Taking Your Boat to the Bahamas: Cruising Permit, Fishing Permit, Passports, Radio License and Insurance

Most boat policies cover only certain waters. Read the "navigation limits" or "cruising area" section, and call your agent if the Bahamas isn't clearly included. Ask for any extension in writing before you leave, and ask about hurricane-season restrictions and named-operator rules. Going outside your limits can leave you with no coverage for a loss (see our insurance policy basics guide). Also ask whether your towing membership covers you in Bahamian waters; many don't.

Bahamas Customs asks for proof of citizenship or identification for everyone aboard at clearance, and the Bahamas' official tourism site says plainly that U.S. citizens must present a passport. Everyone also fills in a Bahamas Immigration arrival/departure card; keep your copy and hand it in at the last Bahamian port before you leave. For the trip home, CBP accepts several documents for US citizens arriving by sea, including a US passport, a passport card or a trusted traveler card, and US citizen children under 16 may use a birth certificate.

But plan on a full passport book for every person if you'll bring fish home: the federal rule that lets you carry Bahamian-caught fish as fillets (step 9) requires each person aboard to have a valid passport with current Bahamas stamps. Non-US citizens aboard should check their own entry requirements for both countries before you go.

Bahamas Customs lists the vessel registration or title as a supporting document and says originals must be present at clearance. Bring your state registration or USCG Certificate of Documentation, and make sure it's current and in the name of the person aboard. If the owner isn't aboard, carry a signed letter of authorization from the owner, and ask Customs in advance what they'll accept.

In US waters, most recreational boats are "licensed by rule" and only need an MMSI. That changes when you go foreign: under FCC rules (47 CFR 80.13), a boat that travels to foreign ports or makes international communications needs an individual FCC ship station license. Our ship station license guide covers the steps, including the operator permit and why a free BoatUS-type MMSI must be replaced by the FCC-issued MMSI in your DSC radio and AIS.

The Bahamas' official tourism site (Ministry of Tourism) lists "AIS equipment installed and fully operational (above 50 ft)" among the entry requirements, and says foreign pleasure vessels above 50 feet must keep AIS active at all times in Bahamian waters, with a $1,000 fine for non-compliance. Boating Magazine, reporting the rule in July 2025, described it as applying to vessels "50 feet and over" and said AIS must stay on whether docked or under way. If your boat is right at 50 feet, assume it applies and ask Bahamas Customs. Smaller boats aren't covered, but AIS is still a good idea for the crossing. Our AIS setup guide covers installation and MMSI programming.

When you clear in, Bahamas Customs issues a Temporary Cruising Permit, or you can apply for a Frequent Digital Cruising Card (FDCC). Fees from Bahamas Customs as of November 2026 (US dollars; confirm before you go):

Permit	Up to 30 ft	Over 30 to 50 ft	Over 50 to 100 ft	Over 100 ft
30-day (no free re-entry)	$150	$250	$350	$600
6-month (1 free re-entry)	$300	$300	$750	$2,000
12-month (2 free re-entries)	$500	$500	$1,000	$3,000
FDCC, 2 years, unlimited entries	$1,500	$1,500	$2,500	$8,000

Extras to budget:

• Anchorage fee if you won't be at a marina: for boats up to 50 feet, $50 on a 30-day permit, $150 on a 6-month and $200 on a 12-month permit or FDCC (more for bigger boats). It's waived if you're mooring at a marina.
• Passenger arrival tax of $20 per person when more than three non-residents aged six or older are aboard.
• With the FDCC, Customs says you still check in on each arrival and pay processing fees, passenger taxes and other levies.
• Big tenders: Customs says the size categories don't include ancillary equipment towed or carried aboard, except tenders over 25 feet. If you tow or carry a tender that long, ask Customs how it will be charged.

The permit fees above match the Customs clearance page, its "Recent Updates" sheet (revised August 2026) and the Ministry of Tourism's statement on the fees in force since April 1, 2026, as checked on November 6, 2026. One small mismatch: for the anchorage fee on a 30-day permit, Customs lists $50 for boats up to 50 feet, while the Ministry's April 2026 statement lists $50 only up to 30 feet and $100 from 30 to 100 feet. If your boat is 31 to 50 feet and you'll anchor out, budget $100.

Customs notes a boat used commercially or for hire is not eligible for a temporary cruising permit; charters follow a different process.

Bahamas Customs says fishing permits are no longer included in the cruising permit fee. As of November 2026 a foreign pleasure vessel fishing permit costs $100 under 50 feet and $300 over 50 feet, and it's valid for 30 days only, even on a 12-month cruising permit, so renew it every 30 days if you keep fishing. Don't fish in Bahamian waters until you've cleared in and have the permit.

Watch for the old 34-foot figure. The 2025 fisheries regulation still posted on the Customs site (in force July 1, 2025) set the fishing permit at $100 up to 34 feet and $300 over 34 feet, and many 2025 articles repeat that. The current Customs clearance page splits at 50 feet, and boating-industry reports say amendments in 2026 moved the line there. Go by the current Customs page; if a boat between 35 and 50 feet gets charged $300, politely ask the officer to check the current schedule.

The Bahamas sets its own catch limits, size rules and gear restrictions (enforced by its Department of Marine Resources), and Customs checks the seafood aboard against the rules printed on the back of your fishing permit when you clear out. Read that permit, and the current Bahamian fisheries regulations, before you wet a line.

What Bahamas Customs describes:

• Go directly to a designated Port of Entry. Fly the yellow Q flag on arrival.
• Fill in the inbound declaration online through the Click2Clear "Cruising Permit" portal (no login is needed for permits of 12 months or less; the FDCC requires registration), and pay there. The tourism site suggests submitting it before you leave your home port. Customs also lists a Maritime Declaration of Health form with the inward declaration, and says that if you can't pay online, the marina where you dock can arrange payment on arrival.
• Only the captain may go ashore until the boat is cleared by Customs and Immigration. The captain takes the documents to Customs; the permit is valid only after an officer stamps and signs it.
• Declare any firearms with serial numbers and ammunition. Customs limits the number and caliber, and says open center consoles may not carry firearms at all; firearms found aboard an ineligible boat are held ashore until you leave. If you own firearms, the simplest choice is to leave them home.
• Keep the cruising permit and fishing permit aboard the whole time.

In US federal waters of the Atlantic, dolphin (mahi) and wahoo, and South Atlantic snapper-grouper, normally must be landed with head and fins intact. Federal rules (50 CFR 622.276 and 622.186) make an exception for fish lawfully caught in Bahamian waters, but only if all of these are true:

• The skin stays on the entire fillet
• Valid Bahamian fishing and cruising permits are aboard
• Every person aboard has a valid passport with current Bahamas stamps and dates
• The boat is on a direct, continuous course home, nobody fishes in US federal waters on the way, and the fishing gear is stowed as the rule describes (terminal gear disconnected and stowed separately)

US bag limits still apply. For snapper-grouper, 50 CFR 622.187 counts two fillets as one fish. Florida state waters have their own rules too, so check with Florida's fish and wildlife agency before you land your catch. Our fish cleaning and waste rules guide covers the rest.

The Bahamas' official tourism FAQ says an import permit from the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources (Nassau) is required for all animals brought into the country, and that the permit is valid for one year from issue. The application form and the full import requirements (for example, the vaccination and health papers the ministry wants) are linked from that FAQ; read them closely, apply weeks before the trip, and list the pet permit in your Click2Clear declaration.

For the trip home: the Bahamas is not on CDC's list of high-risk countries for dog rabies (list dated April 15, 2026), so a dog that has been only in the US and the Bahamas in the past six months falls under CDC's rules for dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries. Those dogs need to look healthy, be at least 6 months old, have a microchip that a universal scanner can read, and have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt (on paper or on a phone); CDC recommends filling in the form from a few days up to six months before travel. CDC also strongly recommends rabies vaccination even for these dogs. Re-check both lists before you go; they change. Our pets on board guide covers safety on the crossing.

Bahamas Customs says an outbound clearance (with a $75 fee) is only needed if your next port outside the Bahamas requires clearance documents. Before you leave, make sure everything declared on arrival (such as firearms) is still aboard, and keep your permits for the US fillet rule. When you reach the US, report your arrival to CBP right away; boats 30 feet and longer also need a CBP user fee decal. Our CBP ROAM guide walks through it.

Put originals and copies of everything in a waterproof pouch near the helm: passports, registration or documentation, insurance and its written extension, FCC license, cruising and fishing permits, pet papers and receipts. Save photos of each in your BoatMend boat profile in case the pouch goes overboard.