Maritime mortgage registration
General information on maritime mortgages
This section is dedicated to maritime mortgages of ships registered under the RIF only. For other ships, check the National Council of Clerks of Commercial Courts website (CNGTC) wich provides a public portal on maritime mortgage consultation..
Since January 1, 2022, Customs are no longer in charge of maritime mortgages registration. For ships registered under the RIF, this competence is now part of the RIF Office, offering a fully integrated service to operators. This new competence is set by Article R. 5114-14-2 of the Transport Code.
The new regulatory provisions on maritime mortgages have been incorporated into the Transport Code (section 3, chapter IV of title 1, Livre 1 of Part five). References to the applicable texts will be published later. In the meantime, these provisions can be checked in article 9 of Decree n°2021-1887 of December 29, 2021 on the registration of movable securities and other related operations.
Registration of a maritime mortgages
For the registration of a maritime mortgage on a RIF ship, the following documents are required:
- 2 registration forms:
- the document constituting the security interest (mortgage contract) if it is under private signature or an authentic copy - the mortgagor signature shall be preceded by the mention "Good for maritime mortgage in the terms transcribed above";
- company social documents (Kbis equivalent) only for companies not established in France;
- the powers or chains of powers of the signatories if they are not the legal representatives. 1 2
Postal transmission:
All these documents shall be sent in original formats at the following address:
Guichet unique du Registre international français
5, Place Sadi Carnot
13002 Marseille - FRANCE
Electronic transmission:
In the event of electronic transmission of documents, the slips will include a qualified electronic signature (list of qualified service providers and services).
For any questions on the registration procedure, contact us at rif@mer.gouv.fr
Applicable texts and references
Code du commerce, articles R521-1 à R521-34
Code des douanes, articles 241 à 249 et 251
Code des transports, article R5114-14 à R5114-14-7
Décret n° 2023-921 du 5 octobre 2023 relatif à l’enregistrement des navires et à certaines règles concernant les hypothèques maritimes
1. When documents were issued in foreign countries, the powers of the signatories shall be certified with an apostille or legalised, based on the applicable regulations between the states, which depends on whether they are signatories to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961.
2. In the case of a group of mortgages, if a group representative is appointed to represent them in their entirety (the Agent), only the powers for the latter are required.