New measures to strengthen search and rescue response
to incidents involving people with Personal Locator Beacons
(PLBs) will come into force from 15 April.
An update by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency
(MCA) will require registration
of all current and new PLBs – online and at no
cost – that are carried on board a
UK flagged vessel, hovercraft or mechanically propelled
watercraft, such as jet skis.
When PLBs are discarded or change ownership, the new details must
also be provided.
The change brings PLBs under regulations that have
applied for 26 years to Emergency Position
Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs).
When a registered PLB or EPIRB is activated,
HM Coastguard can use the details supplied, such as emergency
contacts, to gain crucial information to support rescue efforts
and send the best resources to help.
False alarms can be traced more efficiently
too, keeping rescue teams on readiness for
real emergencies and avoiding unnecessary missions into
potentially dangerous conditions.
The registration requirement does not apply to PLBs on unpowered
craft such as paddleboards, kayaks and
canoes – although the MCA encourages all PLBs to be
registered.
PLB rescue case study:
PLB registration – real
life searches:
-
London calling: An unregistered PLB broadcasting from London
sparked three separate searches during July and August 2025.
Activations were traced once to Ealing and twice to
Paddington. Each time emergency services were alerted and
stood down hours later, with no one found to be in
distress.
-
Waste of time: A PLB dumped at a waste recycling centre
was the source of an alert in Exeter which scrambled Dawlish
Coastguard Rescue Team in January 2023. Without an update of
its disused status, and calls to registered numbers going
unanswered, the search continued for about two hours until
the PLB could be traced to a skip and destroyed.
-
Boxed-in boat: A boat in a box was the riddle
deciphered by HM Coastguard, thanks to contact details
registered to a PLB activated in
Antigua in February 2023. A
search wasn't required as it was
quickly ascertained that the accidental alert
was from kit inside a seagoing rowing
boat packed-up for return to the UK having
recently crossed the Atlantic.
UK Distress & Security Beacon Registry Manager Linda
Goulding said:
The benefit of registering your PLB is
simple: it gives you –
and everyone you're with – a headstart to
being rescued from an emergency.
The registration process is free, takes just 15 minutes, and
could make the difference between life or death. You can do
it at no cost online in time for the deadline of
15 April.
HM Coastguard will react to every beacon
alert we receive. Registering your PLB helps
us quickly work out when it's a false alarm with
no one in danger, or to focus our resources when people
are in real distress and need our
help. Help us to help you.
To register a PLB or EPIRB with the UK Beacon Registry,
visit https://www.gov.uk/register-406-beacons ,
call +44 (0)20 3817 2006 or email ukbeacons@mcga.gov.uk
To find out more visit MGN 665 (M+F) Amendment 1
Mandatory registration of EPIRBs and PLBs.
Background
The update relates to the UK revoking and replacing the Merchant
Shipping (EPIRB Registration) Regulations 2000 with the Merchant
Shipping (EPIRB and PLB Registration) (Radiocommunications)
(Amendment) Regulations 2026 to include updated registration
requirements for EPIRBs and introduce new
registration requirements for PLBs.
The Regulations also amend other Statutory Instruments, including
the Merchant Shipping (Radiocommunications) (Amendment)
Regulations 2021 and the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order
2023.
These amendments include the implementation of discrete changes
to international safety requirements under SOLAS Chapter IV and
necessary changes as a consequence of the proposed
Regulations being introduced.
