CLAUDIA´S
MANGUSTA 92 Claudia’s is a fine example of the famous Mangusta 92 series and is the penultimate yacht built of this series. Claudia’s is a 28.27m Mediterranean sport
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · France
Plan the inspection, compare conformity documents and use the report with separate ownership and contract checks.
Boat survey France should produce useful evidence about the yacht you intend to buy. Start with a defined appointment, access arrangements and a report that explains what was inspected and what remains uncertain. The buyer's contract, ownership and tax checks need their own attention alongside the physical boat. This guide links official construction and consumer-service guidance with practical recommendations for commissioning an inspection, arranging a trial and deciding what further investigation is needed.
The guide does not invent a mandatory pre-purchase survey or a universal surveyor-licensing rule. Confirm the actual inspection scope, relevant technical requirements and insurance with the professionals involved. Obtain locally qualified advice on purchase conditions and ownership; the condition report should inform those decisions without replacing their separate documentary review. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
DGCCRF pre-contract guidance published 21 November 2019 requires a professional to inform a consumer of the service's essential characteristics, price and applicable performance deadlines before contracting.
DGCCRF, pre-contract information for consumers ·Maritime Ministry construction guidance updated 2 March 2026 requires a permanently fixed builder's plate and permanently marked watercraft identification number on the covered CE boat.
French Maritime Ministry, recreational boat construction and conformity ·That March 2026 guidance describes the written conformity declaration as the manufacturer/representative's conformity commitment and the owner's manual as supplying safe-use, installation, maintenance and risk information.
French Maritime Ministry, recreational boat construction and conformity ·Service Public insurance guidance verified 6 February 2025 says pleasure-boat insurance is generally optional, compulsory at gross tonnage of at least 300, and may be required for a port or marina berth.
Service Public, pleasure boat insurance ·Maritime Ministry registration guidance updated 17 July 2026 recommends checking the yacht's mortgage position with the competent commercial court before purchase.
French Maritime Ministry, buying and registering sea-going boats ·Section 1
A useful inspection begins with a written instruction matched to the proposed purchase. As a practical recommendation, ask an independent surveyor to describe the hull, machinery and systems within the appointment, the access needed and the parts that will remain untested. DGCCRF's general consumer guidance requires a professional to disclose the service's essential characteristics and price before a consumer contracts. Use that requirement to obtain a clear scope, rather than treating the word survey as a promise to examine every component under every possible operating condition.
The consumer guidance also requires information about the professional's identity, contact details, payment arrangements and performance of the contract. As practical advice, establish who will carry out the work, who will receive the report and whether a specialist is needed for an engine or rigging question. Ask how discoveries will be recorded and how any follow-up will be commissioned. This guide has not verified a universal yacht-surveyor licence requirement, so it recommends checking competence and the actual service instead of inventing a statutory qualification.
DGCCRF includes the contract's duration or termination conditions and arrangements for complaints among the information to be disclosed. As practical advice, obtain the report deadline, cancellation terms and any separately priced attendance before instructing the surveyor. Have the purchase adviser align the survey appointment with the sale contract's conditions and dates. A report delivered after an agreed decision deadline may leave the buyer with a contractual problem, so settle the sequence in writing rather than relying on an informal assurance that there will be time to decide.
Broker tip: Practical recommendation: commission a written inspection scope naming the yacht, access, tests, exclusions, report recipient and delivery date. Have the purchase adviser align that appointment with the sale contract before authorising chargeable work. A related question is answered in our guide on how to buy a boat in France.
Surveyor carrying out an engine inspection on a boat.
Service scope disclosure
Section 2
The Maritime Ministry explains that a covered CE boat has a permanently fixed builder's plate and a permanently marked watercraft identification number. The builder's plate includes the design category, maximum load and manufacturer-recommended number of people. As practical advice, ask the surveyor to compare the physical identification with the supplied documents and record any discrepancy. This is an evidence check, not a conclusion that matching numbers prove the boat's present condition; structural damage and later alterations require their own inspection and technical assessment.
The Ministry describes the written conformity declaration as the manufacturer's or representative's formal commitment that the boat complies with applicable legislation. It also describes the owner's manual as containing safe-use, installation, maintenance and risk-management information. As practical advice, make those records available to the surveyor before the visit and explain any known modifications. A missing manual should lead to a request for the relevant evidence, while a declaration should be read for its actual purpose rather than used to dismiss wear, damage or work carried out since construction.
The Ministry distinguishes the CE framework from the technical requirements for boats excluded from CE marking, covered by Division 245. It also identifies post-construction assessment for specified import or modification cases and says the body engaged must be authorised for that assessment. As practical advice, ask the maritime service to identify the applicable route if the yacht has been substantially altered or imported without the relevant conformity history. A private purchase-condition survey should not be described as replacing an official conformity assessment simply because both involve an examination.
Broker tip: Practical recommendation: send the conformity declaration, owner's manual and identification records to the surveyor. Ask the maritime service about an uncertain import or modification history, and commission any required conformity assessment separately from the purchase inspection. See also our guide on what boat insurance you need in France.
Boat lifted by a travel lift for a haul-out survey.
Permanent boat identification
Looking at a boat in France and want a second opinion before you commit? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
As practical advice, agree access to the yacht and ask the surveyor which areas need the boat lifted, opened or powered. Confirm who books the yard, who authorises dismantling and who restores anything disturbed during the inspection. The Ministry requires the registration certificate aboard, so have the title available alongside the technical records. Its guidance also requires technical changes to be declared to the maritime service. Ask the owner to explain any altered engine or recorded characteristic before testing, rather than assuming the certificate has been updated automatically.
As practical advice, make the trial a defined appointment with an identified skipper, an agreed route and a list of observations needed by the surveyor. Service Public says pleasure-boat insurance is generally optional, while specified larger-tonnage vessels require it and a port may impose its own insurance condition. That national statement does not establish cover for the proposed trial. Ask the owner and insurer to confirm the particular activity and everyone attending, and ask the yard or marina to confirm its conditions before booking access or handling.
As practical advice, ask the surveyor to record inaccessible items, incomplete tests and the conditions under which observations were made. Agree how any engine, rigging or electrical issue will be referred for specialist investigation rather than converting a limited trial into a promise of exhaustive testing. Service Public describes policy cover as contract-dependent and lists possible cover for damage, theft and assistance. Obtain the actual insurance answer for the visit and trial; the examples do not establish that any specific accident, lift or test is covered by an existing policy. No mandatory pre-purchase survey, universal yacht-surveyor licence or standard survey fee was verified; none is asserted. No universal physical inspection checklist is attributed to the authorities: inspection, lifting, trial and specialist recommendations are labelled practical advice. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Practical recommendation: confirm yard permissions, trial arrangements and actual insurance cover before attendance. Ask the surveyor to record access limits and uncompleted tests, and obtain a separate specialist instruction where a finding requires further investigation. Readers often go on to our guide on boat valuation in France.
Yacht broker and buyer inspecting a sailing yacht on deck.
Registration title aboard
Maritime Ministry registration guidance updated 17 July 2026 requires the registration certificate aboard the vessel.
Source: French Maritime Ministry, buying and registering sea-going boatsThat July 2026 guidance requires the owner or manager to declare technical changes to the maritime service.
Source: French Maritime Ministry, buying and registering sea-going boatsService Public insurance guidance verified 6 February 2025 says pleasure-boat insurance is generally optional, compulsory at gross tonnage of at least 300, and may be required for a port or marina berth.
Source: Service Public, pleasure boat insuranceThat Service Public guidance describes damage, theft and assistance protections as possible insurance cover whose terms depend on the policy taken out.
Source: Service Public, pleasure boat insuranceSection 4
As practical advice, read the report for evidence, limits and recommended investigations, then ask the surveyor to explain anything that affects the intended use. Request actual repair quotations before treating a finding as a precise price adjustment. The Ministry recommends investigating the yacht's mortgage position with the competent commercial court before purchase. That documentary inquiry belongs alongside the physical report, since a condition inspection should not be allowed to substitute for checking whether the seller can complete the agreed ownership transfer.
The Ministry's transfer checklist requires a sale document signed by the parties identifying the yacht and the parties, along with the existing registration and relevant owner documents. All co-owners must confirm agreement in the eligible online process. As practical advice, have the purchase adviser review authority and signatures while the survey findings are being considered. A helpful report on the boat's condition cannot supply a missing co-owner's consent or decide a dispute over authority; keep the physical and documentary conclusions explicit in the completion plan.
DGCCRF's consumer-service guidance calls for information about any professional liability insurance or financial guarantee actually subscribed, including provider and geographical coverage. As practical advice, request that information from the surveyor and ask how report questions or complaints should be raised. The guide does not state that every surveyor holds a particular insurance policy, nor quote a standard inspection fee. Obtain the scope, limitations and price for the actual boat, and let a qualified adviser explain what the sale contract permits if the report leads you to pause or renegotiate.
Broker tip: Practical recommendation: combine the survey findings with separate ownership, mortgage and contract reviews. Obtain actual quotations for follow-up work and have the adviser explain the agreed purchase conditions before deciding to complete, renegotiate or withdraw. Our guide on whether you pay VAT on a boat in France covers a related point. Surveyors and yards differ by area: see our guide on buying a boat in Corsica.
Surveyor inspecting a yacht engine with a torch.
Separate mortgage enquiry
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a French lawyer: for French law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the purchase, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are looking for a boat in France, tell us the type of boat, your budget and the area through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
No compulsory pre-purchase survey rule has been established by the official sources used here. As a practical recommendation, commission an inspection matched to the yacht and your intended use, with its scope and limits in writing. The official consumer-service guidance supports obtaining clear information about the work, price and provider before contracting; it does not make every purchase inspection mandatory. (DGCCRF, pre-contract information for consumers)
The Ministry describes the conformity declaration as a manufacturer or representative's commitment to applicable construction conformity, rather than a report on present condition. As practical advice, inspect the actual yacht's structure, systems and alteration history separately. Give the surveyor the owner's manual and conformity records so that the physical examination and the technical documentation can be considered together without confusing their purposes. (French Maritime Ministry, recreational boat construction and conformity)
Ask for the service's scope, price, provider details, performance arrangements and complaint terms. DGCCRF identifies those matters within the information a professional must disclose to a consumer before contracting. As practical advice, also record access, lifting, trial attendance, report recipient, exclusions and the delivery date, then have the purchase adviser align the appointment with the sale contract's decision deadlines. (DGCCRF, pre-contract information for consumers)
No specific trial cover is established by the general national guidance. Service Public explains that pleasure-boat insurance is generally optional with stated exceptions, and that actual cover depends on the policy. As practical advice, obtain confirmation from the owner and insurer for the proposed trial, people attending and handling arrangements, and check any marina or yard conditions before the appointment proceeds. (Service Public, pleasure boat insurance)
The Ministry separately recommends a mortgage enquiry before purchase and specifies ownership-transfer documents and co-owner consent. As practical advice, commission those documentary checks alongside the condition inspection. Have the adviser establish the seller's authority and the transfer file, while the surveyor explains physical findings and limits, so that completion depends on the appropriate evidence for each question rather than on the report alone. (French Maritime Ministry, buying and registering sea-going boats)
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
Ready when you are
MANGUSTA 92 Claudia’s is a fine example of the famous Mangusta 92 series and is the penultimate yacht built of this series. Claudia’s is a 28.27m Mediterranean sport
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Check it yourself
Official consumer-service guidance opened 3 October 2026; general professional-to-consumer obligations, not a declaration that yacht surveying or brokerage is a regulated profession.
Official construction and conformity guidance updated 2 March 2026; opened 3 October 2026, including CE documents, permanent identification, post-construction assessment and Division 245.
Official guidance updated 17 July 2026: registration, ownership changes, documents and online services.
Current official guidance on insurance obligations, policy cover and damage to third parties.
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