (arts. 57–61). It can be recorded provisionally in the Registro Público, which blocks new titles and mortgages while it is in force. That protects the buyer between payment and deletion. Once cancelled, the AMP issues a cancellation certificate for the Registro Público (art. 45). Most flag states ask for that certificate before they register the boat.
If a Panamanian company owns the boat, its annual corporate fee (tasa única) must be shown to the AMP before cancellation (art. 7). Plan the order carefully: the boat should not be left with no valid registration on the day it sails.
The customs side
What Aduanas needs depends on the boat's tax status.
- Boat on temporary admission. Where customs recorded the entry, ask whether the temporary stay must be closed before departure. The buyer leaves as a visitor.
- Boat imported with duty paid. Taking it out of Panama for good may need an export declaration through a customs broker. See exporting a boat from Panama.
The Aduanas website, ana.gob.pa, is often unreachable, so ask a licensed customs broker early. The tax side of an export is in taxes when selling a boat.
The buyer's exit: permit, stamps, zarpe
Once the paperwork is in the buyer's name, leaving is ordinary exit clearance:
- The boat carries valid flag documents in the buyer's name: the new or provisional registration, or the Panamanian patente if it keeps the flag.
- A foreign-flagged boat needs a valid navigation permit while it is in Panamanian waters (Ley 57, art. 99). See the cruising permit.
- Everyone on the crew list gets exit stamps at Migración.
- The AMP port captain issues the international zarpe naming the next country.
Details are in leaving Panama by boat and zarpe explained. Give the buyer copies of the bill of sale and the cancellation certificate to carry aboard; the next country may ask how they came to own the boat.
Getting paid safely
- Cleared funds only. A transfer confirmation or a screenshot is not money. Wait until your bank confirms the funds are in your account and available.
- Use escrow for larger boats. A lawyer's client account or a broker's escrow account can hold the price until the contract is signed and the deletion or transfer is filed. See deposits and escrow.
- Expect bank questions. Panamanian banks will ask where a large international transfer comes from. Ask the buyer to send the contract to their bank in advance so the wire is not held.
- Refuse the classic tricks. Overpayments with a request to refund the difference, foreign cheques, and buyers who want to move the boat before paying are scams. See boat-purchase scams.
When the buyer is not here yet
Foreign buyers often arrange the survey and sea trial from abroad and fly in to close. Agree in writing who books and pays for the haul-out and surveyor, how long the buyer has to accept the survey, and what happens to the deposit. If the buyer will not sail the boat themselves, they will need a delivery captain. If they are heading to the other ocean, the canal adds time and cost; see transiting the canal by yacht.
Your practical starting checklist
- Establish the boat's flag and tax status, and the buyer's plan for both.
- Agree price, deposit and escrow in a written contract.
- Receive the full price as cleared funds or into escrow.
- Sign the compraventa and file the AMP transfer or the cancellation request.
- Close the customs side with a customs broker if the boat was imported.
- Hand over the boat with flag documents in the buyer's name for exit clearance.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign buyer keep the boat on the Panama flag?
Yes. Panama's registry is open to foreign owners. The transfer is filed with the AMP through a Panamanian lawyer for an internationally registered yacht, and a resident agent is appointed.
How long is an AMP consent to cancel valid?
Ley 57 de 2008 makes the anuencia de cancelación valid for 30 calendar days from issue (art. 61). File the definitive cancellation within that time.
Do I need to deal with Aduanas if the buyer sails away?
It depends on the boat's status. Ask whether a temporary admission must be closed, or whether an imported boat needs an export declaration. A customs broker can tell you.
Who gets the exit zarpe, me or the buyer?
The person in command of the boat when it leaves, normally the buyer or their delivery captain. The flag documents should already be in the buyer's name.
The next question to answer
Customs and paperwork for a boat leaving for good. Read Exporting a boat from Panama.
Exit stamps and the international zarpe. Read Leaving Panama by boat.
The whole selling process. Read How to sell a boat in 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.
- Ley 57 de 2008, Ley General de Marina Mercante (arts. 27, 34–37, 45–47, 57–61; Código de Comercio art. 1507 as amended by art. 171) ↗
- Gaceta Oficial: Decreto Ejecutivo 4 de 11 de febrero de 2025 (turismo náutico) ↗
- Noonsite: Cristóbal/Colón clearance — secondary, cruiser-reported ↗
- Kraemer & Kraemer: recreational ship registration in Panama — secondary, law firm ↗