Guidance

MIN 538 Amendment 8 (M) Codes of practice – Authorisation of certifying authorities

Published 19 August 2025

Notice to all owners, operators and skippers of small vessels in commercial use and certifying authorities of this type of vessel.     

This notice should be read with the Small Commercial Vessel Codes of Practice and MGN 280 (M) and replaces MIN 538 Amendment 7 (M).

1. Summary

1.1       The purpose of this MIN is to provide contact details of Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) authorised certifying authorities.

2. Introduction/background

2.1       Certifying authorities undertake survey and certification work under the Small Commercial Vessel Codes of Practice or MGN 280 (M).^{[footnote 1]}

The codes of practice are as follows:

• The Safety of Small Commercial Sailing Vessels – A Code of Practice (Blue Code)
• The Safety of Small Commercial Motor Vessels – A Code of Practice (Yellow Code)
• The Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure operating from a Nominated Departure Point (NDP) (Red Code)
• MGN 280 (M) - Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure, Workboats and Pilot Boats – Alternative Construction Standards (available as an alternative standard to the Small Commercial Vessel Codes of Practice) [1]
• The Workboat Code Edition 3

The Safety of Small Workboats and Pilot Boats – A Code of Practice, including Annex 2 - Remotely Operated Unmanned Vessels and Annex 3 - The Safety of Police Boats. The transitional arrangements for existing vessels are set out in Appendix 9 and Annex 3 as applicable. 

3. Responsibilities

3.1       Certifying authorities are authorised by the MCA to examine and certificate small commercial vessels in accordance with the applicable requirements.

3.2       A certifying authority is responsible for each certificate it issues, and the relationship between the certifying authority and a vessel owner / managing agent is direct. This does not supersede the code requirement that an owner is responsible for ensuring that their vessel complies with the requirements applicable to that vessel.

3.3       It is the responsibility of the owner / managing agent to ensure that a vessel is properly maintained, examined and manned in accordance with the relevant code.

3.4       The certifying authorities listed under 3.7 are authorised as inspectors of marks for the purpose of verifying carving and marking notes issued by the UK Ship Register on UK ships of less than 24 metres in length.

3.5       The certifying authorities are also authorised to undertake inspections in accordance with the Maritime Labour Convention on coded vessels of less than 24 metres in length and issue reports of MLC inspection. However, certifying authorities may only undertake an MLC inspection on small commercial vessels for which they currently provide survey and certifications services.   

3.6       Certifying authorities who are authorised to undertake certification for Remotely Operated Unmanned Vessels (as defined within ‘The Merchant Shipping (Small Workboats and Pilot Boats) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1216 as amended)’ and in accordance with ‘Workboat Code Edition 3, Annex 2 Remotely Operated Unmanned Vessels’), are included in the List of certifying authorities – GOV.UK.

4. Applications to act as a certifying authority

4.1       Organisations wishing to act as a certifying authority are to make a formal request in writing to the address at the end of this notice. Upon receiving a request, the MCA will conduct initial review referred to in 4.2 Feedback would be provided and the criteria for acting as a certifying authority will be provided by the MCA as applicable.

4.2       With any new applications, the MCA is required to assess whether the additional audit burden through further appointments or delegations would be in the public interest as required under Treasury rules.  The MCA reserves the right to decline applications not meeting the criteria referred to in 4.1 This is in accordance with the principles of the HM Treasury publication ‘Managing Public Money’.

More information

Maritime Governance, Improvement and Assurance Maritime and Coastguard Agency Bay 3/07 Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1EG

Email: ExternalMonitoring@mcga.gov.uk

Website: www.gov.uk/mca

Please note that all addresses and telephone numbers are correct at time of publishing.

 

 

 

1. From 13 December 2023, the Alternative Construction Standards published in the Annex to MGN 280(M) may only be used for vessels operating for sport or pleasure. ↩