Transferring a Panamanian-registered boat means two filings with the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá (AMP). First, the new title is recorded at the Registro Público de Propiedad de Naves. Then the Marina Mercante directorate issues a new patente and radio licence to the buyer. The boat must be paz y salvo and free of liens, unless the lender consents.
Two records, two steps
Panama keeps ownership and navigation documents in different places inside the AMP:
- The Registro Público de Propiedad de Naves holds the title, mortgages, liens and court orders. A sale is not complete against third parties until the new title is recorded here.
- The Dirección General de Marina Mercante (DGMM) issues the patente de navegación, the radio licence and the registration certificate. These carry the owner's name, so they must be reissued.
This guide covers the registry procedure. The deal itself, from the sale contract and notary to deposits and taxes, is in closing a boat sale in Panama.
Step one: record the title
The AMP's registry page says a title must be in writing, with signatures authenticated by a notary or a Panamanian consul. A purchase contract is the usual title. Recording happens in two stages:
- Preliminary registration, which can be filed through a Panamanian consulate abroad. It protects the buyer's priority for six months.
- Definitive registration, once the title is translated if needed and protocolised as a Panamanian public deed (escritura pública), then filed at the registry.
Before signing, the buyer orders a certificate of ownership and encumbrances (form F-258), issued in Spanish or English. If there is a mortgage, the lender issues a document declaring it extinguished, and that cancellation is recorded too. See checking ownership and liens.
Step two: new navigation documents
Ley 57 of 2008 (Arts. 34 to 39) sets out how to keep a boat on the Panamanian register after a sale. The owner, the buyer, or a representative of either applies for a new provisional patente and provisional radio licence and pays the fees. The application carries:
- The instrument appointing the vessel's resident agent, authenticated if signed abroad. This is needed for international service.
- Prima facie proof of ownership, or of the intention to acquire it.
- A Registro Público certificate showing the boat is free of liens, or the mortgage creditor's consent.
- Anything else the DGMM requests.
The DGMM can let you file items 1 and 2 up to 30 days later. The new documents issue only if the boat is paz y salvo with Panama and its technical and safety certificates are current. The buyer then completes the file for the regular patente and radio licence, as for any registration. A new owner can also ask for an updated registration certificate (Art. 39).
Interior vs international service
| Interior service | International service | |
|---|---|---|
| Who files | Owner or representative, no lawyer needed (Art. 37) | A Panamanian lawyer, or approved electronic means |
| Where documents are issued | DGMM or an authorised AMP office | DGMM, or a consulate abroad on request |
For a small local boat, the buyer can usually handle the DGMM side in person at Diablo Heights. Offices are on marine offices and contacts.
If the buyer takes the boat to another flag
A foreign buyer may want to deregister instead. The owner asks the DGMM to cancel the registration (Arts. 46 to 47), and the boat must:
- be paz y salvo and free of liens;
- have its cancellation fees paid;
- show title in the applicant's name.
The application names the buyer and the new registry. If the seller is a Panamanian company, the DGMM needs proof that its annual corporate fee (tasa única) is paid before it issues the cancellation (Art. 7). A cancellation consent granted in December avoids the next year's annual taxes, provided the cancellation is filed while the consent is valid (Art. 48). The buyer's new flag will want the cancellation certificate; see selling to a foreign buyer.
Changing the name at the same time
New owners often rename. A name change needs the DGMM's prior approval, and every document must then show the new name (Art. 10). It is easiest to request it with the transfer, so you pay for one set of new documents rather than two. Check first that no other boat on the Panamanian register uses the name, because duplicates are not allowed (Art. 9). See boat names and markings.
Your practical starting checklist
- Order a certificate of ownership and encumbrances from the Registro Público de Naves.
- Sign the sale contract with notarised or consular signatures, and get any mortgage cancelled.
- File the title for preliminary registration, then protocolise it as a public deed for definitive registration.
- Apply to the DGMM for a new provisional patente and radio licence in the buyer's name.
- Confirm the boat is paz y salvo and its safety certificates are current.
- Complete the regular patente and radio licence before the provisional documents expire.
Frequently asked questions
Who applies for the new patente after a sale?
The seller, the buyer, or a representative of either can apply under Ley 57. For interior-service boats no lawyer is needed; international-service boats file through a Panamanian lawyer.
Can I transfer a boat that still has a mortgage?
Only with the mortgage creditor's consent, or after the mortgage is cancelled and that cancellation is recorded at the Registro Público de Naves.
How long does preliminary title registration protect me?
Six months from the date and time it is entered. Within that time the title must be protocolised as a public deed and registered definitively.
Can the boat keep sailing during the transfer?
Only on valid documents. Once the title changes, the old patente no longer shows the right owner, so get the new provisional patente before you take the boat out or request a zarpe.
What does paz y salvo mean for a boat?
That the vessel owes nothing to Panama: no unpaid AMP fees, annual taxes or fines. The DGMM checks it before it issues or renews navigation documents.
¿Qué es el traspaso de una embarcación en Panamá?
Es la inscripción del nuevo título en el Registro Público de Naves y la emisión, por la Marina Mercante, de una nueva patente y licencia de radio a nombre del comprador.
The next question to answer
Contract, notary, deposit and taxes around the AMP transfer. Read Closing a boat sale in Panama.
What the registry certificate shows before you buy. Read Checking ownership and liens.
The registration pillar for Panama. Read Registering a boat with the AMP.
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, General de Marina Mercante (Justia copy) ↗
- AMP: Registro Público de Naves, tipos de inscripción ↗
- AMP: requisitos para cancelación de hipoteca naval ↗
- AMP: consulta en línea del Registro Público de Naves ↗