Spain: navigation zones, required equipment and documents

The lesson in plain words

1. Registration
   • A recreational boat is registered on list 7 (private use) or list 6 (commercial use, such as charter).
   • A registered boat receives the Certificado de Registro Español–Permiso de Navegación, which you renew every five years.
   • If it expires, the boat may not sail.
   • The registration mark goes on both bows, light on a dark hull and dark on a light hull.
2. CE boats up to 12 m
   • A CE-marked boat up to 12 m (except high-speed craft) need not be flagged and registered in full.
   • It gets a certificado de inscripción instead, with its number on both bows.
   • Such a boat may sail only in the Spanish territorial sea and within its design category.
   • The owner can still choose full registration.
3. Inspections
   • The certificado de navegabilidad (seaworthiness certificate) records the boat's inspections.
   • List 7 boats of 6 m or more are inspected at least every five years by an authorised inspection body.
   • Boats under 6 m on list 7 are exempt from periodic inspection; their certificate reads «sin caducidad» (no expiry).
   • For boats using simplified inscription, the certificado de inscripción replaces this certificate and records the inspections.
4. Compulsory insurance
   • Real Decreto 607/1999 requires third-party insurance for every motor boat, jet skis included, and for unpowered craft over 6 m.
   • Minimum cover for injury is €120,202.42 per victim and €240,404.84 per accident.
   • Property damage is covered to €96,161.94. Keep the proof on board.
   • If you cannot show it, you have five working days to prove the cover.
   • Foreign boats entering a Spanish port need the same cover.
5. Other papers
   • In zones 1–3 a boat with a radio needs a ship station licence (LEB).
   • In zones 4–7 the licence is not needed, but a fixed DSC radio or an EPIRB still needs an MMSI (the boat's radio identity number).
   • The skipper carries the licence card at sea.
   • For foreign-flag documents, see Foreign waters.

Key data

Key points

• List 7 is private use, list 6 commercial use; renew the registration certificate every 5 years.
• CE boats up to 12 m may use a simpler certificado de inscripción, valid in Spanish territorial waters only.
• List 7 boats of 6 m or more need a periodic inspection at least every 5 years.
• Motor boats, including jet skis, and unpowered boats over 6 m need third-party insurance.

Check what you have read

True or false?

Practice case & exam keys

Exam keys

1. 1Registration lists: 7 = private recreation, 6 = commercial; certificate renewed every 5 years.
2. 2CE boats ≤ 12 m: certificado de inscripción, Spanish territorial sea only.
3. 3Periodic inspection every 5 years max for list 7 boats ≥ 6 m; under 6 m «sin caducidad».
4. 4Compulsory insurance: motor craft incl. jet skis, and unpowered craft over 6 m (RD 607/1999).