Boat Charter France: Bareboat vs Skippered Licence Rules Explained
Skippered or bareboat changes who needs a licence in France. What charter companies actually check, and the €2,000-5,000 deposit to budget before you book.
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The licence question depends entirely on which kind of charter you book. A skippered charter comes with a professional skipper who holds the licence, so guests need no qualification at all. A bareboat charter puts you in command, and French charter companies typically want a recognised sailing qualification, an internationally accepted certificate such as the ICC (International Certificate of Competence), or a French "permis côtier" plus proven sea time, before they hand over the keys. There is no single national law that settles this for every visitor: requirements are set operator by operator and vary with boat size, so confirm with the specific charter company before you book.
- Skippered charter needs zero licence from guests: the professional skipper is qualified and legally responsible for the boat.
- Bareboat charter needs you to prove competence: a French permis côtier, an ICC, or an equivalent recognised certificate, plus a sailing CV showing relevant experience.
- The permis côtier covers coastal waters up to 6 nautical miles from shelter; going further out requires the hauturier (offshore) extension, which has no distance limit, according to Codes Rousseau.
- France recognises the ICC under UNECE Resolution 40, and it is one of the most commonly accepted routes for foreign sailors without a French licence, per IYT World.
- Charter companies often ask for more than the legal minimum: some require an RYA Day Skipper, an IYT International Bareboat Skipper, or a documented logbook before releasing a 40-foot yacht, regardless of what paperwork technically satisfies French law.
- Deposits run high, as of 2026: expect roughly €2,000-5,000 blocked on a credit card for a 40-50ft Mediterranean yacht, unless you buy a damage waiver or separate deposit insurance policy in advance.
Skippered or bareboat: which one actually needs a licence?
The single most important decision in French boat charter isn't the boat, it's whether you hire a skipper along with it. That choice determines everything else in this guide.
A skippered charter means a professional captain comes with the boat, holds the commercial licence required to operate it, and is legally responsible for the vessel, the route, and safety on board. Guests do not need any boating qualification, any sailing experience, or any French paperwork at all. This is the default and the simplest option for a group that wants a week on the water without a licence conversation.
A bareboat charter means you are the skipper. You take the boat out without crew, you are responsible for navigation and for the vessel, and the charter company needs to be satisfied you can actually handle it before they hand over the keys. That's where the licence question starts.
Skippered vs bareboat, in one line
Skippered: the professional skipper holds the licence, you need nothing. Bareboat: you are the skipper, and the charter company needs proof you can handle the boat, whether that's a French permis, an ICC, or a logbook they find convincing.
What licence does a bareboat charterer need in French waters?
There is no single answer that covers every visitor, every boat, and every charter company, and that's the honest answer rather than a simplification. What French operators most commonly accept falls into three buckets.
The French permis côtier. This is the domestic coastal boating licence, and it authorises the holder to operate a motorboat within 6 nautical miles of a shelter (roughly 11km from the coast), according to Codes Rousseau. It's the licence a French resident sailing along the Riviera or around Corsica for day trips would typically hold.
The permis hauturier (offshore extension). This isn't a separate licence, it's an add-on to the permis côtier that removes the distance restriction entirely, letting the holder sail further offshore. It's obtained through a theory exam only, no additional practical test, and costs roughly €300-400 depending on the training center, per bateaux.com. Charterers planning multi-day passages between the mainland and Corsica, rather than day sails along the coast, are more likely to be asked for this.
The ICC (International Certificate of Competence). For foreign visitors without a French licence, this is the certificate charter companies most often accept in its place. France is among the states applying UNECE Resolution 40, which underpins ICC recognition, and French charter operators generally accept it alongside supporting documentation, per IYT World and OceanPro. British sailors post-Brexit commonly pair an RYA Day Skipper or Powerboat Level 2 qualification with an ICC when chartering in France.
None of this is enforced identically across every marina and every operator. Requirements vary by charter company and by boat size, so the only reliable step is to ask the specific company you're booking with what they'll accept for the boat you want, well before you arrive at the base.
What do charter companies actually ask for beyond the legal minimum?
Even where no formal French licence is legally required for a foreign visitor on a given class of vessel, charter companies frequently set their own, stricter bar. This part genuinely varies by operator rather than following one rule, so treat the following as common patterns, not a checklist you can rely on unconditionally.
Many operators ask for a nautical CV: a written record of previous charters, boat sizes sailed, and total sea time, essentially a sailing résumé that lets a base manager judge whether you can handle a 40-foot monohull or 45-foot catamaran without having met you before. YachtMate and other operator-facing guides describe this as the real gatekeeping step for bareboat charter, more so than any single certificate.
Some companies set a floor above the ICC, insisting on qualifications like an IYT International Bareboat Skipper or an equivalent RYA certification, reasoning that a basic competence certificate doesn't fully cover a week in command of an expensive yacht, according to Sail Marker. Larger or more valuable boats, and busier anchorages like Saint-Tropez in August, tend to trigger the stricter end of this range. Smaller boats and quieter shoulder-season bases are more forgiving.
The practical takeaway: bring every certificate and logbook entry you have, list your previous charters when you book, and confirm directly with the company what they need for the specific boat and dates, rather than assuming a certificate that worked at one marina will automatically clear you at another.
What about insurance and the security deposit?
Bareboat charter in France runs on a security deposit model, and the numbers are worth planning around before you arrive at the base. As of 2026, expect somewhere in the range of €2,000 to €5,000 blocked on a credit card at check-in for a 40-50ft Mediterranean sailing yacht or catamaran, covering the charter company against accidental damage or loss, per Anchor by HELM and Frontier Yachting.
Two ways to reduce that exposure exist, and they aren't the same thing even though they get talked about interchangeably. A damage waiver sold by the charter company itself trades the large refundable deposit for a smaller, non-refundable fee paid upfront, but it's often a contract clause rather than a standalone insurance policy, so read what it actually excludes. Deposit insurance bought separately from a specialist insurer reimburses you directly if the charter company keeps some or all of your deposit after the trip; a policy on a €2,000 deposit runs roughly 10% of that figure as a premium, according to the Aegean Sailing School breakdown of the two options. Either way, confirm what's covered before you sign the charter contract, not after something goes wrong on the water.
Where is bareboat charter most commonly booked in France?
The French Riviera is the country's established charter hub, anchored by Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, and Monaco, with the highest concentration of charter companies, marinas, and choice of boat between roughly May and September. If you're using Nice as your base for a charter trip, see the Nice Riviera base guide for getting around the wider coast beyond the marina itself.
Corsica has grown steadily as a charter destination alongside the Riviera, offering quieter anchorages and a more rugged coastline for travelers who want to sail rather than stay near a single port. A Riviera-to-Corsica route, or a full week around the island, is increasingly common among charterers who've already done a standard Riviera loop.
For the wider decision of where to sail in France beyond these two hotspots, including how the Atlantic coast compares, see the sailing in France pillar guide and sailing in Brittany vs the Riviera. If a licensed sailboat isn't what you're after, a jet ski or a no-licence Canal du Midi houseboat cover very different parts of the same water-sports picture, and divers splitting time between boat days and the water itself should also see the Riviera and Corsica scuba diving guide.
Sources
- Aegean Sailing School, retrieved 2026-07-28
- Anchor by HELM, retrieved 2026-07-28
- bateaux.com, retrieved 2026-07-28
- Codes Rousseau, retrieved 2026-07-28
- Codes Rousseau, retrieved 2026-07-28
- Frontier Yachting, retrieved 2026-07-28
- IYT World, retrieved 2026-07-28
- OceanPro, retrieved 2026-07-28
- Sail Marker, retrieved 2026-07-28
- YachtMate, retrieved 2026-07-28
Frequently asked questions
Only if you're chartering bareboat, meaning you are the skipper. A skippered charter comes with a qualified professional skipper, so guests need no licence at all. For bareboat, French charter companies typically accept a French permis côtier, an ICC (International Certificate of Competence), or an equivalent recognised qualification, but requirements vary by operator and boat size, so confirm with the specific company before booking.
Generally yes. France applies UNECE Resolution 40, which underpins ICC recognition, and French charter operators commonly accept it from foreign visitors alongside supporting documentation like a sailing logbook, per IYT World. Some operators still ask for a higher qualification on larger yachts, so treat the ICC as a strong baseline rather than a guarantee.
The permis côtier authorises coastal navigation up to 6 nautical miles from shelter. The hauturier is not a separate licence but an offshore extension to it, removing the distance limit entirely and obtained through a theory exam once you already hold the côtier, according to Codes Rousseau.
Typically €2,000-5,000 blocked on a credit card for a 40-50ft Mediterranean sailing yacht or catamaran, per Anchor by HELM. A damage waiver from the charter company or a separate deposit insurance policy can reduce what you're exposed to, but read the terms of each carefully since they aren't equivalent.
The French Riviera, particularly Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, and Monaco, is the established hub with the widest choice of boats and companies. Corsica has grown into a strong second option, often booked as an extension of a Riviera trip or as its own week-long route around the island.
Yes, but only skippered, where a professional skipper handles the boat and no licence or experience is required from you. Bareboat charter without any sailing background is not realistic: charter companies want proof of competence, whether that's a certificate, a logbook, or both, before releasing an uncrewed yacht.
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