# Provisional and permanent registration: patent of navigation and radio license

A ship enters the Panama registry in two steps. After an approved precheck, it receives a provisional patent of navigation and a provisional radio license, each valid for up to six months. Within that time the owner files, through a Panamanian lawyer, the documents for the permanent patent, which is issued for up to five years.

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## The precheck

A Panamanian law firm or merchant marine consulate requests it by email to the Authority with the IMO number, the previous registry, the current and future owner, the economic group, the current and future operator, any bareboat charterer, the keel laying date and the ballast water management method. The result is approved or rejected and is valid for 15 calendar days.

Source: Merchant Marine Notice MMN-11/2024, revised May 2026, paragraphs 5 to 13

## The provisional patent and radio license

Both are valid for up to six months. The Directorate can grant up to six more months, and further extensions only for justified causes not attributable to the owner. An extension of the provisional patent costs US$50 a month, and of the provisional radio license, US$150 for each three-month period.

Source: Law 57 of 2008, articles 23 to 25; Merchant Marine Circular MMC-232, section 3

## What to file for the permanent patent

Everything is filed through the Authority’s electronic system by a lawyer in Panama. The permanent radio license requires the ship to owe nothing and to have its technical documents in force.

[Photo: Paul Harrison](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oil_Tanker_Sunlight_Express_Approaching_Panama_Canal_Gatun_Locks_2016_0677.jpg)· [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) 
- The title deed recorded at the Public Registry.
- The appointment of the resident agent and a power of attorney.
- The deletion certificate of the previous registry, or the builder’s certificate or the judicial sale.
- A certificate of the Panamanian company, if one owns the ship.
- The technical and safety certificates and a satisfactory inspection; cargo ships file their International Tonnage Certificate and Safety Management Certificate.
- The receipt of payment.

Source: Law 57 of 2008, articles 27, 28 and 31; Merchant Marine Circular MMC-233, section II

## How long the permanent patent lasts

Up to five years. In 2024 the Cabinet authorized presenting a bill to reform the General Merchant Marine Law, but no reform law has been enacted, so the provisional patent and the five-year permanent patent of the 2008 law still apply.

Source: Law 57 of 2008, article 26; Cabinet Resolution 5 of 2024

## Questions people ask

### Is the provisional radio license valid for three months?

No. It is valid for up to six months, like the patent. Three months is only the billing period for its extensions.

### Can I skip the provisional patent?

The law in force provides a provisional patent of up to six months and then a permanent one. A reform that would allow a direct permanent patent has not been enacted.

### Who files the documents for the permanent patent?

A lawyer in Panama, or an authorized electronic means.

## What the law does not say

- How long the whole registration takes. No rule sets it; only the maximum validity of each document.
- Whether a Document of Compliance is required before the radio license.
- How a rejected precheck can be challenged.

## Official sources

- [MMN-11/2024, Panama Flag precheck process](https://www.panamashipregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/MMN-11-2024-PRE-CHECK-21-05-2026.pdf)
- [MMC-233, requirements for provisional, permanent registration and deletion](https://www.panamashipregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/REV-MMC-233-September.pdf)
- [MMC-232, registration, annual tax, casualty investigation and inspection fees](https://www.panamashipregistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/232.pdf)
- [Official Gazette of Panama](https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/)

Last verified: October 28, 2026

Header photo: [Adam Jones](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Locomotives_Tow_Container_Ship_through_Miraflores_Locks_-_Panama_Canal.jpg), [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), cropped.

## Keep reading

- [The official fees](/fees/)
- [Changing flag](/change-of-flag/)
- [The Panama Maritime Authority](/panama-maritime-authority/)

## Registering a vessel in Panama?

Book a free 15-minute call with a Panamanian lawyer. We will tell you what your ship needs and what to prepare.

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