Ready to expand your cosmic fleet or turn a stolen starship into cold, hard credits? In Starfield, registering and selling ships is your gateway to mastering space commerce and customization. Whether you’ve commandeered a vessel or want to offload an old ride, our guide breaks down the simple steps to register your ship and sell it for maximum profit-no spaceport technician left unvisited.
Our Starfield guide will teach you how to register a ship and show you where to sell ships, plus answer the big question: Can you sell a stolen ship?
How to sell a ship in Starfield
To sell a ship in Starfield, first visit a Ship Services Technician at any major settlement or spaceport, such as New Atlantis on Jemison. You must have more than one ship to sell, as your Home Ship cannot be sold. Speak to the technician and select the option to view ships for sale, then switch to the “Sell” menu. Choose the ship you want to sell and confirm the sale. If the ship is stolen or unregistered, you must pay a registration fee before selling it. Also, if the ship you want to sell is currently your Home Ship, you need to set a different ship as your Home Ship first. Once these steps are completed, you can sell your ship and receive Credits in return.
Maybe you’re sick of your ship, or maybe you just happened to acquire a new one by less-than-legal means. When it’s time to sell a ship, you’ll have to head to a Ship Services Technician at a spaceport. Choose the “let me see what ships you have for sale” option, and then hit the Y button to switch to your fleet of ships.
From there, all you have to do is pick the one to sell. The problem with stolen ships is that they have to be registered first – and, until they’re registered, they’re considered contraband by the UC and Freestar Collective factions. Registering a ship costs about as much as the ship is worth – around 85% as much – so you’re only ever going to make a few thousand credits at a time by stealing enemy ships.
How to register a ship
To register a ship in Starfield, you first need to acquire the ship, either by finding, boarding, or stealing it. Once you have the ship, you can register it either directly from the Ship section in the Data Menu or by visiting a Ship Vendor or Ship Services Technician at a spaceport or station. Registering a ship requires paying a fee that varies depending on the ship, and you cannot modify or sell the ship until it is registered. You can register up to 10 ships at a time, and if you want to register more, you will need to sell one first. Also, if the ship you want to register is currently your Home Ship, you must switch your Home Ship to another vessel before registering or selling it. Registering stolen ships follows the same process but is necessary to make them legal for sale or upgrades.
Before you can sell or modify that stolen ship in the Ship Builder – or even just rename it – you’ll have to register it.
At Ship Services, choose either “I’d like to view and modify my ships” or “let me see what ships you have for sale.”
In either of those options, you’ll be able to find the stolen ship in your list of ships (in the “ships for sale” menu, you’ll have to hit Y first to switch over to your fleet). When you have it pulled up, you’ll see the option to register it.
How can I register and sell a stolen starship in Starfield without losing credits
To register and sell a stolen starship in Starfield without losing too many credits, follow these key steps:
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Avoid registering the ship through the ship merchant because it involves a high markup fee. Instead, register the ship via the ship menu where the registration fee is lower, though it still costs credits.
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Before selling, sell all the items inside the stolen ship (such as cups, tools, and miscellaneous junk) to a regular trader with a good bank balance. This can add a few thousand credits to your total profit depending on the ship size.
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To sell the ship itself, first change your home ship to a different ship you own in the ship menu. Then, with the stolen ship in the last slot of your ship list, use the controller shortcut (Left Bumper + A on Xbox) or the equivalent keys on PC to sell the unregistered ship directly to a ship tech without registering it. This method bypasses the registration fee and lets you get more credits for the stolen ship.
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Keep in mind that registering a stolen ship costs a significant fee (around 2,600 credits or more), and selling it after registration often yields only a small profit margin. Using the unregistered selling trick maximizes your credits gained.
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Note that you cannot transfer parts from one ship to another without mods, so selling parts separately is generally not profitable.
By combining these tactics-selling ship items first, then selling the ship unregistered by switching your home ship-you can sell stolen starships efficiently and keep more credits in your pocket.
What’s the best method to sell unregistered stolen ships without losing credits
The best method to sell unregistered stolen ships in Starfield without losing credits is to use a specific trick at the ship technician that bypasses the costly registration fee:
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First, go to any ship technician and select the option “I’d like to see what ships you have for sale” to open the ship selling menu.
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Then, in your ship list, make sure you have another ship set as your home ship (not the stolen one you want to sell). You can change your home ship by selecting one of your owned ships and choosing “Make Home Ship” in the ship modification menu.
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Next, keep the stolen unregistered ship in the last slot of your ship list.
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While hovering over your home ship in the ship selling interface, press Left Bumper + A (on Xbox controller) or the equivalent shortcut on PC to trigger the sell option for the unregistered stolen ship in the last slot.
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This will allow you to sell the stolen ship at full value without paying the registration fee, maximizing your credits gained.
This method works on both PC and Xbox, and has been confirmed to still function after recent updates. It is the most efficient way to avoid losing credits to registration fees when selling stolen ships in Starfield.
