Anyone who goes boating at home wants to do the same on holiday. Whether their licence is valid here depends on where it was issued and on a specific list in Spain’s Official State Gazette.
A boat licence from another country is valid for hiring a Spanish boat if it was issued by the holder’s country of nationality or residence and that country belongs to the European Economic Area or appears in Annex IX of Royal Decree 875/2014. That annex lists Andorra, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, each with the qualifications it recognises.
With that licence you may handle a boat within the limits it sets: length, distance from the coast and, where relevant, hours. If the country is not on the list, the licence does not allow you to handle a Spanish-flagged boat, and since 1 October 2026 there are no hire boats that can be taken without a licence either. The alternative is a boat with a skipper, which requires none.
The third additional provision of Royal Decree 875/2014 allows Spanish recreational boats to be hired by anyone holding a valid recreational licence or certificate of competence, issued by their country of nationality or residence, provided that country belongs to the European Economic Area or is listed in Annex IX. That person handles the boat within the limits of their licence.
If the licence comes from the country of residence rather than nationality, you must be able to prove you lived there when it was issued, with any legally valid document. The same text also accepts anyone holding a valid professional qualification from a country that has signed the STCW Convention, never going beyond what that professional qualification allows.
Those of the European Economic Area, which are the European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and those listed in Annex IX: Andorra, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. For each country in the annex, the rules state which qualifications are recognised and with what limits on length and distance from the coast.
Two examples: from Canada, the Pleasure Craft Operator Card is recognised for recreational boats without limits, and Andorra’s basic navigation skipper licence allows boats of up to 7 metres no more than 3 miles from the coast and by day. If your country does not appear, your licence is not valid for handling a Spanish-flagged boat, even if at home it lets you sail without limits.
Those of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). Day Skipper allows boats of up to 24 metres no more than 12 miles from the coast; Coastal Skipper or Yachtmaster Coastal, up to 20 miles; Yachtmaster Offshore, up to 150 miles; and Yachtmaster Ocean, without limits. In all cases, power or sail according to the endorsement shown on the qualification.
Powerboat Level 2 allows motorboats of up to 10 metres no more than 5 miles from the coast. And the International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (ICC) is valid according to what the certificate itself states: up to 24 metres or up to 10 metres, with or without a limit of 12 or 5 miles. What appears on the document is what counts.
The one that falls within its limits. A Powerboat Level 2, for example, covers motorboats of up to 10 metres within 5 miles of the coast, so it is enough for the 4-metre boat and for the 6.6 to 6.9 metre motorboats, for up to 8 passengers. In Spain, those motorboats require at least the PNB and the small boat, the navigation licence.
The practical thing is to mention it when booking, by phone or by writing to info@alquilernautico.com, to confirm before the day whether the licence meets the rules. On the day of the trip the original is shown, because Royal Decree 875/2014 requires the licence to be carried on board whenever you go to sea. A photo on your phone is not enough.
There is always the trip with a skipper. On a boat with a skipper, the skipper steers, anchors and is responsible for safety, and nobody in the group needs a licence. From the Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola there are motorboats with a skipper and the dolphin-watching trip, of one to two hours; in Puerto Banús, the 12.2-metre sailing boat for 9 passengers and the fishing boats.
Since 1 October 2026 there are no hire boats in Spain that can be taken without a licence: Royal Decree 1188/2025 kept that exemption for private use only. Without a recognised licence, a skipper is the way to go out on a boat, and also the most comfortable for anyone who does not know this coast or where to anchor depending on the wind.
Without any licence you can ride a jet ski with an instructor inside a buoyed circuit, from the age of 18 and with a maximum of two people per jet ski. To go out without an instructor and outside the circuit you need a navigation licence or a higher qualification, in the original and with the rider’s identity document.
If your licence is from another country, the practical thing is to mention it when booking to confirm before the day whether it is valid for the jet ski. In any case, the life jacket is compulsory for both rider and passenger, it is included in the hire, and with a licence the jet ski is handed over with a full tank and returned the same way.
The passport or identity document of the person booking and, if someone is going to take the helm, their original licence. If the licence was issued by the country of residence, it is worth having something that proves it, because the rules require that residence to be shown at the time the licence was issued.
On boats without a skipper a deposit is left, which is returned in full. A life jacket for each person on board, the safety equipment checked before every trip and the insurance are included. The office is at unit 367 in the marina, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00.
If it is not here, call us: two minutes on the phone and it is sorted.
The United States is not listed in Annex IX of Royal Decree 875/2014 nor part of the European Economic Area, so its licence does not allow you to handle a Spanish boat. The option is a trip with a skipper.
Yes. Annex IX recognises it for boats of up to 24 metres no more than 12 miles from the coast, power or sail according to the endorsement.
No: since 1 October 2026 hiring a motorboat requires a licence. You can go out with a skipper or ride a jet ski with an instructor inside the buoyed circuit.
Leave us your number and we will call you. In July and August it is worth booking ahead.
Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola, local 367. You can drop in and see the boats before you book.
At no charge. Going out to see what happens is never worth it.
Life jackets for everyone on board, included in the price.
