Application for a ship sanitation certificate

All ships operating on international routes must have a valid sanitation certificate on board. The certificate must show either that the ship is free from infectious disease or other hazardous elements (Ship Sanitation Control Exemption Certificate), or that the ship has been decontaminated satisfactorily from a verified infectious disease or other hazardous elements (Ship Sanitation Control Certificate).

It must be possible, when requested, to present the sanitation certificate to the Swedish Coastguard or the Swedish Customs on arrival at the first port of call in Sweden. Ships that do not need to present a sanitation certificate include ferries that operate as part of a regular service, and pleasure boats.

The sanitation certificate must be renewed after six months

A sanitation certificate is valid for six months, after which it can be renewed at any port in the world where there is an authority that is accredited to do so. Under special circumstances, a valid sanitation certificate can be extended by one month. This presupposes that there are no comments on the certificate and that there is no suspicion of any irregularities on board.