Decide
An adult rents a 4.5 m, 15 hp motorboat in November 2026 for a daytime trip within 2 NM of shelter. What is the minimum qualification?
The lesson in plain words
- The licence exemption changed
- Since 1 October 2026, Real Decreto 1188/2025 has narrowed the rule.
- You may skipper without a qualification only a motorboat up to 5 m and 15 hp for private use, without a power-reducing device, or a sailing boat up to 6 m for sport use.
- Stay by day, within 2 NM of the port, marina or beach you left from.
- You must be 18. Jet skis are excluded.
- Renting one of these boats now needs the matching qualification.
- The ladder
- The Licencia de Navegación requires training, no exam.
- It covers boats up to 6 m and jet skis, by day, within 2 NM of shelter.
- The Patrón para Navegación Básica (PNB) covers motorboats up to 8 m within 5 NM of shelter.
- The Patrón de Embarcaciones de Recreo (PER) covers motorboats up to 15 m within 12 NM of the coast, plus inter-island trips in the Balearics and Canaries.
- Higher qualifications
- Patrón de Yate (PY) and Capitán de Yate (CY) both cover motorboats up to 24 m.
- PY allows trips up to 150 NM from the coast. CY has no distance limit.
- Sail and extensions
- PNB, PER, Patrón de Yate and Capitán de Yate cover motorboats; sail needs extra sailing practice.
- With extra navigation practice, the PER covers motorboats up to 24 m and the crossing between the mainland and the Balearic Islands.
- You may start with the licence, PNB or PER.
- Patrón de Yate needs the PER, and Capitán de Yate needs Patrón de Yate.
- Age and card
- The minimum age is 18, or 16 for the Licencia de Navegación and PNB with written parental consent. Carry the card at sea.
- Qualifications never expire, but the card is renewed every 10 years, every 5 years from age 70. The full comparison with other countries is on the boating-licence page.
Key data
- Licence exemption (since 1 Oct 2026)
- Motor ≤ 5 m and 15 hp (private) or sail ≤ 6 m; day; 2 NM
- Licencia de Navegación
- ≤ 6 m and jet skis; day; 2 NM from shelter
- PNB
- ≤ 8 m; 5 NM from a port, marina or shelter
- PER
- ≤ 15 m; 12 NM from coast; inter-island Balearics and Canaries
- Patrón / Capitán de Yate
- Both ≤ 24 m; PY 150 NM from coast; CY no distance limit
- Card renewal
- Every 10 years; every 5 years from age 70
Key points
- Since 1 Oct 2026 (RD 1188/2025) the licence exemption is for private motor use and sport sail only.
- Licence exemption: motor ≤ 5 m and 15 hp or sail ≤ 6 m, by day, within 2 NM of where you left, age 18.
- Hiring a small motorboat now needs the appropriate qualification. Jet skis are outside the licence exemption.
- PNB: 8 m / 5 NM from shelter; PER: 15 m / 12 NM from coast; PY: 24 m / 150 NM from coast; CY: 24 m, unlimited distance.
Check what you have read
Assume daylight, routes within 2 NM of departure, and motors without power reducers. Which person may skipper without a qualification?
True or false?
Decide each statement before you see the answer.
The PNB limit of 5 NM is measured from the coastline.
Licence exemption: motor ≤ 5 m and 15 hp or sail ≤ 6 m, by day, within 2 NM of where you left, age 18.
A Licencia de Navegación never allows jet skis.
PNB: 8 m / 5 NM from shelter; PER: 15 m / 12 NM from coast; PY: 24 m / 150 NM from coast; CY: 24 m, unlimited distance.
Hiring a small motorboat now needs the appropriate qualification. Jet skis are outside the licence exemption.
Tourists can still hire a 15 hp boat without any qualification.
Practice case & exam keys
Situation
Your 30-year-old friend has no qualification. He owns a 4.5 m boat with a 15 hp outboard and no power reducer. At midday, he wants to take his family to a point 3 NM in a straight line from his departure beach. Next week he plans to rent a similar boat. What may he do?
Show the answer
By day, he may skipper his own boat without a qualification within 2 NM of the departure beach. His planned point is 3 NM away, so he must choose a closer destination. For the hired boat, the exemption no longer applies since 1 October 2026. He needs at least the Licencia de Navegación, which covers boats up to 6 m by day within 2 NM of shelter.
Exam keys
- Licence exemption: motor ≤ 5 m and 15 hp private use, or sail ≤ 6 m sport use; day; 2 NM from departure point; age 18; no jet skis.
- Since 1 Oct 2026 renting such a boat needs a qualification (RD 1188/2025).
- PNB: 8 m / 5 NM from shelter; PER: 15 m / 12 NM from coast; PY: 24 m / 150 NM from coast; CY: 24 m, unlimited distance.
- Age 18; 16 for Licencia de Navegación and PNB with parental consent.