Yacht intelligence
Bareboat licence requirements by country: a broker's qualification checklist
Licence rules come from the yacht's flag and the waters it sails in. Qualify the skipper and the yacht together, before an option turns into a contract.
Key takeaways
- A skipper certificate is only valid within its own limits: sail or power, coastal or inland, length or tonnage, distance from shore. Match those limits to the actual yacht, not to "a 45-foot catamaran".
- The ICC is a UNECE format, not a worldwide licence. Greece, Spain, Italy, France and Turkey each accept foreign certificates on their own terms.
- Nationality and residence can matter as much as the certificate. Spain, for example, ties a foreign title to the holder's country of nationality or residence.
- Collect the client's documents at enquiry stage and send the operator one written question per yacht. Keep the answer with the booking.
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Why the licence check belongs at enquiry stage
A bareboat booking can fail at the base even when the yacht is right, the dates are free and the deposit is paid. The usual cause is simple: the client's certificate does not cover the boat, the waters or the person. The RYA says that a skipper must meet the competence rules of the coastal state as well as those of the flag state, and that each country decides whether an ICC is valid in its waters. It also warns that people have found out shortly before a Croatian charter that their certificate did not cover the size and tonnage of the boat they had booked.
For a broker that is a commercial risk, not only a compliance one. If the skipper fails the check, the fix is a paid skipper, a smaller yacht or a cancelled week, and the conversation happens after money has moved. The check takes ten minutes when you do it before you hold the boat. See how brokers evaluate a charter yacht for the wider pre-offer review this step belongs to.
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The ICC in one paragraph
The International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (ICC) is issued under UNECE Resolution No. 40. UNECE lists 22 member states that apply the resolution, among them Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Greece, Spain, Italy, France and Turkey are not on that list. The RYA's own guidance says it is not only Resolution 40 countries that may ask a visitor for an ICC, and that Spain and Greece are two examples. In practice the ICC is widely recognised, but each country still decides what it covers. Read the category on the card (sail or power, coastal or inland) as carefully as the name.
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Country comparison for bareboat clients
Checked 10 November 2026 against the sources listed at the end. Rules change, and the operator's contract can be stricter than the law, so treat every row as the question to ask, not the final answer.
| Country | What the official text or authority says | What the skipper must show | Broker trap to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Law 4926/2022 defines the skipper (κυβερνήτης) of a professional pleasure yacht without a crew requirement as the person who holds the evidence of competence set by ministerial decision. Ministerial Decision 3342/02/2004 lists Greek titles and allows a certificate issued or officially recognised by a foreign state authority, a nautical or sailing club, or a foreign sailing school. | A recognised certificate for sail or motor, as the yacht requires. A certificate from outside the EU must come with a Greek or English translation. The decision bars a skipper from commanding a yacht outside the limits of their certificate. | The RYA says Greek legislation requires foreign-licence holders to carry a consulate letter and a Greek translation, and encourages UK ICC holders to carry the consulate's free informative note. Ask the operator which documents the port authority at your base expects. Some operators also ask for a second crew member with sailing experience; we did not verify that as a rule in the texts cited here, so get the operator's exact wording. |
| Croatia | The Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure publishes a table of foreign certificates recognised for Croatian-flagged boats and yachts. ICCs issued under Resolution 40 are accepted for bareboat-chartered Croatian-flag boats if they are marked valid for "Coastal waters" and all their limits are respected. | A certificate on the ministry's list, used within its stated limits (length or gross tonnage, navigation area). Most entries add a condition: a national or foreign radio certificate when the boat has a VHF or GMDSS-VHF station. | The limit is per certificate. Example: the list recognises ASA Bareboat Chartering for bareboat-chartered yachts up to 18 m within Croatian internal waters and territorial sea. A 20 m yacht needs a different certificate. Ask who on board holds the radio certificate. |
| Italy | Article 39 of the Code of Recreational Boating (D.Lgs. 171/2005) makes a nautical licence compulsory for craft up to 24 m navigating more than six miles from the coast, and within six miles when the engine exceeds 30 kW (40.8 CV) or the listed displacement limits. Above 24 m a licence for a "nave da diporto" is required. | A licence-level qualification for most charter yachts, depending on engine power and planned distance from shore. | Engine power is often missing from a brochure. Get it from the spec sheet, then ask the operator in writing which foreign certificates it accepts for that yacht and that area. |
| Spain | Royal Decree 875/2014, third additional provision: Spanish recreational boats may be hired to a person with a valid recreational title or certificate, used within its limits, issued by their country of nationality or residence, if that country is in the EEA or listed in Annex IX. A valid STCW professional title is also accepted. | A title from an EEA country, or from an Annex IX country, held by a national or resident of that country. Annex IX (consolidated text updated 30 Dec 2025) covers titles from Andorra, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Canada, Switzerland and the UK (RYA). | Nationality and residence matter, not only the certificate. The RYA lists which UK certificates Spain recognises for Spanish-flagged bareboat charter, with length and distance limits (an ICC for sail and coastal waters: up to 24 m, within 12 miles). For a client outside those groups, ask the operator before you hold the yacht. |
| France | France's maritime ministry says that driving a sailing vessel at sea does not require a licence, and that a licence is compulsory for a motor pleasure boat whose engine exceeds 4.5 kW (6 hp). On rivers and canals a sailing boat with an engine above 4.5 kW also needs an inland-waters licence. | For motor yachts: a French licence, or a foreign title within the rules of the 6 July 2011 order on foreign titles. For sailing yachts at sea: no legal licence, but the operator sets its own experience check. | "No licence required" is not "no check". Ask for the operator's experience requirement in writing. Inland hire is a different product: see France charter boats for agencies. |
| Turkey | The Regulation on the equipment of private boats and the qualifications of their users (Official Gazette No. 33140, 17 Jan 2026), article 14: bareboat-chartered boats certified under tourism legislation may be operated by a certificate holder within the length limit on their certificate. Foreign nationals in Turkey may use them within the powers of a certificate from another country. | A certificate whose stated length limit covers the yacht. | Port authorities may ask the issuing body to verify a foreign certificate and may withhold its use until it is confirmed. Make sure the certificate is verifiable online or by e-mail, and that the client travels with the original. |
| British Virgin Islands | We did not find an official BVI text that sets a licence for a bareboat charterer. Noonsite notes that Caribbean countries do not generally ask for evidence of competence. The BVI government's CRVL notice covers vessel licences and cruising permits, which are an operator matter. | No legal certificate identified. The operator decides, usually on the client's sailing experience. | Ask for the operator's experience form early, and see Caribbean charter yachts for brokers for the permit questions. |
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The client-qualification checklist
Collect these from the client before you place an option. Each line maps to a rule in the table above.
The skipper
- Full name, nationality and country of residence (Spain links the title to both).
- Certificate name, issuing body, number and expiry date. Ask for a scan of both sides.
- Category on the certificate: sail, power or both; coastal, inland or offshore.
- Limits printed on it: length, gross tonnage, distance from shore or navigation area.
- Radio certificate (SRC or equivalent), and who on board holds it (Croatia makes it a condition for most foreign certificates).
- Translation, if the certificate is not in Greek or English and the charter is in Greece. Check whether the operator wants more.
- A short sailing résumé: recent seasons, areas, boat sizes, role on board. Many operators ask for one even where the law does not.
The second crew member
- Name and sailing experience, and whether the operator wants a signed statement or a certificate.
The yacht
- Flag state. The flag decides which national rule applies, and it can differ from the cruising area.
- Length overall and gross tonnage, from the operator's documents.
- Engine power in kW (Italy and France use power thresholds).
- Maximum number of guests for bareboat use, and the planned area and distance from shore.
The answer
- The operator's written confirmation that this skipper may take this yacht bareboat on these dates, saved with the booking.
Use the yacht's availability status in the same message, so the operator confirms both in one reply.
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Worked example: one client, two destinations
A client who is a US national living in the United States wants a 14 m sailing catamaran for a week in July. The skipper holds the ASA bareboat certificate that the Croatian ministry's list names "Bareboat Chartering (ASA)". A friend on the crew holds a radio certificate.
Croatia. The ministry's list includes ASA Bareboat Chartering (with the US Sailing equivalents) for bareboat-chartered yachts up to 18 m in Croatian internal waters and territorial sea, on condition of a radio certificate when the yacht has a VHF station. A 14 m catamaran is inside that limit and the radio condition is met by the friend. Check that the title on the client's card matches the list entry exactly. Next step: confirm the yacht's flag is Croatian, then send the operator the certificate scan and the question below.
Mallorca. If the catamaran is Spanish-flagged, Royal Decree 875/2014 asks for a title from the client's country of nationality or residence, in the EEA or listed in Annex IX. The United States is not in the Annex IX text we read. The client may still be able to sail, but the route is not obvious from the decree. Ask the operator before you hold the yacht, and price a skippered alternative in the same proposal. Use the Spain and Balearics sourcing hub to compare bases.
The difference is not the yacht or the sailor. It is where the yacht is registered and how the destination treats a foreign certificate.
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The one-paragraph question to send the operator
Send one message per yacht, from your own system, and keep the reply on file:
We have a bareboat enquiry for [yacht name, length, flag] from [base], [dates]. The skipper is a [nationality] national resident in [country] and holds [certificate, issuing body, category and limits; scan attached]. [Name] holds [radio certificate]. Please confirm in writing that this skipper may take this yacht bareboat in [cruising area], and tell us any extra requirement: second crew member, experience form, translation or local document.
Ask for the reply from the person who controls the contract, which for many yachts is the central agent.
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When the answer is no
- Add a skipper. The yacht and dates stay the same; the cost and the cabin plan change.
- Change the yacht. A shorter boat, a different engine or a different flag can fall inside the certificate's limits.
- Change the destination. The Mediterranean planning guide helps you rebuild the week around a different cruising ground.
- Upgrade the certificate. Only if there is time. The RYA warns that ICC processing can take a month or two in summer.
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Where Private Charter fits
Private Charter is a professional catalogue and workflow for brokers and central agents. It is not an operator, a central agent or a licensing authority, and it does not decide whether a skipper may take a yacht. Use a yacht's profile on Private Charter to start from its recorded length, category and base. Confirm the flag, gross tonnage, engine power and the operator's licence policy with the yacht's representative before you offer the week. Broker access explains how to search and shortlist.
Sources and further reading
All checked 10 November 2026.
- 1.ICC Resolution No. 40 (countries applying the resolution) UNECE
- 2.International Certificates for Operator of Pleasure Craft (Res. No. 40) UNECE
- 3.ICC: what, where, why and how RYA
- 4.Evidence of competence abroad (including chartering abroad) RYA
- 5.Croatia country advice RYA
- 6.Greece country advice RYA
- 7.Spain country advice (Spanish-flagged vessels and bareboat charter) RYA
- 8.Recognised foreign certificates for Croatian-flag boats and yachts (table, English) Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
- 9.Law 4926/2022, article 1 (definitions, κυβερνήτης), as reproduced by e-forologia Greece
- 10.Ministerial Decision 3342/02/2004 (ΦΕΚ Β' 478/2004), skipper qualifications, as reproduced by DSA Greece
- 11.D.Lgs. 171/2005 (Code of Recreational Boating), article 39, as reproduced by Brocardi (updated 8 Aug 2026) Italy
- 12.Real Decreto 875/2014, consolidated text (BOE, last update 30 Dec 2025), third additional provision and Annex IX Spain
- 13.Le permis plaisance (updated 17 Apr 2026) France, Ministère chargé de la mer
- 14.Driving a French motor pleasure boat with a foreign title (arrêté of 6 July 2011) France, DRIEAT Île-de-France
- 15.Resmî Gazete No. 33140 (17 Jan 2026), Regulation on the equipment of private boats and the qualifications of their users, articles 14-15 Turkey
- 16.Obtaining an International Certificate of Competence (ICC) Noonsite
- 17.CRVL portal for vessel licences and cruising permits (already cited on the Caribbean hub) Government of the Virgin Islands
This guide summarises public rules for professional planning. It is not legal advice. The operator and the competent authority have the final word.