Plan inspection, insurance, tax and registration within one month of buying a boat
When you buy a motorboat or personal watercraft in Korea, the clock starts on the day you acquire it.
Article 6 of the Act on the Registration and Inspection of Water Leisure Craft (the Registration Act) requires you to apply to the mayor, county head or district head of your address within one month of acquisition, and the filing only proceeds once a passed new safety inspection, liability insurance and paid acquisition tax are confirmed.
This Korea Powered Water-Leisure Craft Registration, Inspection and Insurance Deadline Budget calculator brings the statutory deadlines, recommended completion dates, fees, taxes and premium for those four steps onto one screen so you can avoid operating unregistered and incurring fines.
This calculator is based on Korean rules: current statutes checked through the National Law Information OPEN API on 2026-10-25 and the fees in Korea Coast Guard notice 2024-1.
The dates and amounts are a plan built from your inputs; they do not guarantee that the local authority accepts the registration, that the craft passes inspection, that an insurer accepts the risk or what tax is finally assessed.
Before paying the balance, confirm actual dates and documents with the inspection agent, your insurer and the local authority.
Applicability and operator licence
The craft type, gross tonnage, maximum power and whether an inflatable folds decide first whether the Registration Act applies.
It also tells you that an operator licence is needed at 5 hp (3.75kW) or more.
Deadline table and calendar file
Statutory deadlines follow Civil Code period rules, shown alongside a recommended completion date one day earlier.
Days left and progress are summarised in a table that you can save as an ICS calendar file.
Fee, tax and insurance budget
It calculates the registration and plate fees, safety inspection fees, acquisition tax, local education tax and special rural tax.
Adding the premium and other costs shows any shortfall against the cash you have available.
Fine reference and document list
Steps past their deadline show the individual fine standard from the decree annex as a reference.
Documents for the inspection agent, insurer, Wetax and the local authority are listed in one place.
Check first whether your craft must be registered
Article 3 of the Registration Act covers four types of powered water-leisure craft: personal watercraft, motorboats, inflatable boats and sailing yachts fitted with both sails and an engine.
Article 3 of its Enforcement Decree excludes some craft by tonnage and power, and a vessel already registered under Article 8 of the Ship Act is not registered under this Act.
If the Act does not apply, registration, safety inspection and compulsory insurance follow a different route, so read the applicability card first.
Registration Act coverage and exclusions by craft type| Craft type | Registration, inspection and compulsory insurance | Exclusion |
|---|
| Motorboat | Covered | 20 gross tons or more is excluded (Ship Act regime) |
| Sailing yacht | Covered | 20 gross tons or more is excluded |
| Inflatable boat | Covered | Foldable after deflation, or an engine under 30 hp (22kW), is excluded |
| Personal watercraft | Covered | No separate tonnage exclusion |
| Scooters, hovercraft, amphibious craft etc. | Not one of the four types | Check operator licensing separately |
| Non-powered kayak, canoe, paddleboard etc. | Not covered | Safety equipment and activity reporting rules are separate |
Confirm gross tonnage and maximum power from the builder’s certificate, the import declaration or an existing safety inspection certificate.
If you leave a value blank, the calculator keeps the result at “confirm specifications”, and craft of 5 tons or more, coastal-area operation or 13 or more persons use the large new-inspection fee.
Under Article 4 of the Water Leisure Safety Act Enforcement Decree, operating craft of 5 hp or more requires an operator licence, which you should arrange separately from registration.
The order to finish within one month and how the deadlines are counted
The registration application attaches a copy of the safety inspection certificate, proof of insurance and photos of the front, back and both sides, and under Article 20(4) of the Local Tax Act the acquisition tax must be paid by the day the filing is lodged.
The practical order is therefore inspection, insurance, tax and then filing, and the earlier steps must be pulled forward so the final step lands inside one month.
- Pass the new inspection: under Rule Article 11(1), ordinary craft are inspected before filing.
Craft of 5 tons or more, coastal-area or larger, or 13 or more persons built in Korea are inspected from the start of construction.
- Buy liability insurance or mutual aid: Article 49(1) of the Water Leisure Safety Act requires cover within one month of ownership, and Article 54 has it checked when the registration is lodged.
- File and pay acquisition tax: the general limit is 60 days from acquisition, but registering earlier means paying by the lodging date.
- File the registration: apply to the local authority of your address within one month of acquisition, then receive the certificate and two plates within 3 days and fix them on the side and the stern.
Under Rule annex 6 the registration fee is KRW 1,500 and the plates cost KRW 13,500.
Under Civil Code Article 157 the statutory period starts the day after acquisition; under Article 160 it ends on the day before the same date in the following month (or that month’s last day when the date does not exist); and under Article 161 an end date on a Saturday or public holiday moves to the next day.
The acquisition tax deadline applies the holiday rule in Article 24 of the Framework Act on Local Taxes.
The recommended completion date counts the acquisition day itself and never rolls, so it is at least one day before the statutory deadline.
Statutory deadline and recommended date examples by acquisition date| Situation | Acquired | Recommended | Statutory deadline |
|---|
| One-month registration | 2026-10-20 | 2026-11-19 | 2026-11-20 |
| Acquisition tax 60 days (Saturday end rolled) | 2026-10-20 | 2026-11-19 | 2026-12-21 |
| Month-end purchase (end of February, Independence Day substitute holiday) | 2026-01-30 | 2026-02-28 | 2026-03-03 |
| Used craft ownership change, 30 days | 2026-11-02 | 2026-12-01 | 2026-12-02 |
For a new registration, even though the statutory acquisition tax deadline is 2026-12-21, the tax must be paid before filing, so its recommended date is the same 2026-11-19 as the registration.
Public holidays are included until 2027-12-31; later dates only skip weekends, so check temporary holidays separately.
Types of safety inspection and the 2026 fee schedule
Article 15 of the Registration Act distinguishes the new inspection taken when registering, periodic inspections at set intervals after registration, and temporary inspections before changing capacity, operating area, structure, equipment or fittings.
Fees follow Korea Coast Guard notice 2024-1 on inspection fees for powered water-leisure craft (in force since 2024-01-01), and the base fee for an ordinary new inspection equals the periodic one (amounts in KRW).
Safety inspection base fees by craft type and gross tonnage| Category | Under 3 t | 3–5 t | 5–10 t | 10–20 t |
|---|
| Motorboat, ordinary new or periodic | 60,000 | 60,000 | 181,200 | 248,100 |
| Sailing yacht, ordinary new or periodic | 114,200 | 141,400 | 226,600 | 310,200 |
| Inflatable boat, new or periodic | 51,200 | 51,200 | – | – |
| Personal watercraft, new or periodic | 42,400 | 42,400 | – | – |
| Motorboat, large new (annex 2) | 318,600 | 318,600 | 593,100 | 963,900 |
| Sailing yacht, large new (annex 2) | 296,300 | 349,700 | 510,800 | 757,800 |
| Motorboat, temporary (annex 5) | 21,900 | 21,900 | 68,200 | 99,800 |
| Sailing yacht, temporary (annex 5) | 31,800 | 44,600 | 68,200 | 99,800 |
| Inflatable boat or personal watercraft, temporary | 21,900 | 21,900 | – | – |
Amounts that are added
- Night and holiday inspections cost 150% of the base fee.
- Re-measurement adds the periodic base fee × 0.6, drawing approval × 0.8 and a stability check × 0.3.
- Amounts under KRW 100 are cut from the subtotal, then the KRW 3,000 certificate and KRW 4,000 inspection sticker are added.
- Each site visit adds KRW 7,500, and overseas inspections follow a separate rule.
A worked new-inspection fee
A new inspection of a 2.4 t motorboat with re-measurement costs KRW 60,000 + 36,000 + 7,000 + a 7,500 site visit, or KRW 110,500.
The same inspection at night raises the base to KRW 90,000, for KRW 140,500.
A 7 t motorboat uses the large new fee of KRW 593,100 plus KRW 108,720 for re-measurement and the certificate and visit costs, for KRW 716,300.
Periodic inspection windows and certificate validity
Under Article 15(2) of the Registration Act, craft used in a water-leisure business are inspected every year and all other craft every 5 years.
The inspection window in Rule Article 11(2) runs 30 days either side of the expiry date, and passing within it counts as an inspection on the expiry date.
Passing inside the window starts the new validity the day after the old expiry; passing earlier or later restarts it from the certificate issue date.
Window
An expiry of 2027-04-30 opens the window from 2027-03-31 to 2027-05-30.
That end falls on a Sunday, so the statutory deadline rolls to 2027-05-31.
Pass inside it
Passing on 2027-05-10 still continues from the old expiry, so the new expiry is 2032-04-30.
Pass too early
Passing on 2027-03-15 restarts from the issue date and expires on 2032-03-14.
Article 15(3) of the Registration Act prohibits operating craft that have not been inspected or have failed.
Operating after the validity has lapsed can lead, apart from fines, to the penalty in Article 30 of the same Act (imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to KRW 5 million), so put the window in your calendar before the season starts.
Buying a used boat or modifying one
Buying a craft that is already registered calls for an ownership change registration, not a new registration.
Decree Article 7(1) requires a change registration within 30 days of a change in ownership by sale, gift or inheritance, of the owner’s details, name or use, or of anything that triggers a temporary inspection.
Insurance is due within one month of ownership and acquisition tax within 60 days, but both must be done before the change registration is lodged.
Check the inherited certificate
- Ask the seller for the safety certificate expiry date so the next periodic window can be calculated.
- If the expiry is unknown, the periodic fee is conservatively included in the budget and flagged for confirmation.
- If it has already expired, do not operate until the craft passes; book the inspection first.
Structural or capacity changes
- Structural or equipment changes such as an engine swap, and capacity or operating-area changes, need a temporary inspection before operating the change.
- File the change registration within 30 days of the change; the fee is KRW 1,500.
- Ask the inspection agent whether a passed temporary inspection replaces the periodic one.
For example, buying on 2026-11-02 with a certificate expiring on 2027-04-30 gives a statutory insurance and change-registration deadline of 2026-12-02 and a recommended date of 2026-12-01.
Day 60 for acquisition tax, 2027-01-01, is a public holiday followed by a weekend, so the statutory deadline rolls to 2027-01-04, but the tax still has to be paid before the change registration.
Here the periodic reference fee is KRW 60,000 + 7,000 + a 7,500 site visit, or KRW 74,500, and with the same tax, insurance and other assumptions the total budget is KRW 1,941,120.
Minimum liability cover and the duty to keep it
Article 49(1) of the Water Leisure Safety Act requires the owner of registrable powered craft to buy insurance or mutual aid within one month of ownership.
Article 30 of its Enforcement Decree requires the cover to continue throughout the registration period and to pay at least the amounts in Article 3(1) of the Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act Enforcement Decree.
Minimum liability cover for water-leisure craft| Cover | Minimum (KRW) |
|---|
| Death | 150,000,000 (actual-loss floor 20,000,000) |
| Grade-1 injury limit | 30,000,000 |
| Grade-1 permanent disability limit | 150,000,000 |
Premiums vary widely with the craft’s price, power, use, operating area and insurer, so the calculator never inserts a fixed amount.
Without a quote the premium stays unknown and the total is withheld; entering a quote or confirmed premium adds it to the budget.
A lapse at renewal also counts as being uninsured, so add the renewal date to your registration upkeep schedule.
Acquisition tax, local education tax and special rural tax
Under Article 12(1)1(b)2) of the Local Tax Act, the acquisition tax rate for powered water-leisure craft is 2.02%.
A non-business luxury vessel with a standard value over KRW 300 million is surcharged under Article 13(5): 2.02% plus 400% of the 2% surcharge base rate, or 10.02%.
Local education tax under Article 151(1)1 is (2.02% − 2%) × 20%, or 0.004%, and the special rural tax is 10% of the tax computed at the 2% standard rate, or 0.2% (1% for luxury vessels); each amount is cut below KRW 10.
Tax example for a motorboat acquired for KRW 38,000,000| Tax | Rate | Amount (KRW) |
|---|
| Acquisition tax | 2.02% | 767,600 |
| Local education tax | 0.004% | 1,520 |
| Special rural tax | 0.2% | 76,000 |
| Total | 2.224% | 845,120 |
At an acquisition price of KRW 500,000 or less, the Article 17 threshold means no acquisition tax is levied.
The actual tax base depends on the declared price, the standard value and any relief, so if Wetax shows a confirmed amount, enter it to replace the estimate.
Fines and penalties for missed deadlines
Annex 5 of the Registration Act Enforcement Decree and the fine annex of the Water Leisure Safety Act Enforcement Decree set individual standards for each violation.
The authority may reduce or increase the individual standard by up to one half depending on the circumstances, so the amounts below are references.
Individual fine standards for registration, inspection and insurance violations| Violation | Fine (KRW) |
|---|
| No registration filed within one month of acquisition | 500,000 |
| Late change registration (up to 10 days / then days late × KRW 10,000) | 10,000 / cap 300,000 |
| No insurance (up to 10 days / then days × KRW 10,000) | 10,000 / cap 300,000 |
| Missed safety inspection (up to 10 days / then days × KRW 10,000) | 50,000 / cap 300,000 |
| Missed inspection by a water-leisure business | 500,000 |
| Plates not fixed / operating without plates | 300,000 / 500,000 |
| Inspection sticker not fixed | 200,000 |
For example, insuring 20 days late gives an individual standard of 20 days × KRW 10,000, or KRW 200,000, and 25 days gives KRW 250,000.
Unlike these fines, actually operating unregistered or uninspected craft is a criminal offence under Article 30 of the Registration Act, so if a deadline has passed, stop operating and complete the procedure first.
Step-by-step use and practical scenarios
- Set the review date and enter the craft type, gross tonnage, maximum power and use to see the applicability result and whether a licence is needed.
- Choose a new registration or a used ownership change and enter the acquisition date.
For a used craft, also enter the inherited certificate expiry.
- For each step, enter done with the date for finished work, or planned with the date for booked work.
- Enter the acquisition price, premium quote, inspection surcharges, site visits, other costs and available cash.
- Check the next action and the deadline table, then save a TXT review or an ICS calendar file.
New boat delivery
Use the dealer delivery date as the acquisition date and check that the inspection booking and insurance start fall before the recommended filing date.
Private used sale
Look at the 30-day change registration deadline from the final payment together with the certificate expiry to decide on a pre-season periodic inspection.
Engine replacement
Enter the planned change date to budget the temporary inspection, its deadline and the change registration ahead of time.
The fictional example is a 2.4 t, 115 hp motorboat bought for KRW 38,000,000 on 2026-10-20.
Registration KRW 15,000, inspection KRW 110,500, taxes KRW 845,120, an assumed KRW 420,000 premium and KRW 600,000 of other costs total KRW 1,990,620, leaving a KRW 490,620 shortfall against KRW 1,500,000 of cash.
Tips and cautions
- The acquisition date is the day you took ownership by paying the balance or taking delivery, not the contract date; confirm it with the local authority.
- Do not enter unknown amounts as zero.
Unknown values withhold the total so the shortfall is not understated.
- Fix the plates on the side and the stern after registration, and attach the inspection sticker as well, before operating.
- For business use, check water-leisure business registration and user insurance separately from the one-year inspection cycle.
- Craft operated on the Han River in Seoul may register with a different authority, so ask where to file first.
Frequently asked questions
Is the purchase date the contract date or the delivery date?
The registration period starts on the day you acquire the craft.
This is usually the day you pay the balance or take delivery and ownership passes, and if it is unclear enter the date confirmed with the local authority.
What if the last day of the one-month period is a weekend?
Under Civil Code Article 161, an end date on a Saturday or public holiday moves to the next day.
The calculator applies this to the statutory deadline and shows the recommended date one day earlier without rolling.
Can the acquisition tax wait until day 60?
Article 20 of the Local Tax Act gives 60 days, but paragraph 4 requires payment by the lodging date if you register earlier.
Because registration is due within one month, in practice the tax is paid before filing.
Does a personal watercraft need registration and inspection?
Personal watercraft are one of the four types in Article 3 of the Registration Act, so registration, safety inspection and liability insurance apply.
At 5 hp or more an operator licence is also required.
Must every inflatable boat be registered?
Inflatables that fold for transport after deflation or have an engine under 30 hp (22kW) are excluded by Decree Article 3.
Other inflatable boats must be registered.
Is an early periodic inspection a waste?
Passing before the window (30 days either side of expiry) restarts validity from the issue date, shortening it by the time left.
Passing inside the window continues from the day after the old expiry.
Are the fines final amounts?
They are the individual standards from the decree annexes, shown for reference.
The authority may reduce or increase them by up to one half, and operating unregistered or uninspected craft can be a criminal offence in addition to any fine.
Are my inputs sent to a server?
Inputs are calculated inside this calculator and are not sent to a server.
They are only included in a file when you save the TXT review, print it or save the ICS calendar.
Official sources and update basis
Reviewed on 2026-10-25; the statute serial numbers (MST) and effective dates below were retrieved directly from the National Law Information OPEN API.
When fees, tax rates or insurance minimums change, the calculator constants and tests are updated together.
- Act on the Registration and Inspection of Water Leisure Craft MST 243139 (in force 2023-06-11): Articles 3, 6, 15, 30 and 32
- Enforcement Decree MST 280591 (in force 2025-12-23): Article 3 exclusions, Article 7 30-day change registration, annex 5 fines
- Enforcement Rule MST 252615 (in force 2023-07-06): Article 4 certificate and plates, Article 11 inspection timing and validity, annex 6 fees
- Water Leisure Safety Act MST 267437 Articles 49 and 54 and its Enforcement Decree MST 280301 Articles 4 and 30: 5 hp licence threshold, one-month insurance and continuing cover
- Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Security Act Enforcement Decree MST 289683 (in force 2026-09-15) Article 3(1): minimum cover
- Local Tax Act MST 282559 (in force 2026-07-01) Articles 12, 13, 17, 20 and 151, and the Special Rural Development Tax Act MST 285905 Article 5
- Korea Coast Guard notice 2024-1 on inspection fees (in force 2024-01-01): annexes 2 to 5 and surcharge rules
- Civil Code MST 284415 Articles 157, 160 and 161 and Framework Act on Local Taxes Article 24: period counting and holiday rolling
Save the review and finish registration before the season
Keep the builder’s certificate, sales contract and insurance quote at hand and enter the progress of each step.
Saving the deadline table as ICS puts the inspection, insurance, tax and registration dates into your phone calendar at once, and the TXT review is ready for conversations with the inspection agent and insurer.
If you are also transferring a car, compare its acquisition tax and bond costs with the car ownership transfer cost calculator.
Back to the deadline and budget inputs