Registering a yacht in the Cayman Islands costs US$1,750 for a yacht up to 400 GT, US$2,250 from 400 GT upwards and US$700 for a tender, plus an annual tonnage fee starting at US$600. These are the official figures of the MACI fee schedule, Shipping Notice CISN 04/2026 (Rev 1.1), in force since 1 April 2026 under the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2014. All amounts are in US dollars.
One caution: many agents’ guides still quote the superseded Notice 03/2022 — a US$500–550 minimum tonnage fee is the telltale sign. Every figure below comes from the 2026 notice, which MACI may amend; the notice itself remains the final word.
Initial registration fees (CISN 04/2026)
The registration fee is a flat amount per event (registration, transfer, transmission or deletion). There is no separate “provisional registration” fee: registering under an Interim Certificate of Registry falls under the same line, and extending or replacing an interim certificate costs US$300.
| Item — 2026 schedule (CISN 04/2026) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Yacht up to 400 GT — registration, transfer, transmission or deletion | US$1,750 |
| Yacht of 400 GT and above | US$2,250 |
| Tender | US$700 |
| 3-Year Term Registration, pleasure yacht under 24 m — includes 3 years of tonnage fees | US$2,750 |
| 3-Year Term renewal (further 3 years) | US$1,500 |
| Name reservation (12 months) | US$700 |
For a pleasure yacht under 24 m, the 3-Year Term option usually wins the arithmetic: US$2,750 all-in, against US$1,750 of registration plus US$1,800 of tonnage fees over the same three years. For the procedure itself, see our registration guide.
The Annual Tonnage Fee
The recurring registry cost is the Annual Tonnage Fee (ATF). Under the 2026 schedule:
- Up to 400 GT: minimum US$600 per year.
- 401 GT and above: US$800 + US$0.30 per gross tonnage unit above 400 GT. MACI publishes an official Tonnage Fee Calculator to cross-check the maths.
- Due 1 January, payable in advance by 31 January; on a first registration mid-year, the amount due to 31 December is paid at registration. For yachts it is not prorated and non-refundable.
- Amounts unpaid 30 days after the due date carry a 3% surcharge per 30-day period (or fraction thereof), and MACI may withhold certificates and documents until settlement.
Mortgage registration
If the yacht is financed, the registry side is modest and predictable: registering, discharging, transferring or transmitting a ship mortgage costs US$1,100 (2026 schedule); recording a Priority Notice or amending the particulars of a mortgage costs US$600 per change. A well-worn formalism, familiar to European yacht-finance banks.
Surveys, inspections and tonnage measurement
Survey attendance is priced by zone — by how far the yacht is from the nearest MACI surveyor:
| Survey attendance — 2026 schedule (CISN 04/2026) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Zone 1 — surveyor within 4 hours’ travel | US$2,250 flat |
| Zone 2 — 4 to 8 hours’ travel, air travel required | US$4,350 flat |
| Zone 3 — 9 hours’ travel and more | Hourly rate + travel time + actual expenses |
The Zone 1–2 flat fees include travel, office time, flights and accommodation — but not waiting time, nor follow-up visits after a non-conformity. Hourly rates are set by notice CISN 05/2026 (effective 1 March 2026): US$285 per hour at the surveyor rate, US$365 per hour at the consultancy rate, billed by the quarter hour. Tonnage measurement and the Tonnage Certificate cost a flat US$570 below 24 m; from 24 m upwards they are billed on time spent.
These periodic attendances mainly concern commercial yachts: for a purely private yacht, the recurring registry budget comes down to the tonnage fee plus the representative person. The Pleasure vs Commercial choice drives the survey budget more than tonnage does.
The costs nobody mentions
- Representative person: mandatory before registration for any non-resident owner (Merchant Shipping Act) — a Cayman-resident individual or a Cayman company. A private service, not a MACI tariff: roughly US$500 to US$3,000+ per year depending on the provider.
- Transcripts and certified copies: US$300 each (2026 schedule), frequently requested by banks and buyers.
- Changes: change of particulars US$365 per transaction; alteration of the vessel US$700 per change; change of vessel type (pleasure ↔ commercial) US$800; transfer of ownership US$1,500.
- Service surcharges: communication fee US$65 per transaction; out-of-hours US$365 per hour; over-the-counter service at +100% of the normal fee.
- Two lines to strike from older guides: the US$3,750 Flag State Compliance Fee (merchant vessels only — no yacht line in CISN 04/2026) and the old annual casualty investigation fee, now recovered at actual cost.
Two worked examples (2026 schedule)
Private yacht, 35 m / 300 GT. Year one: registration US$1,750, ATF US$600, tonnage measurement on time spent (the yacht is over 24 m), representative person at market rate. Following years: ATF US$600 plus the representative person — a genuinely modest registry line.
Commercial yacht, 499 GT. Year one: registration US$2,250, ATF ≈ US$830 (US$800 + 99 × US$0.30, to be confirmed in the official calculator), survey attendance under its code (US$2,250 flat in Zone 1), plus US$1,100 of mortgage registration if financed. Following years: ATF ≈ US$830 plus periodic surveys.
Excluding the owning company, insurance, crew and management: at superyacht scale, the flag fee line rarely drives the decision.
How Cayman compares with the Isle of Man
The other Red Ensign Category 1 registry most often shortlisted, the Isle of Man, charges under its Merchant Shipping (Fees) Order 2026: initial registration of a pleasure yacht £209, annual fees — due 1 April, non-refundable — of £312 up to 12 m, £635 for 12–24 m, £1,260 above that. The Cayman entry ticket is higher, but services, codes and survey regimes differ: choosing on the fee gap alone would be a mistake.
Keeping the flag line clean
Three habits keep the line under control: the 31 January ATF deadline in the diary (the 3% surcharge is avoidable), a single filing channel, and a budget reconciled every January against the current notice rather than a dated broker PDF. Cursorio does this as part of flag & insurance management: registration, budget, deadlines and renewals under one discipline.