{
  "destination": "thailand",
  "name": "Thailand",
  "question": "Do I need a licence to rent a boat in Thailand?",
  "answer": "Probably not by law, but we could not find an official Thai source: Anchor says no licence is required by law in Thailand and that charter companies ask for a sailing résumé showing you have been in charge of a boat of similar size. The Moorings rates Phuket as a Level 2 destination.",
  "regime": "resume",
  "regime_summary": "No legal licence found; sailing résumé",
  "rests_on": "secondary",
  "rests_on_text": "secondary sources only (no official text found)",
  "canonical_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/licence-by-country/thailand/",
  "markdown_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/licence-by-country/thailand.md",
  "destination_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/thailand/",
  "best_time_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/best-time/thailand/",
  "fishing_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/fishing/thailand/",
  "api_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/api/licences/thailand.json",
  "book_url": "https://catamaranindex.com/go/samboat?dest=thailand&pos=api",
  "checked": "2026-10-28",
  "summary": {
    "licence_needed": "Résumé; no official text found",
    "vhf": "Not verified",
    "second_crew": "Not verified",
    "licence_free": "Not verified"
  },
  "law": [
    {
      "text": "We found no current Thai government text (Marine Department or Tourism Authority of Thailand) that sets a skipper licence for a bareboat charter.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "text": "Anchor says no licence is required by law in Thailand, but you must show a sailing résumé of being in charge of a boat of similar size.",
      "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"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "certificates": [
    {
      "certificate": "ICC / RYA / ASA",
      "verdict": "unclear",
      "status": "secondary",
      "detail": "Not legally required according to Anchor; operators ask for a résumé. The RYA's ICC table has no Thailand entry.",
      "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"
        },
        {
          "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"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "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": "We could not confirm a VHF certificate rule for Thailand.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "second_crew": [
    {
      "text": "We found no source on a second crew member in Thailand.",
      "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": "We could not confirm a Thai rule for licence-free boats.",
      "status": "not_verified",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "what_operators_ask": [
    {
      "text": "The Moorings rates Phuket as a Level 2 destination.",
      "status": "secondary",
      "sources": [
        {
          "id": "moorings_levels",
          "name": "The Moorings",
          "title": "Experience guide: Level 3 sail",
          "url": "https://www.moorings.com/experience-guide/level-3-sail",
          "checked": "2026-10-27",
          "note": "Charter operator guide, not an official source.",
          "tier": "secondary"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "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": [
    "A Thai government statement on skipper licences.",
    "A VHF or second-crew rule.",
    "Licence-free boats."
  ],
  "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": "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"
    },
    {
      "id": "moorings_levels",
      "name": "The Moorings",
      "title": "Experience guide: Level 3 sail",
      "url": "https://www.moorings.com/experience-guide/level-3-sail",
      "checked": "2026-10-27",
      "note": "Charter operator guide, not an official source.",
      "tier": "secondary"
    },
    {
      "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"
    }
  ],
  "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."
}