# The Merchant Shipping (International Safety Management (ISM) Code) Regulations 2026, Regulation 7: Certifying Authorities


(1) A person authorised by the Secretary of State as a Certifying Authority for the purposes of these Regulations must be authorised in accordance with—
(a) the SOLAS Convention; and
(b) the RO Code.
(2) Authorisation under paragraph (1) may be given conditionally or unconditionally and is subject to paragraph (4).
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2), conditions may impose limitations on any person’s authorisation relating to—
(a) an individual ship;
(b) classes of ship; or
(c) the extent of any verification to be carried out by that person.
(4) The Secretary of State may specify, in relation to an individual ship or to a class of ship, that a verification, or part of a verification, may only be carried out by the Secretary of State and not by another Certifying Authority.
(5) A Certifying Authority other than the Secretary of State is not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown or as enjoying any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown and its property is not to be regarded as property of, or held on behalf of, the Crown.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/194/regulation/7 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-international-safety-management-ism-code-regulations-2026/regulation-7
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.