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Medical certificate and eye test for the German boating licence

Anyone sitting the exam for the German Sportbootführerschein, the official licence for pleasure craft on German coastal and inland waters, first needs a doctor to confirm that their eyesight, colour vision and hearing are good enough. This page explains what that medical certificate covers, who may sign it, how recent it has to be and what it means when glasses are entered as a condition. Every statement links to its official source below.

The essentials

Who signs

Any doctor can complete the certificate on the official form set out in the regulation. No particular specialism is required. The examination board only asks for a public health officer or specialist when it has doubts.[1][2]
Eyesight 0.8

Visual acuity of at least 0.8 with both eyes together or with the better eye, with or without glasses. Sight in one eye only is accepted.[3]
Colour vision

Tested with 24 Ishihara plates, with no more than two errors. Colour deficiency cannot be offset by a condition on the licence, and tinted filter lenses do not count.[3][1]
Hearing

You must understand speech at normal volume from 3 metres with the ear facing the speaker, or from 5 metres with both ears. Hearing aids are allowed.[3]
No older than one year

The application form of the two associations that run the exams on behalf of the German state asks for a medical certificate no older than one year.[4]
Glasses as a condition

If you only reach 0.8 with glasses or contact lenses, the doctor ticks restriction code 01. It becomes a condition attached to your licence.[2][1]

Why the certificate is needed

The German Sportbootführerscheinverordnung, the regulation on pleasure craft licences, requires every applicant to be physically and mentally fit. The minimum age is 16 for boats with an engine and 14 for sailing boats. Fitness is confirmed by a doctor on a form that the regulation itself prescribes.[1][5]

The examination board also accepts the fitness certificate used for inland navigation crews or a seafarer medical certificate for deck service. If you already passed the exam for one German licence and now want the other, a copy of the first licence replaces the medical certificate, provided it is no older than one year when you apply.[1][6]

Step by step

Download the medical form from the joint website of the German motor yacht association DMYV and the German sailing association DSV. Both are authorised by the federal government to hold the exams.[7]

The doctor may test your eyes or rely on a certificate from an approved eye test centre, the kind recognised for the German driving licence. Distance vision is checked by a doctor or optician to the standard DIN 58220. For hearing, the doctor may take into account a certificate from a registered hearing aid acoustician.[1][3]

The doctor sends the certificate in a sealed envelope straight to the chair of the examination board, and you receive a copy. Your complete application has to reach the board at least one week before the exam date.[6]

If the board has doubts about your fitness, it may ask for an additional report from a public health officer or a specialist.[1]

Glasses on the licence: what the condition means

Code 01 means a visual aid, glasses or contact lenses, is required. The condition is written into your licence and is there to make up for what your eyes cannot do unaided, so wear your glasses every time you take the helm.[2][1]

The form lists further codes, including 02 hearing aid required, 05 daylight only and 08 restricted area such as a particular stretch of water. If the reason disappears later, for instance after eye surgery, you can apply to have the condition removed. Practical advice: keep a spare pair in a waterproof case on board, and prescription sunglasses help a great deal against glare on the water.[3][2][1]

Licence and boat insurance

Boat policies on the market commonly exclude damage caused while the boat is steered by someone who does not hold the licence the law requires for that boat and those waters. Look for this in the exclusions of your own policy, and check whether it also obliges you to make sure only properly licensed people take the helm.

Preparing for the exam

Our free academy explains how the German licence works and lets you practise all 513 official exam questions, without registering. Open the NAMMERT academy

Questions about the medical certificate

Can my family doctor sign the medical certificate?

Yes. The regulation asks for a certificate from a doctor on the official form and does not name a specialism. Only if the examination board has doubts may it ask for a report from a public health officer or specialist.

I live outside Germany. Which form do I use?

For the German licence the regulation requires its own form, which any doctor can complete. Download it from the DMYV and DSV website and ask your doctor to send it in a sealed envelope to the examination board.

How old may the certificate be?

No older than one year, according to the application form of the two examining associations.

I am colour deficient. Can I still get the licence?

The colour test is passed with no more than two errors on 24 Ishihara plates. Other tests are recognised as well, and in doubtful cases the doctor uses an anomaloscope. Filter lenses are not allowed, and a condition on the licence cannot compensate.

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Sources

As of 19 October 2026. The German Sportbootführerscheinverordnung in its current version applies.