Boat licence by country: do you need a licence to charter a yacht or catamaran?
Bareboat licence rules for 10 destinations: ICC, RYA, ASA, VHF radio, second crew and licence-free options, from official sources, checked 28 Oct 2026.
Licence required
Croatia, Italy, Balearics, Turkey
Official texts; Greece: secondary sources only
No legal title
French Polynesia
Sailing craft, official arrêté
Résumé
BVI, Bahamas, Thailand
Secondary sources; no official text found
Checked
28 Oct 2026
10 destinations
It depends on the country: in Croatia, Italy, the Balearics and Turkey official texts require a licence or recognised certificate for a bareboat skipper, in Greece charter companies and the RYA say so but we found no Greek text, in French Polynesia the official rules need no title for sailing boats, and in the BVI, the Bahamas and Thailand we found no legal licence, only a sailing résumé asked for by operators (secondary sources). The ICC (International Certificate of Competence) is the one certificate most often named, but the RYA says it is not accepted everywhere, and in Belize we could not confirm what visitors need.
Checked 28 Oct 2026. Each fact links to its source and is labelled official, secondary or not verified on the destination page. The one-line summaries are ours. Rules change and charter companies can be stricter than the law: confirm with your operator.
Do I need a licence to charter a boat? Every destination compared
| Destination | Licence needed? | VHF / SRC radio | Second crew | Licence-free option | Rests on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | Yes: a recognised certificate (ICC, RYA, ASA…) | Radio certificate if the boat has a VHF (official); Anchor says Short Range Certificate (secondary) | Not verified | Not verified | official sources |
| Greece | Yes in practice; ICC safest (secondary sources only) | Not verified | Competent co-skipper over 18 (secondary) | Not verified | secondary sources only (no official text found) |
| Italy | Yes for charter-size boats; licence-free only for small engines | Short Range Certificate on board (secondary); official rule not verified | Not verified | Within 6 nm with a small engine (official) | official and secondary sources |
| Balearic Islands | Yes; UK certificates disputed | Not verified for visitors | Not verified | Motor boats up to 5 m, sail up to 6 m, within 2 nm (official) | official and secondary sources |
| Turkey | Yes: one renter needs a sufficient licence | Not verified | Not verified; 12-passenger limit | Not verified | official and secondary sources |
| French Polynesia | No legal title for sailing craft; operators may ask | Not verified | Not verified | Sailing craft need no title (official) | official and secondary sources |
| British Virgin Islands | No legal licence found; sailing résumé | Usually not, for Caribbean rentals (secondary) | At least one competent crew member (secondary) | Not verified | secondary sources only (no official text found) |
| Bahamas | Résumé by law (secondary); some operators want a certificate | Usually not, for Caribbean rentals (secondary) | At least one competent crew member (secondary) | Not verified | secondary sources only (no official text found) |
| Thailand | Résumé; no official text found | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | secondary sources only (no official text found) |
| Belize | Master's certificate rule; visitors not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | official and secondary sources |
Click a destination for the accepted certificates, the VHF and crew rules, the alternatives and every source. "Not verified" means we could not confirm it from any source we could open; we do not guess.
Which certificates are accepted, country by country
| Destination | ICC | RYA Day Skipper | RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster | ASA 104 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croatia | Accepted within limits (official) | Accepted within limits (official) | Accepted within limits (official) | Accepted within limits (official) |
| Greece | Accepted (secondary) | Disputed (secondary) | Accepted (secondary) | Accepted (secondary) |
| Italy | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) |
| Balearic Islands | Disputed (official) | Not listed (official) | Disputed (official) | Not listed (official) |
| Turkey | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) |
| French Polynesia | No title needed (official) | No title needed (official) | No title needed (official) | No title needed (official) |
| British Virgin Islands | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) |
| Bahamas | Disputed (secondary) | Disputed (secondary) | Disputed (secondary) | Disputed (secondary) |
| Thailand | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) | Not defined (secondary) |
| Belize | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) | Not defined (official) |
Verdicts come from the texts named in each cell's status: official is a government or ministry text, secondary a charter company or marketplace. The matrix is a summary; the destination pages hold the limits (boat size, distance from the coast, radio condition). Where no certificate is named, the text does not list certificates or none is legally required.
What the ICC is, and what it is not
[Secondary source] 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. (RYA) In practice, the RYA marks evidence of competence as essential in Croatia, required in Spain and Turkey and recommended in Greece and coastal Italy (RYA, checked 28 Oct 2026). For the certificates themselves and how to get one, see sailing licence requirements.
Three traps
- Croatia: the radio condition. The ministry's table accepts the RYA, ASA and NauticEd certificates only if the holder also has a radio-operator certificate when the boat has a VHF (Croatia).
- Greece and the Balearics: disputed certificates. Anchor says Greek port police no longer accept the RYA Day Skipper, yet its own summary still lists it; Spain's annex IX lists UK certificates, but the RYA says they stopped being accepted for Spanish-flagged boats in 2021 (Greece, Balearics).
- Bahamas: law or company policy? Anchor says no licence is required by law; 12 Knots says some Bahamas companies require a certificate; The Moorings lists formal certification (Bahamas).
No licence? Hire a skipper
A skipper costs €150–300 per day (The Globe Sailor, checked 28 Oct 2026), so seven days adds €1,050–2,100 (our arithmetic: 7 × the listed daily rate). Licence-free boats exist only for small craft: official texts in Italy, Spain and French Polynesia set their limits (Italy, Balearics, French Polynesia). More: bareboat vs skippered.
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Sources
The authority behind each destination (full lists on each page):
- Croatia: Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure (MMPI): Recognised certificates for operating boats and yachts (table, May 2026 version) (checked 28 Oct 2026); Croatian Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure (MMPI): Nautics: chartering and foreign-flagged vessels (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Italy: Normattiva (Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers): D.lgs. 171/2005, Codice della nautica da diporto, art. 39 (Patente nautica) (checked 28 Oct 2026); Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT): Decreto interministeriale 146 of 29/07/2008, art. 34 (command of pleasure craft by foreigners) (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Balearic Islands: BOE (Spanish Official State Gazette): Real Decreto 875/2014 on nautical licences for recreational craft, consolidated text (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Turkey: Turkish Official Legislation Information System (mevzuat.gov.tr): Deniz Turizmi Yönetmeliği (Maritime Tourism Regulation), art. 34, consolidated text (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- French Polynesia: DPAM, Government of French Polynesia: Arrêté n° 668 AM of 8 July 1993 on the conduct of motor pleasure craft (consolidated) (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Belize: Belize Port Authority: Certificate of Competency (Master's License) (checked 28 Oct 2026)
- Greece, BVI, Bahamas, Thailand: no official text found; secondary sources (Anchor (formerly Helm), Island Sailing, 12 Knots, The Moorings) and the RYA.
Method: methodology. Data: JSON.
How to read the labels
- [Secondary source]: 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.
- No label: Read in an official text (government, ministry, maritime authority or official gazette).
"Accepted within limits" means the official table accepts the certificate only for a boat size, area or radio condition stated in it. "Not defined" means the official text does not list certificates by name. Rules change and charter companies can be stricter than the law: always confirm with your operator before you travel.
Licence rules by destination
Croatia · Greece · Italy · Balearic Islands · Turkey · French Polynesia · British Virgin Islands · Bahamas · Thailand · Belize
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to charter a boat abroad?
It depends on the country: in Croatia, Italy, the Balearics and Turkey official texts require a licence or recognised certificate for a bareboat skipper, in Greece charter companies and the RYA say so but we found no Greek text, in French Polynesia the official rules need no title for sailing boats, and in the BVI, the Bahamas and Thailand we found no legal licence, only a sailing résumé asked for by operators (secondary sources). The ICC (International Certificate of Competence) is the one certificate most often named, but the RYA says it is not accepted everywhere, and in Belize we could not confirm what visitors need.
Is the ICC accepted everywhere?
No. 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. Croatia accepts an ICC marked valid for "Coastal waters" for bareboat-chartered Croatian-flag boats; for Greece, Spain and Turkey the RYA marks it recommended or required.
Can I charter a boat without a licence?
Yes, in two ways: hire a skipper, or use a small licence-free boat where the law allows it (Italy, Spain and French Polynesia set limits in official texts). In the BVI, the Bahamas and Thailand we found no legal licence, only a sailing résumé asked for by operators (secondary sources); in French Polynesia the official rules need no title for sailing boats.