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Boating in Montenegro: entry, vignette and local rules
Boating in Montenegro starts at a port of entry, where you clear in, buy the vignette and have your crew list certified. This page sums up the local rules from the Montenegrin Yachts Act and the Maritime Navigation Safety Act, together with what the German automobile club ADAC publishes.
Licence for the skipper
- To obtain the vignette, the skipper and crew prove their competence with certificates issued by the flag state, by a state with a recognition agreement or under Montenegrin law. No list of recognised foreign licences was found, so check before you travel.[1]
- The Montenegrin rules for foreign yachts, meaning craft over 7 m, apply equally to smaller foreign boats.[1]
- According to ADAC, Montenegro requires a valid certificate of competence from your home country, issued by an authority of the flag state.[6]
The Montenegro vignette
- The vignette is a fee per metre of length for the use of Montenegrin maritime safety services.[1]
- Private boats up to 7 m pay per metre EUR 0.50 for 24 hours, EUR 1.00 for 7 days, EUR 2.00 for a month and EUR 6.00 for a year.[1]
- Private sailing yachts pay per metre EUR 1.00 for 24 hours, EUR 2.00 for 7 days, EUR 6.00 for a month and EUR 18.00 for a year. Motor yachts and multihulls pay EUR 3.00, 7.00, 12.00 and 30.00, and yachts over 24 m pay a base amount on top, for a year EUR 760 plus EUR 5 per metre.[1]
- Display the vignette visibly; it is valid for up to one year from issue. A boat laid up in a Montenegrin port for storage or repair needs one only before it sails again.[2]
- ADAC adds EUR 2.00 for lighthouse and administrative fees. Its 2025 prices for sailing boats match the 2015 act, but check before you travel whether the table still applies in 2026.[1][6]
Proof of liability insurance
- The Montenegrin vignette requires proof of third party liability insurance.[1]
- Tenders on board are covered by the vignette and must be insured too. This is satisfied if the yacht's policy covers their use, individually or by a general clause.[1]
- Only ADAC quotes a minimum of EUR 800,000; the 2015 act sets no sum for foreign yachts in Montenegro. Check the required amount before you travel.[1][6]
Clearing in, crew list and departure
- After entering Montenegrin waters, head by the shortest route to a port open to international traffic for border control, the vignette and certification of the crew and passenger list. Documents can be sent ahead by post, fax, electronically or through an agent.[1]
- According to ADAC, Bar, Tivat and Kumbor are ports of entry all year, Zelenika, Kotor and Budva from 1 May to 31 October.[6]
- For the vignette you present an application, registration certificate, certificates of competence, proof of insurance, proof of ownership or authorisation and proof of payment. If anything is missing, the boat stays in the Montenegrin port until it is provided.[1]
- On board you need these documents, the vignette, the flag state radio licence and the certified crew list. Nobody missing from the list may be on board while under way.[1]
- Before leaving, complete border control and crew list certification at the harbour master's office, then leave Montenegrin waters within 24 hours. Pets need a veterinary certificate from the country of origin.[2]
Equipment and pollution control
- Every yacht in Montenegrin waters needs means to prevent pollution by oil, oily water and waste, plus holding tanks that are emptied into reception facilities ashore.[2]
- For Montenegro, ADAC lists lifejackets for everyone, an anchor with 25 to 100 m of line, a bilge pump, navigation lights, waste containers and oil collection equipment. No official list for foreign leisure boats was found, so check before you travel.[6]
Speed, distance from shore and anchoring
- By law the limit in the Bay of Kotor is 10 knots, and 6 knots in the Kumbor and Verige straits and on the Bojana river. Craft up to 24 m may exceed these limits by up to 4 knots.[3]
- ADAC gives 10 knots for the Bay of Kotor and 8 knots for Kumbor and Verige, so check before you travel which figure applies.[6]
- Yachts keep 300 m from the Montenegrin coast and motorboats 150 m, except when entering ports and anchorages at reduced speed, and planing is banned within 200 m. ADAC quotes 200 m for craft over 7 m and 150 m for smaller ones.[3][6]
- Keep more than 50 m from the barrier of a managed bathing beach in Montenegro.[3]
- Anchor only in designated, marked anchorages, elsewhere only with time-limited permission from the harbour master. Anchoring is banned in the Kumbor and Verige straits.[1]
- Oil, oily water and waste must not go overboard in Montenegro, and decks and hulls may only be washed with fresh water and biodegradable cleaner.[1]
- Under Montenegrin law, crew on duty may have no more than 0.5 g/kg of alcohol in the blood or 0.25 mg/l in the breath. The 0.3 per mille quoted by ADAC appears to refer to road traffic.[3][6]
Towing a boat trailer in Montenegro
- Montenegro's Road Traffic Safety Act (2012 text) limits vehicles with an unbraked trailer to 90 km/h on motorways but sets no specific limit for a braked boat trailer, so confirm the figure before you go. Ordinary rural roads have a general 80 km/h limit, towns 50 km/h.[7]
- Art. 38 sets 80 km/h on all roads for vehicles towing a caravan, and vehicles with such a special limit must show a round yellow sign with a red border and the speed at the rear left. The act does not say whether boat trailers are included.[7]
Emergency contacts in Montenegro
- According to REMPEC, MRCC Bar is reachable around the clock on +382 67 642 179.[5]
- A non-official directory, last updated in 2015, also lists +382 30 313 088 and +382 30 19833 for MRCC Bar and a watch on VHF channel 16, DSC channel 70 and 2187.5 and 2182 kHz.[4]
- ADAC gives VHF channel 16, MRCC Bar on +382 30 313 088 and the 112 emergency number for Montenegro.[6]
In Montenegro, keep the vignette, the certified crew list, the radio licence and proof of insurance on board. Confirm the current fee and the required cover at your port of entry.
NAMMERT customers can get their liability confirmation in English.
Questions
Do I need a vignette for my boat in Montenegro?
Yes. You buy it when clearing in, it is priced per metre of length and lasts up to one year.
How much is the Montenegro vignette for a sailing yacht?
Under the 2015 act, EUR 18 per metre for a year or EUR 6 per metre for a month. ADAC adds EUR 2 in fees, so check current prices before you travel.
Where can I clear in to Montenegro?
At a port open to international traffic. According to ADAC that means Bar, Tivat and Kumbor all year, plus Zelenika, Kotor and Budva in season.
How much liability cover does Montenegro require?
The Montenegrin law requires proof of cover but names no amount. ADAC states a minimum of EUR 800,000.
Sources
As of: 11 Oct 2026. Rules change. Check with the authorities of the country before you travel.
- Montenegro: Änderungsgesetz zum Jachtgesetz (Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o jahtama), Wiedergabe in FAOLEX, Gesetz vom 16.07.2015, spätere Änderungen nicht geprüft, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- Montenegro: Jachtgesetz (Zakon o jahtama), Službeni list RCG 46/2007, Wiedergabe in FAOLEX, Ursprungsfassung 2007, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- Montenegro: Änderung des Seesicherheitsgesetzes (Zakon o sigurnosti pomorske plovidbe), FAOLEX, Gesetz vom 16.07.2020, spätere Änderungen nicht geprüft, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- SAR Contacts (nicht amtliches Verzeichnis): MRCC Bar, Eintrag zuletzt geändert 02.11.2015, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- REMPEC (Regionalzentrum von UNEP und IMO): Länderprofil Montenegro, zuletzt geändert 01.11.2024, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- ADAC Skipper-Portal: Revier Montenegro, Gebühren Stand 2025, abgerufen 2026-10-11
- Zakon o bezbjednosti saobraćaja na putevima, Sl. list CG 33/2012 (PDF auf putevi.me), abgerufen 2026-10-11
