{ "destination": "balearics", "name": "Balearic Islands", "question": "Do I need a licence to rent a boat in the Balearic Islands?", "answer": "Yes for a normal charter yacht or catamaran in Mallorca, Ibiza or the Balearics: Spanish law exempts only small craft (motor boats up to 5 m with at most 11.26 kW, sailboats up to 6 m) used by day within 2 nautical miles of a port, marina or shelter, and Spanish-flag boats can be rented to anyone holding a title from an EEA country or one listed in annex IX. For UK certificates the sources conflict: annex IX lists the RYA Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster and ICC, but the RYA says UK certificates stopped being accepted for Spanish-flagged pleasure boats from 1 January 2021, so confirm with your operator.", "regime": "required", "regime_summary": "Licence or recognised certificate needed", "rests_on": "mixed", "rests_on_text": "official and secondary sources", "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/licence-by-country/balearics/", "markdown_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/licence-by-country/balearics.md", "destination_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/balearics/", "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/balearics/", "fishing_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/fishing/balearics/", "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/licences/balearics.json", "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=balearics&pos=api", "checked": "2026-10-28", "summary": { "licence_needed": "Yes; UK certificates disputed", "vhf": "Not verified for visitors", "second_crew": "Not verified", "licence_free": "Motor boats up to 5 m, sail up to 6 m, within 2 nm (official)" }, "law": [ { "text": "Spanish-flag recreational boats may be rented to any individual who holds a valid title or certificate issued by their country of nationality or residence, if that country is in the European Economic Area or listed in annex IX of Royal Decree 875/2014; the holder may command within the limits of that title. Boats may also be rented without crew to holders of a professional title from an STCW country.", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] }, { "text": "Anyone commanding a foreign-flagged recreational boat in waters under Spanish jurisdiction must hold a title that qualifies them for that voyage; where the skipper and the boat share a nationality, the title required is the one of the skipper's country, and otherwise the one required in the skipper's country of residence (or, failing that, of nationality).", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "certificates": [ { "certificate": "RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster", "verdict": "conflict", "status": "official", "detail": "Annex IX lists, under Great Britain, the RYA Coastal Skipper (boats up to 24 m, up to 20 nautical miles from the coast), Yachtmaster Offshore (up to 24 m, 150 nm) and Yachtmaster Ocean (up to 24 m, no limit). The RYA says, however, that UK certificates stopped being accepted for Spanish-flagged pleasure boats from 1 January 2021. We could not reconcile the two.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "rya_icc", "name": "RYA", "title": "Evidence of competence abroad (ICC)", "url": "https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/abroad/icc/evidence-of-competence-abroad", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "No page date shown. The RYA is the UK body that issues the ICC; it is a reference for acceptance by country, not a destination authority.", "tier": "reference" } ] }, { "certificate": "ICC", "verdict": "conflict", "status": "official", "detail": "Annex IX lists the \"International Certificate for Operator of Pleasure Craft\" under Great Britain for boats up to 24 m. The RYA marks the ICC \"required\" for Spain and notes the 2021 change above.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "rya_icc", "name": "RYA", "title": "Evidence of competence abroad (ICC)", "url": "https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/abroad/icc/evidence-of-competence-abroad", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "No page date shown. The RYA is the UK body that issues the ICC; it is a reference for acceptance by country, not a destination authority.", "tier": "reference" } ] }, { "certificate": "RYA Day Skipper", "verdict": "not_listed", "status": "official", "detail": "Not listed in annex IX under Great Britain.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] }, { "certificate": "EEA national licences", "verdict": "accepted", "status": "official", "detail": "Titles issued by an EEA country are accepted for renting Spanish-flag boats, within the limits of the title.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] }, { "certificate": "ASA 104", "verdict": "not_listed", "status": "official", "detail": "We found no United States entry in annex IX of the text we read.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "icc_note": { "text": "The ICC (International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft, UNECE Resolution 40) is described by the RYA as \"a certificate which is intended to provide evidence of competence when requested by officials in foreign countries\"; whether it is needed and in what form is set by the boat's flag state and, if different, the coastal state, and the onus is on the holder to check.", "status": "secondary", "sources": [ { "id": "rya_icc", "name": "RYA", "title": "Evidence of competence abroad (ICC)", "url": "https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/abroad/icc/evidence-of-competence-abroad", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "No page date shown. The RYA is the UK body that issues the ICC; it is a reference for acceptance by country, not a destination authority.", "tier": "reference" } ] }, "vhf": [ { "text": "Spain's own skippers' titles include a compulsory short-range radio-operator course (art. 18). The decree text we read does not say what a foreign skipper of a rented boat must hold for the radio.", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "second_crew": [ { "text": "We found no Spanish official text on a second crew member for a bareboat charter.", "status": "not_verified", "sources": [] }, { "text": "Anchor, a charter-industry guide, says you \"might need to have at least one other able adult crew member, preferably with a competent crew certificate\". This is general advice, not a rule it ties to any country.", "status": "secondary", "sources": [ { "id": "anchor_licences", "name": "Anchor (formerly Helm)", "title": "What qualifications do I need to charter a yacht?", "url": "https://www.anchor.yt/article/bareboat-licences", "checked": "2026-10-27", "note": "Updated 22 July 2026. Charter-industry article, not an official source.", "tier": "secondary" } ] } ], "licence_free_boats": [ { "text": "No title is needed for motor boats up to 5 m with at most 11.26 kW, sailboats up to 6 m, and floating or beach devices (not jet skis), if they stay within 2 nautical miles of a port, marina or shelter and sail by day; the operator must be 18. A charter yacht or catamaran is far larger (our reading).", "status": "official", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" } ] } ], "what_operators_ask": [ { "text": "The RYA marks a qualification as \"Required\" in Spain and recommends the ICC; it says revised legislation has come into force and points to its Spain page. The Moorings does not list the Balearics separately.", "status": "secondary", "sources": [ { "id": "rya_icc", "name": "RYA", "title": "Evidence of competence abroad (ICC)", "url": "https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/abroad/icc/evidence-of-competence-abroad", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "No page date shown. The RYA is the UK body that issues the ICC; it is a reference for acceptance by country, not a destination authority.", "tier": "reference" } ] } ], "skippered_charter": { "text": "Island Sailing, a charter operator, says on its Greece qualifications page that skippered or crewed yacht charters \"are ideal for those with little or no sailing experience\". With a professional skipper in command, the licence question is the skipper's, not yours (our reading; confirm the booking is skippered, not bareboat).", "status": "secondary", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_island_sailing", "name": "Island Sailing", "title": "Yacht charter Greece: qualifications", "url": "https://www.island-sailing.com/yacht-charter-greece/yacht-charter-qualifications/", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Charter operator page (footer © 2020, mentions 2026 & 2027 seasons). Not an official source.", "tier": "secondary" } ] }, "skipper_cost_note": "A skipper costs EUR 150-300 per day (The Globe Sailor, Sept 2026); seven days is EUR 1,050-2,100 (our arithmetic: 7 x the listed daily rate).", "not_verified": [ "Whether UK certificates are accepted today for Spanish-flag charter boats (annex IX and the RYA disagree).", "The radio certificate foreign skippers must hold.", "Whether a second crew member is required.", "Whether the annex IX text we read is the latest consolidated version." ], "status_legend": { "official": "Read in an official text (government, ministry, maritime authority or official gazette).", "secondary": "From a charter company, marketplace or sailing body; not official and not the law.", "not_verified": "We could not confirm it. We leave it open rather than guess.", "note": "verdict values: accepted, conditional (accepted within limits in the source), conflict (sources disagree), not_listed, unclear (the text does not name certificates). Our summaries (answer, summary) are written from the labelled facts." }, "caveat": "Rules change and charter companies can be stricter than the law. Check with the operator before you travel.", "sources": [ { "id": "lic_es_boe", "name": "BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette)", "title": "Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text", "url": "https://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-10344&lang=es", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "Consolidated text as served on 28 Oct 2026 (Spanish). Read: art. 10, additional provisions 3, 4 and 5, and annex IX (titles issued by other states). The consolidated page does not show a single \"current to\" date.", "tier": "official" }, { "id": "rya_icc", "name": "RYA", "title": "Evidence of competence abroad (ICC)", "url": "https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/abroad/icc/evidence-of-competence-abroad", "checked": "2026-10-28", "note": "No page date shown. The RYA is the UK body that issues the ICC; it is a reference for acceptance by country, not a destination authority.", "tier": "reference" }, { "id": "anchor_licences", "name": "Anchor (formerly Helm)", "title": "What qualifications do I need to charter a yacht?", "url": "https://www.anchor.yt/article/bareboat-licences", "checked": "2026-10-27", "note": "Updated 22 July 2026. Charter-industry article, not an official source.", "tier": "secondary" } ], "attribution": "Cite \"Catamaran Index\" with a link to the canonical_url of the page the figure comes from, and name the original source listed with it.", "affiliate_note": "book_url links go through /go/samboat, an affiliate link: Catamaran Index may earn a commission on bookings, at no extra cost to the traveller. It never changes the data." }