Polish or French flag: which suits you depends on where you live and sail

How do the Polish, French and Spanish flags differ?

If you are reading opinions about Polish flag yachts, separate the rules from the promises. These tables set out what each country requires today, with Spain as a reference.

The second table is the decisive one: if you live in Spain, the IEDMT and the safety equipment do not change with the flag, and if you are a Spanish national you need a Spanish licence under any of them. What changes is the stability of the register, the inspections and the annual tax.

If you live in France, the French flag is the natural choice

If you live in France and own a foreign-flagged boat, you already pay the TAEMUP and need a “passeport” (art. L423-11 of the CIBS and arts. L5112-1-18 to L5112-1-20 of the Code des transports) In force. The Polish flag, therefore, was not saving you the French annual tax.

With the French flag that payment stays, but you gain a single document which, for pleasure craft for personal use, includes the navigation document, and you can register a ship mortgage In force. And, unlike the Polish register, the French one has no tightening reform under way. From 1 January 2027, the engine component is not charged below 120 kW of actual power Approved, not yet in force; according to the French government, the share of sailing boats over 7 m that pay for their engine will fall from 58% to 1%. France’s draft budget for 2027 could still change this Proposed. Work out your case in the TAEMUP guide.

If you are an EU citizen sailing the Mediterranean without living in Spain

Here the comparison is mainly between two registers. Spain’s IEDMT depends on the user’s residence or establishment in Spain and on the boat being used there, not on the flag In force, so what matters is the stability of the register and the cost of keeping it.

• Polish flag, today. A register open to any nationality, a PLN 80 registration fee, a document with no expiry date and no technical inspection for pleasure craft up to 15 m In force.
• Polish flag, if the reform is passed. Prior inspection of boats that are not Polish-owned, confirmation of the registration every 5 years and loss of the flag for non-compliance Proposed. Most of it would come into force 12 months after publication, so not before late 2027 (this is an estimate). Follow its status on the reform page.
• French flag. Free registration, no need to live in France and no periodic administrative inspection of private pleasure craft for personal use In force. There is a safety check before registration, which in practice is satisfied with the DEC. In 2026, boats under 7 m with less than 22 CV pay no TAEMUP, and there are reductions for boats built before 2008 In force.

If more than half of the boat belongs to people from outside the EU and the EEA, the French flag is not an option In force; the Polish one, today, is. The requirements and the licences France accepts are in the guide to French boat registration.

If you live and sail in Spain, the Spanish flag may be the most consistent choice

If you live in Spain and use a boat over 8 m there, the IEDMT is due whether it flies the Polish, French or any other flag In force. And with the French flag you add an annual tax that you do not pay under the Polish flag.

So, if the IEDMT is due anyway, registering in Spain may be the most consistent choice. On the other hand, if the boat is between 6 and 24 m, it will need an ITB at least every 5 years (RD 1434/1999 (opens in a new tab)) In force.

The draft Royal Decree on Maritime Registers (opens in a new tab), whose public consultation closed on 20 October 2026, would change the registration of boats coming from another flag Proposed. It may change or never be approved. Under the current text, it:

• would require the apostilled deregistration certificate and proof of the IEDMT (art. 74.2);
• would allow provisional navigation up to 12 miles (art. 74.4);
• would exempt boats coming from the EEA from having to provide the EU declaration of conformity again, subject to conditions (art. 75.4).

What the French flag does not solve if you live in Spain

When you switch to the French flag, the following stays the same or is added:

• The IEDMT. It depends on your residence, use in Spain and length (over 8 m, or a personal watercraft), not on the flag (art. 65.1.d and first additional provision of Ley 38/1992 (opens in a new tab)) In force. The rate is 12% on the mainland and in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia included, and 11% in the Canary Islands.
• If it is not paid. Once non-compliance is detected, the authorities give 5 days to register the boat or provide a guarantee and then detain it In force. The penalty ranges from 50% to 150% of the unpaid amount (art. 191 of the Ley General Tributaria, Spain’s General Tax Act); if you regularise before any formal request, surcharges apply instead of a penalty (art. 27) In force. The exemptions in art. 66.1 of Ley 38/1992, such as chartering or a change of residence, have their own requirements In force.
• A new tax. Under the Polish flag you do not pay the TAEMUP; under the French flag it is due if the boat exceeds the thresholds, which in 2026 are 7 m or 22 CV (arts. L423-6 and L423-10 of the CIBS) In force. If you pay late, there is a 5% surcharge, with a minimum of €60 In force.
• Licensing. In Spanish waters, if your nationality matches the flag, your own country’s licence is valid; if it does not, you need the one required by your country of residence or, failing that, that of your nationality (fifth additional provision of RD 875/2014) In force. A Spanish national living in Spain with a French boat needs a Spanish licence; a French national living in Spain with a French boat can use a French one.
• Spanish safety equipment. RD 339/2021 (opens in a new tab) applies to boats under any flag whose owner or user lives in Spain, in Spanish inland waters and territorial sea (art. 2.1.c) In force.
• French obligations, on top. Division 240 equipment depending on the distance from a shelter (2, 6 and 60 miles), the ensign flown outside territorial waters, an ANFR licence for every VHF and a CRR certificate abroad, hull markings and notice of any change of owner, address or engine within 1 month In force.

The ITB and VAT: what lies behind two common arguments

Spain’s ITB does not apply to foreign boats. RD 1434/1999 only covers boats registered in Spain In force, and some sell the foreign flag as “no ITB”. That is not a legal reason to switch: if you live in Spain, the IEDMT and RD 339/2021 still apply to you.

VAT comes to light when you change register. According to the European Commission’s non-binding guidance on pleasure craft (opens in a new tab) (30 April 2026), the flag does not determine the boat’s VAT or customs status. But France only registers boats built in the EU or on which import duties and taxes have been paid (art. L5112-1-2 of the Code des transports) In force, and the Var DDTM asks for the quitus fiscal for boats over 7.50 m arriving from another EU state. If your boat was imported from outside the EU or bought new without paying VAT at destination, there may be problems.

Check this before applying to deregister in Poland: deregistration makes the boat lose Polish nationality In force, and you do not want to be left without a flag while the French file is stuck. If the French flag suits you, the process for moving from the Polish to the French flag explains each step.