Riding a jet ski without a licence is legal in one very specific case. The rule that allows it changed in December 2025 and sets who, how many and where.
To ride a jet ski without a licence in Spain you must hire it by the hour from an authorised company, go with an instructor and stay inside a buoyed circuit. It is regulated by Royal Decree 259/2002, amended in December 2025: each instructor watches a maximum of four jet skis and each jet ski carries a maximum of two people. At Alquiler Náutico, riders must be 18.
Before setting off, an instructor explains how to handle the jet ski and the basic rules of navigation, and the company records the identity of everyone who gets on. The life jacket is worn throughout the slot, the kill cord is attached to the rider and riding is only allowed by day. Anyone with a navigation licence or a higher qualification can go out without an instructor and outside the circuit.
Because the law provides for one specific case. Royal Decree 259/2002 distinguishes private use, daily hire and hourly hire, and only in the last one, in a circuit or on a group excursion with an instructor, does it allow the user to have no qualification. That is the legal basis for any jet ski slot without a licence.
Jet skis are not covered by the exemptions in article 10 of Royal Decree 875/2014, the rule that since 1 October 2026 requires a licence to hire any motorboat. That is why the slot with an instructor remains open to anyone without a licence, while handling a hired boat now requires at least the navigation licence.
A stretch of sea marked out by at least four buoys, whose size, position and distance from shore are set by the Maritime Authority according to the coastline, prevailing weather, currents and safety. Jet skis without a licence ride only inside those buoys, all in the same direction and at least 50 metres apart from each other.
The instructor supervises the riders from outside the circuit, from a floating base, a boat, a platform or a jet ski, and whatever is used for that supervision is put in place after sunrise and removed before sunset. If two companies operate in the same area, their circuits must be at least one mile apart.
Since 31 December 2025, each instructor supervises a maximum of four jet skis, and each jet ski carries a maximum of two users, except those whose technical specification allows only one. Previously the rule spoke of four users per instructor and caused confusion; Royal Decree 1188/2025 set it at four jet skis and fixed the limit of people per jet ski.
In practice, an instructor watches eight people at most, and the company must have at least two instructors. Even if a jet ski has three seats, two people ride in the slot without a licence: the rider and a passenger. If there are three of you, the practical answer is to take two jet skis or to take turns while the others wait at the marina.
Royal Decree 259/2002 sets 18 as the age for riding a jet ski in any form of use, with one exception: from 16, a minor may ride one with the consent of their parents or guardians, signed in a document together with a photocopy of their identity card or passport, which the minor must be able to show at all times.
At Alquiler Náutico riders must be 18, and minors go as passengers behind an adult, with a life jacket in their size. When booking, give the age of each person: with that information it is clear who rides, who sits behind and which life jacket each person getting on the jet ski needs.
The rules require a prior briefing, given by an instructor, on handling the jet ski and the basic rules of navigation, in an area where nobody will feel unwell from the movement of the sea. It must last as long as needed for those on board to understand how to ride and how to navigate safely, and it is given to everyone who gets on, including the passenger.
The company also keeps a record, available to the Maritime Authority, with the identity and qualifications of the instructors and of every user on each jet ski, which jet ski is hired and for how long. That is why it is worth bringing the identity card or passport of each person who will get on, whether rider or passenger.
A life jacket, worn by both the rider and the passenger. The rules require 100 newtons of buoyancy and a whistle, and for hire in a circuit they allow a 50-newton buoyancy aid, also with a whistle. The life jacket is included in the slot, and the kill cord is attached to the rider before starting the engine.
Jet skis only go out in good visibility and good weather, between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. The power of jet skis hired in a circuit is limited to 60 hp. And the harbour master can change areas and times, or temporarily ban riding, if the state of the sea makes it advisable.
With a navigation licence or a higher qualification, hourly hire is treated like daily hire: the jet ski can leave the circuit and go out without an instructor. In return, the rider is responsible for keeping distances: never inside buoyed swimming areas and, where there are no buoys, outside the 200-metre strip from the beach.
The jet ski leaves from the Puerto Deportivo de Fuengirola. To approach a beach or move away from it you use the buoyed channels at no more than 3 knots, and you must stay 50 metres from other jet skis, floating craft and boats. Jet skis hired with a licence are handed over with a full tank and returned the same way, and the original licence is shown together with an identity document.
If it is not here, call us: two minutes on the phone and it is sorted.
Two at most, the rider and a passenger, even if the jet ski has three seats. Royal Decree 259/2002 has set this since it was amended in December 2025.
The law allows it with the signed consent of the parents. At Alquiler Náutico riders must be 18 and minors go as passengers.
No. Without a licence, the jet ski stays inside the buoys. To ride outside you need a navigation licence or a higher qualification, in the original.
It is worth bringing the identity card or passport of everyone getting on, because the company records the identity of each user. Anyone with a licence shows the original.
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.
