Legal information about houseboats

Register entry

The following are required for a register entry:

• proof of ownership (sales contract, supporting documents)
• Calibration certificate (verification of the body volume and the amount of water displaced by a ZSUK representative).

• This is available at the Central Office of the Ship Inspection Commission/Ship Seichamt), headquarters in Mainz at the Water and Shipping Directorate South, at the branch offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Magdeburg, Duisburg and Mannheim.
• A simplified calibration procedure for pleasure boats is also possible (water displacement can be proven by ZSUK representatives by looking at the waste water line).
• Boats with boat lengths of over 20 meters and a displacement of over 20 tons can still be considered pleasure boats, but are no longer small vehicles. In order to still be considered a pleasure boat, a ship inspection certificate must be issued by a specialist (shipyard construction).

Place of residence/population register entry

Place of residence/population register entry: If you want to live on the houseboat all year round and no longer have a second home, it is possible to register in the population register or indicate your primary place of residence in the port.

• The following applies to floating homes: The necessary permits from the building authority legitimize an entry in the population register.
• The following applies to houseboats: A houseboat can be moved and therefore not entered in the population register. However, it is possible to register your primary residence in the respective port.