PMSC Compliance Exercise
Every three years, ports and marine facilities are requested to make a declaration confirming their compliance with the Ports and Marine Facilities Safety Code.
Ports and Marine Facilities Safety Code (PMSC) is applicable to both Statutory Harbour Authorities and to other marine facilities which may not have statutory powers and duties. The Code is endorsed by the government, devolved administrations and representatives from across the maritime sector and while the Code is not mandatory, these bodies have a strong expectation that anyone who manages ports and other marine facilities will incorporate the relevant requirements of the Code into their safety management and other systems.
The Duty Holder is responsible for reporting their organisation’s compliance with the Code to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on a three-yearly basis.
Further guidance is available in A guide to good practice on port and marine facilities.
Compliance Exercise 2026 to 2028
The MCA announced the PMSC compliance date and process for UK ports, harbours, marinas and marine facilities, for the period of 2026 to 2028, in MIN 641 (M) Amendment 1 Navigation: ports and marine facilities safety code compliance submission for 2026-2028.
Any UK Statutory Harbour Authorities, private ports, marinas, and other marine facilities wanting to submit their compliance declaration must complete the online form within the window, which opens 1 January 2026 and closes 31 March 2026.
Complete the compliance exercise online form
To complete the online form, you will be required to upload a signed declaration by the Duty Holder confirming compliance with the Ports and Marine Facilities Safety Code.
This may be provided as a scanned signature, a signed letter in Word or PDF format, or other suitable documentation.
Once the form is started it must be completed within a single session. It cannot be paused or saved for later.
This form uses a new format introduced for the current compliance cycle.
Privacy notice
The Ports and marine facilities safety code compliance exercise survey privacy notice describes how the MCA collect and use personal information about you when you complete the ports and marine facilities safety code compliance exercise survey.
Further information
Please contact navigationsafety@mcga.gov.uk with any queries regarding the compliance exercise.
We also welcome feedback on usability and clarity of the new online form, which can be submitted to the same email address.