The title compound, [Co(C(19)H(15)N(3)O(5)S)(C(12)H(8)N(2))] x 5 H(2)O, has a moderately distorted octahedral coordination environment composed of two N atoms of a 1,10-phenanthroline ligand and one N and three O atoms of an N-{[4-(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)anilino]carbonylmethyl}iminodiacetate (ZL-5(2-)) ligand. The ring systems of the phenanthroline and ZL-5(2-) ligands are coplanar and the complexes pack in layers parallel to the ab plane with the rings of adjacent complexes facing one another. The layers stack along the c axis and are linked by hydrogen bonds involving the five water solvent molecules in the asymmetric unit and O atoms of the acetate groups of the ZL-5(2-) ligand. This is believed to be the first crystal structure of a complex of a 2-(4-aminophenyl)benzothiazole ligand.