How to Fill Out IMO FAL Form 5: Fields, Filing, and Updates

To fill out IMO FAL Form 5, enter the vessel’s registration details in the header, list every crew member on board using the 12 standardized identity fields, and submit the completed form electronically through the destination port’s Maritime Single Window. The form is the international crew list required under the FAL Convention, and since January 2024 electronic filing is the only accepted channel.¹

Start by checking the box at the top to indicate whether the filing covers arrival or departure. Everything below flows from that choice, because dates, ports, and crew composition may differ between the two.

Header Fields: Ship and Voyage Data

The top block of the form identifies the vessel and the specific port call. There are eight entries to complete, and each must match the ship’s official registration documents exactly.²

1.1 Name of ship. The registered name as it appears on the Certificate of Registry.
1.2 IMO number. The seven-digit hull identifier assigned by IHS Maritime. It never changes, even after a rename, reflag, or sale.³
1.3 Call sign. The radio call sign assigned by the flag state.
1.4 Voyage number. The operator’s internal voyage reference.
2. Port of arrival or departure. The port this filing covers.
3. Date of arrival or departure. Expected or actual, depending on the filing.
4. Flag state of ship. The country of registry.
5. Last port of call. The previous port visited.

Port authority systems cross-reference the IMO number against global ship databases, so any mismatch between the vessel name and the IMO number will flag the filing immediately.

Crew Data: One Row per Person

Below the header, the form uses a table where each crew member occupies a single row. The columns are fixed by the Convention, and public authorities are barred from asking for additional crew information beyond these fields:⁴

Sequence number (1, 2, 3, and so on).
Family name.
Given names.
Rank or rating (Master, Chief Officer, Second Engineer, Able Seaman, and so on).
Nationality as shown on the identity document.
Date of birth.
Place of birth.
Gender.
Nature of the identity document (passport, seafarer’s identity document, or seaman’s book).
Number of the identity document.
Issuing state.
Expiry date of the document.

Names go in exactly as printed on the passport or seafarer’s identity document. No nicknames, no anglicized versions, no transliterations that differ from the document. A crew member whose passport reads “Aleksandr” is listed as Aleksandr, not Alexander.

Form 5 does not have columns for visa data, vaccination status, or health certificates. Those belong on other declarations, such as the Maritime Declaration of Health, and requests for that information on the crew list fall outside the FAL standard.⁴ Some countries do add national forms on top of the IMO set; the United States, for example, uses CBP Form I-418 alongside Form 5.⁵

Getting the Data Right

Most rejections trace back to a mismatch between the form and the physical document. Boarding officers compare passports against the submitted list at the gangway, and a discrepancy can hold up clearance for the whole vessel while the record is corrected. Operators who keep a digital crew database linked to scanned copies of passports and seafarer’s identity documents can pull data directly from those files instead of relying on crew members to write down their own details.

Check expiry dates before you file. A crew member whose passport expires before the scheduled end of the voyage is a problem no correct form-filling can fix. Some countries require six months of remaining validity for entry, and immigration authorities will refuse admission to anyone traveling on an expired document.

Submitting the Form Electronically

Electronic exchange of FAL declarations has been required since April 2019, and since January 2024 every IMO member state must operate a Maritime Single Window that accepts them.¹ Paper references have been removed from the Convention entirely.⁶

The single-window model means you submit crew data once, and the platform routes it to customs, immigration, port health, and border security. You do not file separate copies with each agency. Inside the European Union, national single windows share data through the European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe).⁷ Other countries run their own platforms, but the underlying data fields align with the IMO standard.

In most port calls the ship’s local agent handles the submission. The agent enters or uploads the data and the master verifies it before the filing goes through. Larger operators sometimes use shipboard software that generates the crew list in the required electronic format and transmits it directly.

When to File

The FAL Convention itself does not set a fixed number of hours before arrival for filing the crew list. That timeline comes from national law. Canada requires at least 96 hours’ advance notice before a vessel enters Canadian waters under ISPS compliance rules. The United States has its own advance crew manifest rules under 19 CFR. Many ports fall somewhere between 24 and 96 hours, depending on the origin port and the cargo.

Confirm the window with the port agent at the destination well before departure. When voyage time is shorter than the required notice period, most jurisdictions expect the filing immediately upon leaving the previous port, so authorities get as much lead time as possible.

Reusing the List for Departure and Mid-Voyage Changes

A vessel calling at multiple ports does not need to rebuild the list from scratch at every stop. Under Standard 2.6.1 of the FAL Convention Annex, the crew list filed on arrival can be reused for departure, provided the master authenticates it to show either what changed or that nothing changed.⁴ If two crew members sign off and one joins, the departure list reflects those three changes against the arrival version.

When something changes mid-voyage, a medical evacuation for example, the master should update the list before the next port filing. The submitted list has to show who is physically on board at the time of arrival, not who was on board when the voyage began. Stowaways discovered during a voyage are handled through a separate IMO process and do not go on the crew list.⁸

1
International Maritime Organization. Maritime Single Window – Advancing Digitalization in Shipping
2
International Maritime Organization. FAL Form 5 – Crew List
3
International Maritime Organization. IMO Identification Number Schemes
4
International Maritime Organization. Resolution FAL.14(46) – Annex to the FAL Convention
5
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP Form I-418 – Passenger List – Crew List
6
International Maritime Organization. FAL Convention
7
European Commission. European Maritime Single Window Environment
8
International Maritime Organization. Revised Guidelines on the Prevention of Access by Stowaways