FAQ about annual fees

On 19 December 2012 the Danish Parliament adopted Bill no. L 40. The Act lays down provisions on an annual fee for ships and entered into force on 15 February 2013. The Act was most recently amended by Act no. 139 of 28 February 2018.

The Act introduced an annual fee for all ships registered in the Danish ship registers. The fee is payable for all types of ship and is calculated annually on 1 March. The fee was payable for the first time in the autumn of 2013.

The annual fee helps finance the authorities’ tasks and services related to ships flying the Danish flag.

If you are registered as owner of a ship as of 1 March, which is the date on which the fee is calculated, you must pay the fee for the coming year.

If you do not pay the fee by the due date, we will send you a reminder. A reminder fee will be charged.  If the reminder is not paid, the claim will be referred for collection by the Danish Debt Collection Agency.

The annual fee is calculated based on the gross tonnage of your ship:

The fee is DKK 300 for merchant ships and fishing vessels under 30 GT.

The fee is charged via e-Boks during spring every year.

You can pay the invoice via you online banking system, at the post office or at your bank.

Transfer the amount to account number 0216 4069031668, stating the BS number (printed on the invoice and reminder).

If you transfer the amount from abroad, use the following information:

SWIFT: DABADKKK
IBAN: DK8702164069031668 (read as DK 87 0216 4069031668)
*DK = country code
*87 = control digits
*0216 = sort code
*4069031668 = account number

The fee is payable by the person registered as the owner at 1 March of a year.

However, you can avoid paying the fee for the coming year if the ship is deleted or is registered to a new owner before 28 February at 14:00 CET.

If you do not pay, you will receive a reminder and a reminder fee will be charged. If you do not pay by the due date, the claim will be referred for collection by the Danish Debt Collection Agency.

The fee is calculated as of 1 March. If you have applied for deletion of your ship before that date, you will not be charged a fee for the year concerned. If you have applied for deletion of your ship from the Register of Shipping before 31 August, remember to request a refund of half of the annual fee. If you have applied for deletion after 31 August, you have to pay the full annual fee, which is calculated based on the gross tonnage of your ship:

Once your ship has been deleted, you will not receive any invoices for the coming years.

If the ship is deleted after 28 February but before 31 August, then you can apply for a refund of half of the fee paid. This is done by sending an e-mail to afgift@dma.dk stating identification letters (call sign) for the ship or BS number and requesting a refund of half of the already paid fee.

The annual fee will be collected from the person registered as owner of the ship at 1 March. Therefore, it may be a good idea to check at skibsregister.dma.dk (in Danish) to see the record on the ship. If you have sold the ship, the transfer of ownership must be reported, or the ship must be deleted and the original Bill of Sale, etc. must be sent to the Register of Shipping.

Whether or not you have to pay the fee depends on the date when you reported the transfer of ownership to the Register of Shipping:

If you apply for registration of transfer of ownership before 1 March, the fee is payable by the new owner. However, it is a condition that the transfer of ownership can be registered in the basis of the documents submitted.

If you apply for registration of transfer of ownership after 1 March, the fee is payable by the person registered as owner of the ship on 1 March.

Information about transfer of ownership

Information about how to delete a ship