Applicable legislation

The requirement for evidence of competence varies from country to country. Sometimes it is required for coastal waters, sometimes for inland waters, sometimes for neither and sometimes for both.

The law of the sea is frequently misunderstood, with many boaters believing that they can go wherever they wish abiding only by the rules of the country in which the boat is registered (the Flag State). 

When you visit another country, in most circumstances (as detailed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) you can be required to comply with the maritime legislation of the visited country (the Coastal State) in addition to that of your vessel’s Flag State.

You will need to have acceptable evidence of your competence if either the Flag State or the Coastal State legislation stipulates it (requirements may vary depending on the size and type of vessel and how it is used). 

Experiences differ greatly. Inconsistency from province to province and port to port means many boaters are never asked to provide evidence of their competence abroad. However, those that are asked and do not have a suitable document can find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.

Whether this is stipulated in the national legislation, required under local rules or the local port authority making unilateral decisions is often not clear. Querying the validity of such requests can make matters worse and to challenge the legality of a fine or other penalty would, in most cases, mean going to court abroad.

What do I need?

Whether evidence of competence is required and what form that should take will be determined by the Flag State of the boat you are operating and, if different, additionally by the Coastal State. You must comply with the legislation of both the vessel’s Flag State and the Coastal State. 

If your Flag State is the UK see our information on what is required for a Pleasure Vessel in the UK.

The onus is on you to determine what is acceptable. 

Using your ICC is sent with every ICC issued by the RYA. Together the with information later on this page, it will help you to understand how to determine whether a UK ICC issued by the RYA is likely to be acceptable for your intended activity.

Scope of RYA advice

The RYA's advice on where evidence of competence is necessary is intended for British recreational boaters operating UK registered Pleasure Vessels and is based both on what we understand the law to say and boaters' experiences in the country. The RYA generally recommends carrying the ICC as evidence of competence in other European countries, but you may find that other certificates are also acceptable.

What is the ICC?

The ICC (or to give it its full title International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft) is a certificate which is intended to provide evidence of competence when requested by officials in foreign countries. It was historically known as the International Certificate of Competence.

It is issued under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Inland Water Transport Resolution No. 40. The Resolution details how and to whom the ICC may be issued, the syllabus requirements and the layout of the certificate. The Resolution also lists the countries which have notified the UNECE Secretariat that they have accepted the resolution.

The UK Government has accepted Resolution No. 40 and has authorised the RYA to issue a UK ICC on its behalf. 

The origin and history of the ICC

The ICC was originally created to facilitate pleasure navigation along the length of the rivers Rhine and Danube.

The evidence of competence required, differed for each of the countries the rivers pass through, which caused difficulties. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Inland Water Transport sought to find a solution.

The rules surrounding the issue of the ICC were initially detailed in Resolutions 13 and 14, but it is Resolution No. 40, which was first adopted in October 1998, which now regulates the ICC.

Over time, the ICC has evolved into a document which enables boaters to evidence their competence when visiting both the inland waterways of Europe and European coastal waters.  

So what does the ICC do?

When you visit another country, in most circumstances (in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) you can be required to comply with the maritime legislation of the visited country (the Coastal State) in addition to that of your vessel’s country of registration (the Flag State).

The regulations for pleasure craft can vary considerably from one country to another and the regime for skipper training and licencing can be equally disparate; the ICC helps to overcome the difficulties these differences can cause.

An ICC issued by a contracting government to Resolution No. 40 indicates that the certificate holder has demonstrated the level of competence required by Resolution No. 40 for the certificate to be issued.

In other words it is an assurance from one government to another that the certificate holder is sufficiently competent to be operating a pleasure craft, despite not holding the visited country’s national certificate. 

Formal acceptance of the ICC

The ICC should be automatically accepted in countries which have adopted Resolution No. 40. However, of the 56 UNECE countries able to accept the resolution, the UK is one of only a handful which have fully adopted Resolution No. 40.

Many of the eligible countries have not accepted Resolution No. 40, some still apply Resolution 14 which Resolution No. 40 was intended to replace and others only apply Resolution No. 40 in part or with caveats attached.

Wider (informal) acceptance

The ICC is however a far more useful document than the Resolution’s formal acceptance would suggest.

Although acceptance of the ICC by the visited country should be because the visited country itself has adopted Resolution No. 40, the ICC is sometimes recognised as an acceptable certificate in the visited country’s national legislation and is quite often accepted on a purely informal basis. Spain, Greece and Portugal, for example, have not adopted Resolution No. 40 but are still likely to ask visitors for an ICC.

The ICC may be acceptable for visiting foreign flagged vessels, foreign flagged vessels being kept in the Coastal State and/or vessels flagged in the Coastal State. It should never be assumed that the ICC will be accepted as an alternative to the national qualification of the vessel's flag state. The onus is on ICC holders to determine its acceptability by foreign states, as the ICC was never intended to be an alternative to individual national qualification requirements.

What does the ICC not do?

The validity of the ICC is frequently misunderstood. The ICC is not the boating equivalent of the EU driving licence for road vehicles, which all EU member states are obliged to accept.

The ICC’s validity is in fact determined by the visited country, so it is not a truly international qualification. It is nevertheless a valuable document when boating abroad as the ICC is the only international evidence of competence that exists for pleasure boaters in Europe.

Some countries may accept the ICC as an alternative to their national qualification on their nationally flagged vessels, but this should never be assumed, as the ICC was never intended to be an alternative to Flag State qualification requirements.

With the exception of certificates where the power category is restricted to vessels up to 10m length overall, an ICC does not state the maximum size of vessel the certificate is valid for. Such limits vary from country to country and are determined by the country in which the certificate is being used.

The RYA is frequently asked how far offshore the ICC is valid. On the high seas or in UK territorial waters the applicable legislation for a UK flagged boat is the UK Merchant Shipping Regulations. This legislation does not require the skipper of a pleasure vessel to have an ICC, therefore the UK ICC issued by the RYA only becomes relevant within the territorial or internal waters of another country, and the visited country determines the ICC’s validity.

If the sail “including auxiliary engine” category is validated on an ICC this indicates that the certificate holder’s competence has been verified for a vessel where the primary means of propulsion is sail. Competence to use the sailing vessel under the power of its secondary means of propulsion, its engine, has also been verified. The intention is that the sail category alone demonstrates competence for a sailing yacht with an auxiliary engine. The RYA’s view is that if your competence for a sailing vessel with auxiliary engine has been demonstrated, and this remains the case even if the mast is down; accordingly the RYA doesn’t think it is necessary to have an ICC valid for power in order to take a sailing yacht with the mast down on the inland waterways of Europe. However, when doing so you will be under the jurisdiction of the visited country and it is their interpretation of the ICC’s validity which prevails.

Restrictions imposed by the visited country on the validity of the ICC most commonly relate to the size of the boat. But the visited country could also restrict how far offshore you can venture, the type of boat you can use or could decline to accept the ICC altogether. Such restrictions are most likely to apply to smaller boats especially open boats and boats that are kept in a foreign port or are launched from foreign shores. Owners should check the local regulations before launching.

Restrictions may also apply when chartering abroad and charterers should consult the charter boat provider for advice.

The national legislation of a country provides a good indication of whether restrictions are likely (and together with local regulations would ultimately determine what restrictions can be imposed and the possible penalties for non-compliance).

The fact that you are eligible to receive a UK ICC issued by the RYA does not mean that it will be acceptable to the Flag State of the boat you own, use or hire and it does not mean that it will be accepted as evidence of competence in the country in which you plan to go boating.

It is up to you to make the necessary enquiries to ensure the UK ICC issued by the RYA is the correct document specific to your circumstances. 

The ICC cannot be commercially endorsed and should never be used as evidence of competence for commercial activities.

The ICC issued by the RYA is issued on behalf of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA); it does not entitle you to any other certificate (in the UK or abroad).

Where might the ICC be accepted?

Acceptance of the ICC by the visited country should be because the visited country itself has accepted Resolution No. 40. However, as the UK is one of only a few countries which have fully accepted Resolution No. 40 this is quite often not the case. The ICC may also be recognised as acceptable evidence of competence in the visited country’s national legislation or it may be accepted on a purely informal basis.

Acceptance of the ICC is determined in accordance with both the vessel’s Flag State legislation and that of the visited country. It is essential that holders of the ICC check that no further evidence of competence is required either by the Flag State or by the country in which the boat is being used (the Coastal State).

The size of boat your ICC is acceptable for also varies from country to country and this is again determined by the authorities of the visited country.

The onus is on ICC holders to determine its acceptability.

In very general terms an ICC is recommended for the inland waterways of Europe and for inland and coastal waters of Mediterranean countries. For the coastal waters of Northern Europe the ICC is generally not required, however to all of these generalisations there are exceptions. 

The information in the table applies to UK flagged Pleasure Vessels which arrive in the waters of another country by water. There may also be regional or local requirements determined by the responsible authority (e.g. for a region, port, lake or river).  Additional or different requirements may apply to boats that are being launched from foreign shores - check the local regulations before launching as site specific rules may apply. Different rules apply when chartering abroad.