Cook Islands Customs & Yacht Clearance: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

We cleared in at Arutanga, Aitutaki. We haven’t cleared in at Rarotonga, but here’s everything you need for that harbour too. We also haven’t cleared in at Avarua, Akaiami, Atiu (Taunganui), Penrhyn (Omoka), Pukapuka (Yato) or Manihiki (Tukao and Tauhunu). In 2026 we filed an arrival notice for Penrhyn, then a new one for Aitutaki on 12 August, about three days before a 15 August ETA. We did not clear in at Penrhyn.

Heads up

This is best efforts, not a guarantee. Rules change, officials change, and two boats clearing into the same harbor the same week can have pretty different experiences. We do our best by combining three things: research (reading the official sites so you don’t have to), automation (a tool that fills in the forms for you), and personal experience (what actually happened to us, with dates). It’s all in one guide and one forms tool. It won’t make clearing in effortless, but it should make it a whole lot easier. If something’s different when you get there, tell us and we’ll fix it for the next boat.

Email the advance notice before you leave the last port

This is the step that matters. Fill in CICS 029v2, Advance Notice of Arrival (Small Craft), Form 29, and email it to customs.craft@cookislands.gov.ck. The law is at least 48 hours before you arrive. Send it before you leave the last port if you can, then wait for Customs to acknowledge it.

The subject MFEM wants is ANA, boat name, sail number if you have one, ETA as dd/mm/yyyy. Their example is “ANA, Banana Split, 30/11/2014”, with the sail number left off when there isn’t one. Type the address yourself. The form body, and two links on it, print customs.craft@cookislands.gov.k. The c is missing. The header on the same form says .gov.ck.

We used the older 2019 one-page form, which said 24 hours. I sent it on 12 August 2026 for a 15 August ETA, about three days ahead. Don’t use that old form. The rule now is 48 hours. Biosecurity’s site still links the 24-hour version. We emailed only the Customs ANA, not Biosecurity, and had no problems. Biosecurity does ask for the port and the date at moa.biosecurity@cookislands.gov.ck. Treat that email as officially requested, and optional in our experience.

The boat ahead of us had sent his form, and they still couldn’t find it. I listened to the whole exchange. Sorting it out took about 30 minutes. He re-sent it, and then he was fine. We were next. I said Some Tuesday and got permission almost immediately.

Keep a copy of the sent email on the boat, and be ready to re-send it. MFEM marine craft · CICS 029v2 (PDF)

Join the WhatsApp berthing group a week or two ahead

Berthing in Arutanga runs through a cruiser WhatsApp group. Get your name on the list well before you arrive, a week or two when it’s busy, because the group keeps a live list of who’s coming and who’s leaving. We used it.

On the day, call “Aitutaki Harbourmaster” on VHF 12, with 16 as a backup if they don’t answer. Other cruisers come out in a dinghy and take your stern lines, with people on the dock to walk you in.

Join the Aitutaki berthing group

Fees at a glance

Checked 3 October 2026. Amounts are NZD.

What	Cost
What we paid to check in	About NZ$75 total. Biosecurity NZ$50 plus Health NZ$25. Cash.
Biosecurity, official schedule	NZ$50 (NZ$75 after hours)
Health, official schedule	NZ$25–40
Departure tax	About NZ$84 per person, and it goes up 2% each 1 July. We paid NZ$168.80 for two of us.
Dogs	Dogs must stay aboard. A refundable bond of up to NZ$1,000 may be required. We weren’t charged one, and they didn’t ask for the dogs’ records. The dogs were no issue. Plants and fresh produce were what they looked at.
Aitutaki harbour, multihull	NZ$7 per metre per day since 1 July 2025. About NZ$98 a day for our 13.96 m boat. Cash, at the marina office.
Avatiu harbour, Rarotonga, multihull	About NZ$3–4 per metre per day. Confirm with the Ports Authority. The day you arrive and the day you leave each count as a full day. We haven’t cleared in here.

Aitutaki check-in: here’s how it actually went for us

August 2026, Arutanga. We came in about 11 in the morning. First person, because I was the one on the radio.

1. Email CICS 029v2

What: CICS 029v2, the small-craft advance notice. Email customs.craft@cookislands.gov.ck. Subject: ANA, boat name, sail number if you have one, ETA as dd/mm/yyyy. The form misprints the address as .gov.k. Type it yourself.
When: At least 48 hours before arrival. Send it before you leave the last port, then wait for Customs to acknowledge it. We used the 2019 form, which said 24 hours, sent on 12 August 2026 for a 15 August ETA. The rule now is 48 hours. Cook Islands Customs, marine craft.
Biosecurity: Officially they also want the port and the date at moa.biosecurity@cookislands.gov.ck. We emailed only the ANA, and had no problems.
Have ready: A copy of the sent email, still on the boat, so you can re-send it if they can’t find it.
What happened to us: The boat ahead had emailed his form. They couldn’t find it, and he sat outside for about 30 minutes while they sorted it. He re-sent it and then went in. I said Some Tuesday and they waved us through almost immediately.

2. Get on the WhatsApp list

What: Join the Aitutaki berthing group a week or two ahead, especially when the harbour is busy. It’s the live list of arrivals and departures.
What happened to us: We used it. After you call in, other cruisers help you into a berth by dinghy, and there are line handlers on shore.

3. The pass

What happened to us: No pilot. You do want a look at the entrance before you’re in it, which is why I filmed this. We arrived about 11 am. Some Tuesday draws 5 ft. In the pass the sounder sometimes showed 1 ft under the keel, about 6 ft of water. Although it’s officially dredged to 4 m, we saw about 6 ft in spots, so go slow, near high tide, and stay in the middle, away from the shallow sides.

The Aitutaki Island Government said in 2025 that the pass was dredged to at least 4 m. Other cruisers, including the notes on Noonsite, call it narrow, say the charts can be about 300 m off, and report an outgoing current of 3 to 4 knots. They say to enter near high tide in good light, keep to the north side, leave the white stakes to starboard going in, and treat the black floats as fish traps. That’s their report, not our soundings. Ours showed about 6 ft in spots. Go slow, near high tide, and stay in the middle, away from the shallow sides.

4. Call in, and wait outside the pass

What: Call “Aitutaki Harbourmaster” on VHF 12, with 16 as a backup if they don’t answer. Wait outside the pass until they give you permission. Port movements are sunrise to sunset. If you arrive at night, anchor off and call in the morning.
What happened to us: They ask for the vessel name and look up the emailed form. If it isn’t in front of them, you have a problem.

5. The inspector comes aboard

What happened to us: She was at the dock a few minutes after we tied up, without us asking. I thought of her as the customs inspector. The fee that matched the visit was the biosecurity one, NZ$50, so that’s probably who she was. She came aboard, asked questions and looked around. She went below, but it wasn’t a detailed search. She just looked around.

6. Biosecurity: plants, produce, and the dogs

What happened to us: She noticed our houseplants. At first she said we couldn’t have them. Meghan showed her they were healthy and had been aboard since Los Angeles, and she took no further action. We still don’t know whether she cleared them or looked the other way. We had finished all our fresh produce before arriving. Our only meat was frozen, and that seemed fine with her. A friend’s boat had live tomato plants aboard, and those were confiscated. They didn’t ask for the dogs’ records, which surprised us. Plants and fresh produce were the focus. The dogs were no issue at all.

7. The health officer

What happened to us: The health officer came about an hour later and didn’t come aboard. A clipboard, a few questions, and a form to sign. Easy.

8. Cash, and the honor system

What happened to us: Both of them had to be paid in cash, in New Zealand dollars. I didn’t have any. They said to just pay at Customs. Honor system. It worked. Check-in was about NZ$75 all up: Biosecurity NZ$50 plus Health NZ$25. There’s an ATM right next to the Customs office in town. The official health schedule is NZ$25–40, and biosecurity is NZ$50, or NZ$75 after hours. What we paid was the $50 plus the $25.

9. Lower the Q flag, then walk to Customs

What happened to us: Once they’ve cleared you, you can lower the Q flag. Customs is a short walk, and they were very friendly. Take passports and the usual paperwork, including the zarpe from your last port. Ours was from Bora Bora. It took us about 20 minutes.

10. Check out the day before you leave

What: Pay the departure tax and get your zarpe, the clearance papers for the next country.
When: The day before you leave, not the morning you go.
Cost: About NZ$84 per person, rising 2% each 1 July. We paid NZ$168.80 for the two of us.

11. Pay the harbour fee in cash

What: Stop at the marina office and pay the harbour fee. Cash.
Cost: The published multihull rate since 1 July 2025 is NZ$7 per metre per day. For our 13.96 m boat that’s about NZ$98 a day.

12. Ashore

What happened to us: The tourist office is just outside the marina, on the northwest corner of the first main intersection as you walk into town. They were wonderful. They helped us arrange a whale swim, a rental car, and the rest of the running around. We rented a car and the rental guy never checked our driver’s licences. Carry yours anyway.

Every port, including the ones we haven’t used

The designated Customs ports on CICS 027 are Rarotonga (Avatiu and Avarua), Aitutaki (Arutanga and Akaiami), Atiu (Taunganui), Penrhyn (Omoka), Pukapuka (Yato) and Manihiki (Tukao and Tauhunu). Suwarrow is not a Customs port. Palmerston isn’t on that list either. Arriving or leaving somewhere that isn’t a Customs port needs CICS 027 at least five working days ahead. The steps below are the official ones. Our own afternoon in Aitutaki is the section above.

Email the advance notice for whichever port you’re using

What: CICS 029v2, the small-craft advance notice. Don’t use the old one-page form.
When: At least 48 hours before arrival. Send it before you leave the last port if you can, then wait for Customs to acknowledge it. The 2019 one-page form said 24 hours. That is what we used in August 2026. Don’t use it now.
Official: MFEM marine craft · CICS 029v2 (PDF)
Where it goes: customs.craft@cookislands.gov.ck. Subject: ANA, boat name, sail number if you have one, ETA as dd/mm/yyyy. The form misprints the address as .gov.k. Type it yourself. The copy in the tool was checked 3 October 2026. Keep a copy of the sent email and be ready to re-send it.

Also tell Biosecurity you’re coming

What: Biosecurity asks you to email the arrival port and date to moa.biosecurity@cookislands.gov.ck. Their older Word notice is still on the site and says 24 hours. The forms tool gives you an answer sheet in that order so you can paste it onto the official document if you send it.
What happened to us: We emailed only the Customs ANA, not Biosecurity, and had no problems. Officially requested. Optional in our experience.
Official: Sailing to the Cook Islands · Advance notice (.doc)

Clear in: Customs, Immigration, Health and Biosecurity

What: On arrival you clear all four. Bring the vessel master’s certificate, the inward crew list and the port-of-call declaration. A yacht gets a 31-day visitor permit. There’s no fee for that permit.
Dogs: Dogs, cats and birds may not be landed anywhere in the Cook Islands. They stay secured aboard. A refundable bond of up to NZ$1,000 may be required. We weren’t charged one in Aitutaki, and they didn’t ask for the dogs’ records. Use the bond form only if they ask for it.

Clear out

What: CICS 040 is the outward report for a small craft, in person, at least four hours before departure. CICS 039 is the outward report for ships that are not small craft. A yacht uses 040. CICS 038 (inward report, small craft) and CICS 006 (crew effects) are named on the Customs forms page. We don’t have stable blank PDFs for those two, so the tool doesn’t fill them.
Official: Customs forms · Marine craft
Rarotonga: We haven’t cleared in at Rarotonga, but here’s everything you need. Avatiu is about NZ$3–4 per metre per day for a multihull. Confirm that with the Ports Authority. Arrival day and departure day each count as a full day.

Questions

How does Cook Islands customs check-in work at Aitutaki?

Email CICS 029v2 to customs.craft@cookislands.gov.ck at least 48 hours ahead, then call Aitutaki Harbourmaster on VHF 12. We cleared in at Arutanga in August 2026. Check-in was about NZ$75 cash: biosecurity NZ$50 and health NZ$25.

Can I bring a dog to the Cook Islands on a yacht?

Dogs stay aboard. A refundable bond of up to NZ$1,000 may be required. At Aitutaki we weren’t charged one, and they didn’t ask for the dogs’ records. Plants and fresh produce were what they looked at.

Have you cleared in at Rarotonga?

No. Avatiu is about NZ$3 to NZ$4 per metre per day for a multihull. Confirm that with the Ports Authority. The forms and steps for Rarotonga are in this guide.

Where we are now

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The honest fine print

Some Tuesday, LLC sells information and a do-it-yourself forms tool. We never file, submit, sign or send paperwork for anyone. We’re not a customs agent, yacht agent or lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice.

Everything here is best efforts. We combine research from the official sources, automation that fills in the forms for you, and our own experience. Rules change, officials change, and every boat’s experience in each country will be a little different, including from ours. Before you rely on anything here, check it against the official links and with the officials themselves. You’re responsible for checking, signing and submitting your own forms.

Cook Islands customs and clearance for yachts, step by step