SHAYA
SANLORENZO SX76 M/Y SHAYA is an exceptional example of the highly successful Sanlorenzo SX76 crossover series. The vessel has been maintained to the highest standards
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Turkey
Understand the registered sale, foreign-flag customs position and documents to check before completing a yacht purchase.
Buying a boat Turkey involves more than agreeing the yacht's price. A boat already entered in the Turkish binding register follows a different administrative route from a foreign-flag yacht visiting under customs arrangements. Before committing, identify the boat's register, the seller's authority to sell and the intended use after purchase. This guide separates verified public procedures from practical purchase recommendations so that buyers can request the right paperwork without assuming every vessel follows the same route.
The guide is for private buyers and sellers preparing a transaction in Turkey. It covers the sale application, identification documents, licence costs and foreign-flag handover issues. Survey, berth and payment checks are practical recommendations; they are not presented as statutory requirements or promises of protection. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
İzmir's first-registration guidance directs private-use craft applicants to choose the binding register (Bağlama Kütüğü).
İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — first registration ·İzmir's binding-register process requires portal application, authority approval by text message, then portal appointment booking.
İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — application documents ·For sales of private boats of 5 metres and above, İzmir requires the original tax-office licence-fee receipt paid in the buyer's name.
İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — application documents ·The dedicated 2026 tariff's 6-metre example gives 5 × TL 5,992.10 = TL 29,960.50 for a 5-year licence, paid by the buyer.
İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — 2026 licence fees, updated 30 Dec 2025 ·A skipper change does not require replacement of the sailing permission document, but is entered on it.
Ministry of Trade — yacht customs FAQ ·Section 1
Start with the registration certificate and the seller's identification. As practical purchase advice, compare the recorded owner, vessel name and identifying particulars with the yacht offered for sale. İzmir Regional Harbour Authority publishes binding-register procedures separately from other registration routes. Its first-registration guidance directs private-use applicants to the binding register, while referring national ship-register eligibility questions to the harbour authority. This is a description of that authority's application route, not proof that a foreign buyer or every yacht qualifies for Turkish registration.
For an imported, unused yacht entering the register, the same guidance identifies the customs entry declaration and builder's certificate within the foreign-purchase route. Ask the seller for the actual documents rather than relying on an invoice headed ‘imported'. The practical purpose is to establish which administrative history belongs to this boat. A yacht lying in a Turkish marina is not, solely because of its location, demonstrated to have completed permanent import or to be ready for domestic registration under the buyer's proposed ownership.
Keep the intended private or commercial use explicit from the beginning. The current private-boat equipment and operator regulation prohibits commercial use of private boats. A buyer planning paid trips should therefore obtain a separate explanation from the harbour authority before accepting a private-use purchase file as sufficient. As purchase advice, describe the proposed activity in writing and ask which registration and operating route applies. Do not treat a seller's previous use, an advertisement or a broker's verbal description as the public authority's approval.
Broker tip: Ask for the registration and import evidence before arranging completion. Describe the future owner and intended use to the authority, so the purchase is assessed against the actual boat and transaction. Readers often go on to our guide on whether you need a boat survey in Turkey.
Hands on the helm of a motor yacht during a sea trial.
Private use route
Section 2
İzmir's application guidance starts with an online request through the Umurbey maritime citizen portal. The authority then examines the application. After approval by text message, the applicant returns to the portal to choose an appointment. Treat that appointment as a stage in the public procedure, not a substitute for the parties' purchase agreement. As practical advice, decide who prepares the submission, who monitors messages and who attends with authority to sign before setting a payment and collection timetable.
The sale application has a specific uploading warning. The authority says supporting documents are uploaded after the initial sale application and that an incomplete upload prevents the harbour office from viewing the application. This distinction matters if someone says the transaction is ‘already in the system'. As practical advice, ask to see the submission's status and the completed supporting file. Do not release funds on the strength of an application reference alone without the contractual and documentary conditions the buyer has agreed.
For the appointment, the published guidance asks for the relevant documents and colour photographs showing the yacht's bow, port side, starboard side, stern and engine serial number. Prepare images that identify the actual boat rather than marketing photographs selected for appearance. Ask the handling office to confirm the transaction-specific document list, especially where a representative signs or the boat is registered at another harbour. No universal completion time is verified here, so schedule travel and collection around confirmed appointments rather than an assumed turnaround.
Broker tip: Assign the application to a named person and retain its confirmation. Prepare readable identity photographs and check the supporting upload is complete before coordinating signatures, payment and collection. Our guide on whether you pay VAT on a boat in Turkey covers a related point.
Boat keys and documents handed over on a chart table.
Application appointment order
Buying or selling a boat in Turkey and want a second opinion? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
The registered-sale document page requires the original tax-office licence-fee receipt, paid in the buyer's name, for private boats within its stated charged length category. This public fee is separate from the agreed yacht price and from private quotations for inspection, lifting, berthing, brokerage or insurance. As practical advice, ask for a completion budget that identifies each payee and supporting invoice. Do not combine an official registration charge with a broker's service fee under an unexplained heading.
Use the dedicated current-year fee page rather than an undated sales estimate. İzmir's dedicated tariff publishes length bands, the annual amount and the method for a licence issued for several years. The payable licence amount uses the fee in force when the licence is issued or renewed multiplied by its validity period. The page also explains the buyer's choice of validity period. The fee figures are recorded below; they are not a forecast of future annual tariffs or a marina rental price.
The authority's own worked example concerns a boat in the shortest charged length band and a longer licence period. It multiplies the annual fee by the chosen validity period to give the total paid by the buyer. That example demonstrates the public calculation, without estimating the yacht's other ownership costs. As practical advice, have the office confirm the measured length and requested validity before paying, then keep the receipt with the completed sale file. Obtain transaction-specific tax advice separately where the seller's status or the boat's customs history is uncertain. No universal purchase-survey obligation, survey price, insurance premium, brokerage commission or processing time verified; none quoted. Foreign-buyer Turkish registration eligibility and vessel-specific restrictions need authority confirmation; İzmir's procedural guide is not a universal eligibility statement. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Keep the statutory receipt separate from the purchase invoice and private service quotations. Confirm the authority's recorded length and licence validity, and use the dedicated current-year tariff for the calculation. A related question is answered in our guide on how to register a boat in Turkey.
Yacht broker and buyer inspecting a sailing yacht on deck.
Buyer fee receipt
For sales of private boats of 5 metres and above, İzmir requires the original tax-office licence-fee receipt paid in the buyer's name.
Source: İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — application documentsThe 2026 binding-register licence fee is TL 5,992.10 per year in the published 5-to-7-metre band.
Source: İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — 2026 licence fees, updated 30 Dec 2025The buyer selects licence validity from 1 to 5 years; multi-year fees multiply the issue-date annual tariff by that validity.
Source: İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — 2026 licence fees, updated 30 Dec 2025The dedicated 2026 tariff's 6-metre example gives 5 × TL 5,992.10 = TL 29,960.50 for a 5-year licence, paid by the buyer.
Source: İzmir Regional Harbour Authority — 2026 licence fees, updated 30 Dec 2025Section 4
For foreign-flag yachts, the Ministry of Trade says Turkish sailing-permission formalities begin at entry with the sailing permission document, commonly described as the transit log. It also says that a change in owner or operator ends that document's validity. A buyer should therefore not assume the seller's permission continues unchanged after completion. As practical advice, send the proposed ownership change and intended departure or continued stay to the handling customs authority and ask for the steps needed for that particular yacht.
The Ministry distinguishes a skipper change from an ownership change: changing skipper is entered on the sailing permission document rather than itself requiring its replacement. This is useful when organising a trial or delivery, but it does not settle every question about the buyer's customs entitlement. As practical advice, agree who is authorised to move the yacht, check the skipper's qualifications and request confirmation from the insurer for the proposed activity. None of those practical checks should be replaced by an assumption based on the seller's previous voyages.
The Ministry's wintering guidance concerns qualifying certified marine-tourism facilities and the conditions for leaving foreign-flag vessels there. It should not be treated as a universal entitlement to buy, import, resell or cruise a yacht without further administration. Before payment, agree the handover documents, place of delivery and unresolved authority confirmations in writing. If ownership, restrictions, customs status or contractual remedies need interpretation, request advice from a locally qualified lawyer. The survey and berth recommendations remain private transaction checks, with no invented nationwide fee or availability claim.
Broker tip: Obtain the authority's answer for the ownership change before completion. Agree inspection, payment and handover conditions in writing, and ask the marina separately about the buyer's proposed berth contract. See also our guide on what boat insurance you need in Turkey. For specific areas, see our guides on buying a boat in Marmaris, buying a boat in Fethiye and buying a boat in Bodrum.
Boat registration at a marina office.
Foreign yacht entry
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Turkish lawyer: for Turkish law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the transaction, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are buying or selling a boat in Turkey, tell us about the boat 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. This guide distinguishes the Ministry of Trade's foreign-flag entry and sailing-permission procedure from İzmir's imported-new-boat registration document route. As practical advice, request the yacht's current customs documents and ask the authority how they apply to the proposed buyer and use. The marina location or a seller's verbal statement should not be treated as evidence that permanent import has been completed. (Ministry of Trade; İzmir Regional Harbour Authority)
İzmir's published sales checklist calls for the original tax-office receipt paid in the buyer's name for private boats within its charged category. The parties should separate this public requirement from any agreement over the economic allocation of other transaction costs. Ask for the statutory receipt and keep it with the sale paperwork; a brokerage invoice or marina quotation is a different document. (İzmir Regional Harbour Authority)
Do not assume it continues unchanged. The Ministry of Trade says a change in the yacht's owner or operator ends the sailing permission document's validity. As practical advice, ask the customs authority how the new owner should complete the appropriate formalities before cruising or collecting the yacht. A skipper change has a different treatment and does not resolve an ownership change. (Ministry of Trade)
The published procedure contains further stages. İzmir says sale documents are uploaded after the initial application and that the harbour office cannot view the request until the documents are completed. The application is then assessed and an appointment arranged after approval. As practical advice, check the actual status and agree the parties' payment and handover conditions separately rather than treating a reference number as completion. (İzmir Regional Harbour Authority)
The current private-boat regulation prohibits commercial use of private boats. This guide does not establish an alternative commercial authorisation route for the proposed venture. As practical advice, describe the intended activity to the harbour authority before relying on a private-use sale file and obtain the appropriate registration and operating advice. The boat's previous advertisement or marina location does not establish permission for the buyer's business plan. (Resmî Gazete)
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.
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Official procedure or rule supporting the specifically attributed facts in this guide.
Official procedure or rule supporting the specifically attributed facts in this guide.
Official procedure or rule supporting the specifically attributed facts in this guide.
Official procedure or rule supporting the specifically attributed facts in this guide.
Official procedure or rule supporting the specifically attributed facts in this guide.
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