Spain ends licence-free boat rental on 1 October 2026
Spain is closing the rule that allowed licence-free rental of small motorboats up to 5 metres and 15 metric horsepower. The exemption ends for rentals on 1 October 2026 and from then on applies to private use only, so anyone who rents needs the corresponding licence.
Law NAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH
The change comes from Real Decreto 1188/2025 of 26 December 2025, a royal decree published in Spain's official gazette, the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE). It amends several Spanish maritime regulations, including the rules on recreational boating qualifications, and sets a separate date for the part dealing with exemptions from the licence requirement: 1 October 2026.
Until then, a motorboat up to 5 metres long with no more than 15 metric horsepower can be skippered in Spain without a qualification, whether it is privately owned or rented. After that date the exemption is limited to private use. A person renting such a boat must hold the appropriate licence, on the Costa del Sol as much as in the Balearics or the Canaries.
Spain's transport ministry justifies the change with the high number of incidents and accidents involving the rental of these boats. The decree is national law, so no region is left out, from the mainland coast to the islands.
For visitors the practical point is simple: anyone planning to hire a small motorboat in Spain from October should bring a boating licence. The amended article does not say which foreign licences are accepted, so that is a question to settle with the rental company before travelling. Owners using their own small boat privately are not affected by the change.
What this means for owners
For owners who keep their own boat in Spain, nothing changes. Renting is different: skippering a hired boat without the required licence after 1 October 2026 breaks the rules, and after an accident that is one of the first points a claims handler will look at. The boats concerned are small open motorboats up to 5 metres and 15 metric horsepower offered for hire; larger motorboats already needed a licence. Anyone travelling with skipper liability insurance should ask their insurer how it treats skippering without a legally required licence.
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