Boating licence

Boat Licence: Everything You Need to Know to Obtain It 🚤

You must be in possession of a boat licence if your vessel exceeds 6 horsepower. To navigate legally, be sure to choose the licence that corresponds to your intended use.

The Different Types of Boat Licences

Coastal licence

It allows you to pilot all boats equipped with an engine of more than 6 horsepower, up to 6 miles offshore (12 km) from a shelter, at sea, on lakes, and closed water bodies.

Offshore licence

In other words, an extension of the coastal licence. You can navigate under the conditions mentioned above, without distance limitation, day or night.

Inland Waters licence

It allows you to navigate on all boats with more than 6 horsepower and less than 20 meters in length, on inland rivers and streams.

Great Inland Waters licence

The great inland waters licence: it allows you to pilot, under the conditions mentioned above, boats over 20 meters in length.

All You Need to Know About the Procedure of the licence

Like the driver's licence, the boat licence consists of 2 main stages: theory with the code, and practical driving in real-life conditions. Depending on the chosen licence, some access conditions may vary. Here's a summary:

Coastal licence

Accessible from the age of 16. The exam is prepared in a boat school with a minimum of 3 hours of theoretical and practical training.

The student then faces the theoretical test in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire lasting about twenty minutes and must obtain a minimum of 21 correct answers. Then they will take the practical test, accompanied by an examiner. Expect to pay around €350.

Offshore licence

You must hold the coastal licence and enroll in a boat school to take the exam. The candidate will also face a 1.5-hour multiple-choice questionnaire to verify that they have mastered the reading and plotting of nautical charts. The budget to plan for is around €300.

Inland Waters licence

This licence allows you to navigate on rivers, streams, and lakes and is accessible from the age of 16. The theoretical test consists of a 25-question multiple-choice questionnaire, and the practical test is validated by an instructor during an outdoor exam. Budget around €350.

Great Inland Waters licence

You must be over 18 years old to take this licence. The training can be conducted directly on the candidate's boat, followed by a practical exam where the instructor assesses the student's ability to navigate on a boat over 20 meters long. Expect to pay €1,000 for this training.

What to Do Once You Have Obtained the licence?

There you have it, you have finally obtained the precious boat licence! Now it's time for the seas, lakes, and rivers.

• With your coastal licence in hand, you can enjoy the joys of navigation at sea. Take your friends and family on board to enjoy the sea air under the sun and why not bring out the fishing rods?
• With the offshore licence, you can even venture without any imposed distance limit. The world is your oyster! But it's not just at sea that you can enjoy piloting a boat.
• With the inland waters licence, you can navigate on rivers, streams, and rivers. France has no less than 8,500 km of navigable waterways! An opportunity for you to discover the country from a new perspective. The Loire, the Rhône, the Canal du Midi, the Canal de Bourgogne, so many waterways to travel along.

Don't forget that the boat licence is also mandatory for jet skis and other personal watercraft, otherwise you are liable to a fine of €1,500.