The Hovercraft (Fees) Regulations 2025
The Secretary of State for Transport, using powers under the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972 and with Treasury approval, enacted The Hovercraft (Fees) Regulations 2025, which simultaneously establish a specific fee of £153 for issuing a hovercraft certificate of registration and consequentially remove a previously included, erroneous fee entry from The Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018, with these regulations applying across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Arguments For
Establishing a clear, specific administrative fee (£153) for issuing a hovercraft certificate of registration ensures that the costs associated with the licensing and administrative burden placed on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are recovered.
Removing the erroneous fee entry from the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 streamlines regulatory documentation, ensuring clarity and preventing potential confusion regarding which legislation governs hovercraft-specific fees.
Arguments Against
Introducing new fees, even if cost-recovering, increases the operational expenses for hovercraft owners and operators, potentially acting as a small barrier to entry or increasing running costs for water transport services.
While the impact assessment suggests minimal impact, any new regulatory charge could face scrutiny from industry bodies concerned about regulatory creep or disproportionate cost imposition on niche transport operations.
The Secretary of State for Transport in exercise of the powers conferred by article 35 of the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972 and with the approval of the Treasury hereby makes the following Regulations.
The Secretary of State for Transport officially makes these regulations.
This action is authorised by powers granted under Article 35 of the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972.
The Treasury has also given its approval for these regulations to be established.
Citation, commencement and extent 1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Hovercraft (Fees) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 10th November 2025.
(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Regulation 1 sets out essential details for the rules.
They are officially named The Hovercraft (Fees) Regulations 2025 and take legal effect starting November 10th, 2025.
These rules apply throughout the entirety of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Fee payable for a certificate of registration 2. (1) A fee of £153 is payable, on application under article 5(5) of the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972, for the issue of a certificate of registration under article 5(7) of that Order.
(2) Where the fee in paragraph (1) has not been paid, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport, is not required to issue the certificate until the fee has been paid.
Regulation 2 specifies the cost associated with registering a hovercraft.
An applicant must pay a fee of £153 when applying for a certificate of registration, as per the procedure in the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which is part of the Department for Transport, is not obligated to issue the registration certificate until this specified fee has been received in full.
Consequential amendment 3. (1) The Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 are amended as follows.
(2) In Schedule 1, Part 10 is omitted.
Regulation 3 makes changes to an existing piece of legislation to reflect the new fee structure.
It amends The Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018.
Specifically, the text mandates the complete removal of Part 10 from Schedule 1 of the amended Regulations.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport Keir Mather Parliamentary Under Secretary of State 16th October 2025 Department for Transport
This section contains the formal endorsement from the government department responsible.
Keir Mather, acting as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport, signed this document on October 16th, 2025, confirming approval on behalf of the Secretary of State.
We approve the making of these Regulations Taiwo Owatemi Christian Wakeford Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury 13th October 2025
This confirms the required approval from His Majesty's Treasury.
Taiwo Owatemi and Christian Wakeford, serving as two Lords Commissioners, formally approved the making of these Regulations on October 13th, 2025.
Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Regulations) These Regulations prescribe a fee payable to the Secretary of State under article 35 of the Hovercraft (General) Order 1972 (S.I. 1972/674).
Regulation 2 prescribes the fee payable on an application for the issue of a certificate of registration in respect of a hovercraft.
Regulation 3 makes a consequential amendment to omit the fee provided for in regulation 2 that was erroneously included in the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1104).
A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. A copy of this instrument is available on the UK legislation website legislation.gov.uk.
The Explanatory Note clarifies that the regulations set a fee payable to the Secretary of State under Article 35 of the 1972 Order.
Regulation 2 specifies the fee for issuing a registration certificate for a hovercraft.
Regulation 3 corrects a previous error by removing a fee provision that had been included within the Merchant Shipping (Fees) Regulations 2018.
The note states a full impact assessment was not required because no significant impact on the private, voluntary, or public sectors is anticipated.
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