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Boating schools in Spain
In short
Titles are graded by hull length and distance from shore, from the licencia de navegación to capitán de yate.
When a certificate is required
A title is required for a motorboat over 5 metres or above 15 hp. Below that private use needs none.
Duration and minimum age
Theory over several weeks, plus compulsory hours on the water and on the radio. 16 for PNB and PER with parental consent, 18 for the higher titles.
What a course costs
Around 500 to 900 euros for the PER including the compulsory practice.
Who issues the certificate
Dirección General de la Marina Mercante, www.transportes.gob.es
Finding a school
Where the boating schools in Spain are listed
We keep no list of individual schools, because such a list is wrong within a season. We name the bodies that maintain their own register of approved schools and keep it current. Those are the directories that hold up.
Behörde
Dirección General de la Marina Mercante
Titles, examination rules and the recognition of foreign certificates.
www.transportes.gob.esSegelverband
Real Federación Española de Vela
Sailing schools and training centres, listed by region.
www.rfev.esZugelassene Schulen
Escuelas náuticas der Comunidades Autónomas
Approval is granted by each autonomous community, and that is where the lists are held.
www.transportes.gob.esThe certificates
What each certificate covers
Licencia de navegación
Boats up to 6 metres, up to 2 nautical miles
Patrón de Navegación Básica
Boats up to 8 metres, up to 5 nautical miles, 8 hours of practice and 4 hours of radio
Patrón de Embarcaciones de Recreo
Boats up to 15 metres, up to 12 nautical miles, 16 hours of practice and 12 hours of radio
Patrón de Yate
Boats up to 24 metres, up to 150 nautical miles
Capitán de Yate
Boats up to 24 metres, without a distance limit
Context
How training works in Spain
Spain has the clearest ladder in Europe: every title names a hull length and a distance from the coast, and practice follows it. The PER is the one most people take, because it reaches 15 metres and 12 nautical miles and so covers almost any charter boat.
The Spanish speciality is the compulsory practice. The PER requires 16 hours on the water and 12 hours on the radio, the PNB 8 and 4. It is not an extra the school offers, it is part of the title, and it is why a Spanish course takes weeks where an Austrian coastal certificate takes a weekend.
Recognition, charter, cover
What the certificate means outside the classroom
Recognition abroad
Foreign certificates are recognised for visitors. Residents of Spain need the Spanish title.
What the charter base asks for
Bases in Mallorca and on the Costa Brava ask for the PER or an equivalent foreign certificate, plus the radio ticket.
All countries at a glanceWhat matters for cover
We underwrite boats whose owner or flag is in Spain. The Balearics and the Costa Brava lie in the Mediterranean cruising area.
All countries at a glanceQuestions and answers
Common questions about boating in Spain
Which Spanish title covers a charter boat?
Usually the PER: up to 15 metres of hull length and up to 12 nautical miles from the coast.
How much practice is compulsory?
For the PER 16 hours on the water and 12 hours of radio, for the PNB 8 and 4 hours.
Do I need a title for a small motorboat?
Not for private use of a motorboat up to 5 metres with no more than 15 hp.
Last reviewed: 27 September 2026. The authority of the country you are boating in always has the final word. We underwrite boats whose owner or flag is in Germany, Austria or Spain.
Other countries
Do you run a boating school?
A training boat operates commercially, with a different person at the helm every hour and an instructor who carries the liability. That calls for its own arrangement, not a private policy.