Boat Driving Licence

The speed at which a boat is driven determines whether a person needs to be licensed.

Any person who is the master of a powered vessel operating recreationally on NSW waters at a speed of 10 knots (18.5kph) or more must have a boat driving licence.

Ten knots is the speed at which most accelerating boats will start to plane – that is rise up and skim on top of the water instead of ploughing through it.

The exception is that anyone who drives a personal watercraft (PWC) at ANY speed must have a PWC Licence.

Types of Licence

General Boat Licence

A licence for people aged 16 years and over to drive a powered vessel at 10 knots or more (excluding a PWC).

Young Adult General Licence

A restricted licence for those aged from 12 to under 16 years. A Young Adult licensee must:

Be accompanied by the holder of a General Boat Licence when travelling at 10 knots or more.
Never exceed 20 knots.
Never travel at 10 knots or more after sunset and before sunrise.
Never travel at 10 knots or more when towing a person.
Not drive in any organised aquatic activity without prior approval from Maritime.
Never operate a PWC unless they are the holder of a Young Adult PWC Licence.

Personal Watercraft (PWC) Licence

A special licence is required to drive a PWC regardless of the speed it is driven. Persons who hold a General Licence can upgrade to a PWC Licence at any time. A PWC Licence includes a General Boat Licence.

Young Adult PWC Licence

A restricted licence for those aged from 12 to under 16 years who wish to drive a PWC. The same restrictions which apply to the Young Adult General Licence apply to this licence.

Additionally, a Young Adult PWC Licence holder must be accompanied by a PWC Licence holder when operating at a speed of 10 knots or more.

Licence period

A General Licence or PWC Licence is available for one, three or five years. You will save money by selecting a three or five year licence. Young Adult licences are only available for one year and expire on the applicant’s birthday.

Licences are initially issued as paper licences, followed by a plastic card. All PWC licences are issued as plastic photo licence cards.

Using a vessel commercially

If you intend using a vessel commercially, different requirements apply. Your vessel may need to comply with specified design and construction standards. It may need to carry safety equipment for a commercial vessel and may require a survey certificate.

While some commercial vessels can be operated using a general boat licence or PWC licence, many commercial vessels require the master and crew to hold a commercial qualification or certificate of competency. To obtain a certificate of competency you will need to meet minimum sea service requirements, complete approved training and first aid course and meet specified medical and eyesight standards.

Holders of certificates of competency as a master, mate or coxswain are exempt from the requirement to hold a PWC or General boat driving licence.

For further information contact Maritime on (02) 9563 8777 or visit the commercial vessels section online at www.maritime.nsw.gov.au.

Obtaining a boat licence

To obtain an initial General or Personal Watercraft (PWC) Licence, applicants must:

Complete the compulsory General Licence Boating Safety Course and/or the PWC Licence Boating Safety Course;
Provide evidence of practical boating (logbook) experience; and
Successfully undertake the General Boat Licence test and/or the PWC Licence test.

The above requirements also apply for initial Young Adult General and Young Adult PWC licence applicants.

The Boating Safety Course(s) must be completed before the licence test(s) can be attempted. However, practical boating experience requirements can be completed at any stage.

Applicants wishing to upgrade their existing general boat licence to a PWC licence are not required to provide evidence of practical boating experience and need only comply with PWC Licence Boating Safety Course and PWC Licence test requirements.

On completion of the Boating Safety Course, practical boating experience and licence test requirements, the relevant boat licence will be issued to applicants on payment of the licence fee.

For more information on how to obtain a boat licence, contact Maritime on 13 12 56 (7 days a week, 8.30am – 4.30pm) or visit our boat licensing section of the MARITIME WEBSITE.

Set out below are the options available to licence applicants on how to comply with the Boating Safety Course, licence test and practical boating experience requirements.

How to comply with Boating Safety Course requirements

Boating Safety Course (BSC) requirements can be met by one of the following methods:

By viewing the General and/or PWC Boating Safety Course presentations online.
By purchasing online or at any Maritime Operations Centre, a DVD of the course(s) for viewing at home.
By attending a Boating Safety Course conducted by Maritime (www.maritime.nsw.gov.au) or Marine Rescue NSW (www.marinerescuensw.com.au).

Regardless of the BSC method selected, a nominal fee applies and the applicant is issued a Certificate of Completion. On presentation of the BSC Certificate of Completion, which is valid for 12 months, applicants can sit the licence test.

How to comply with boat licence test requirements

Both the General and PWC Licence tests can only be attempted following completion of the Boating Safety Course(s) and initial PWC licence applicants must pass the General Licence test before the PWC test can be attempted.

The General Licence test comprises 40 multiple choice questions of which the first 15 must all be answered correctly. Of the remaining 25 questions a minimum of 20 questions must be answered correctly.

The PWC test contains 15 questions of which a minimum of 12 must be answered correctly. A fee is payable for each licence test attempt, which can be sat an unlimited number of times. Licence tests can be undertaken at any of the following venues:

Maritime Operations Centre
Roads and Traffic Authority Registry
Government Access Centre

If you attend a RTA office or GAC you must present or send your stamped application form, together with your certificate of completion and completed logbook, to a Maritime office.

When attending for a licence test, applicants must provide the BSC Certificate of Completion and acceptable Proof of Identity

Young Adult Licence applicants must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who must provide acceptable proof of identity

PWC Licence applicants must provide two passport acceptable photographs.

How to comply with practical boating experience requirements

Practical boating experience can be gained by completing a Boating Licence Practical Logbook. Initial general and initial PWC licence applicants must undertake, in the company of an experienced skipper, a minimum of three trips in a powered vessel (excluding PWC), and under power.

An experienced skipper is a person who holds, as a minimum, a valid NSW or interstate General Licence and has held the General Licence for at least three years. Young Adult Licence holders are not considered experienced skippers for this purpose.

The vessel used to undertake practical experience must carry the prescribed safety equipment and be fitted with appropriate lights if undertaking optional night time navigation.

Details of each trip must be recorded in the logbook and be verified by the experienced skipper. The applicant and the experienced skipper must also confirm that all elements relating to practical experience competencies, as listed in the logbook, have been covered by initialling each element.

The logbook is available free of charge from any Maritime Operations Centre, RTA Registry and Government Access Centre or by download from www.maritime.nsw.gov.au.

Only trips undertaken within the 12 months prior to the issue of a boat licence will be recognised for the purpose of satisfying practical experience requirements.

Alternative methods to obtain a boat driving licence

The following two options are available as alternative methods to obtain a boat driving licence.

1. Completion of a General and/or PWC Boating Education and Training Course conducted by a Maritime accredited Recognised Training Provider (RTP).

On completion of the course/s (including the licence test/s), successful applicants are issued a Certificate of Completion.

The compulsory practical boating experience requirement can also be undertaken with an RTP, or the applicant can choose the logbook option.

Fees and conditions apply to attend a Boating Education and Training Course and to undertake the practical component.

A list of accredited RTPs with direct links to their websites is available by accessing Maritime’s website www.maritime.nsw.gov.au.

2. Successful completion of one of the following Yachting Australia (YA) courses:

National Powerboat Training Scheme
National Yacht Cruising Scheme
National Motor Cruising Scheme.

YA courses are recognised as satisfying the full requirements (including the practical component) for the issue of a General Licence. Certificates of completion issued by an RTP or YA are only valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Other qualifications may be recognised - please call Maritime on 131256 for more information.

When applying for a licence:

An applicant must provide acceptable Proof of Identity documentation before sitting a test.
Young Adult Licence applicants must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian when sitting the test. Proof of Identity of the parent or guardian is also required.
PWC Licence applicants must provide two colour passport acceptable photographs (light background). PWC Licences are plastic photo cards.
An applicant must complete a licence application form, declare any medical condition or physical disability which may affect their ability to safely operate a boat, meet eyesight standards and pay the appropriate fees.

Remember:

You must carry your licence when doing anything for which the licence is required, and produce it for inspection when requested by a Maritime officer, a Police officer or other authorised officers.

Owners of vessels must be able to identify the person driving their vessel at all times, even if the owner is not onboard at the time.

Licence holders and owners of vessels should promptly notify Maritime of any changes to personal details or address, or penalties may apply. Licences sent to the wrong address can be cancelled and a reinstatement fee charged.

If your licence is not renewed within five years of its expiry date you will need to complete the entire licence process again.

Proof of Identity

To ensure the accuracy of records held by Maritime, applicants must provide acceptable Proof of Identity (POI) when conducting a business transaction. Except for PWC licences, POI is not required for renewal of products.

POI documents must be original or certified copies and POI requirements can be met by providing a NSW Photo Driver’s Licence and, for young adults, an Australian Full Birth Certificate.

For a full list of acceptable POI documents view the Proof of Identity brochure on our website or telephone 13 12 56.