Guide · Safety

Boat safety equipment in Italy: what you need, distance by distance

The minimum safety equipment (dotazioni di sicurezza) to keep on board depends on how far you go from the coast. Here is the current table for each distance band, with the rules on expiry dates, fire extinguishers and boats you rent or charter.

By Salpe · checked against the official sources on October 16, 2026

Band by band

This is the table in Annex V of the Boating Regulations, for small craft (natanti, up to 10 meters) and boats (imbarcazioni, over 10 and up to 24 meters), with or without CE marking. Each band shows the maximum distance from the coast at which you navigate.

Within 300 meters (of the shore)

The table requires no equipment.
On boards, sailing dinghies, kiteboards, personal watercraft (moto d’acqua, jet skis) and similar craft, the person riding or steering and everyone on board must always wear a buoyancy aid of at least category 50 (50 N), at any distance.

Within 1 nautical mile

life jackets of at least category 100 (100 N), one for each person on board;
pump or other tool for emptying the bilge;
black anchor ball, for boats over 7 meters.

Within 3 nautical miles

life jackets of at least category 100 for everyone;
ring lifebuoy (salvagente anulare) with line;
1 buoyant smoke signal (boetta fumogena);
2 red hand flares (fuochi a mano a luce rossa);
regulation navigation lights (fanali regolamentari);
bilge pump;
black ball (over 7 meters); whistle and bell (over 12 meters).

Within 6 nautical miles

life jackets of at least category 100 for everyone;
ring lifebuoy with line and lifebuoy light (boetta luminosa);
2 smoke signals;
2 red hand flares;
2 red parachute rockets (razzi a paracadute);
regulation navigation lights;
bilge pump;
black ball (over 7 meters); whistle and bell (over 12 meters).

In bold: what is added compared with 3 nautical miles.

Within 12 nautical miles

coastal life raft (zattera di salvataggio costiera) for everyone on board;
life jackets of at least category 150 (150 N) for everyone, with an automatically activated light;
ring lifebuoy with line and lifebuoy light;
2 smoke signals, 2 hand flares, 2 parachute rockets;
compass (bussola) with deviation table (for boats over 10 meters) and clock;
table of visual signals for day and night (COLREG);
VHF radio;
navigation lights, bilge pump, black ball (over 7 meters), whistle and bell (over 12 meters).

Within 50 nautical miles

life raft for everyone (no longer the coastal one);
life jackets of at least category 150 with automatic light;
ring lifebuoy with line and lifebuoy light;
2 smoke signals, 2 hand flares, 2 parachute rockets;
compass (boats over 10 meters), clock, barometer, binoculars;
depth sounder up to 20 meters;
signals table (COLREG); nautical charts of the area and plotting instruments;
first aid kit;
GPS and VHF radio; radar reflector;
navigation lights, bilge pump, black ball (over 7 meters), whistle and bell (over 12 meters).

No limit from the coast

everything required within 50 nautical miles, but with 3 hand flares and 3 rockets;
plus the EPIRB, the distress transmitter on 406 and 121.5 MHz.

Lakes and rivers

life jackets of at least category 100 for everyone;
ring lifebuoy with line.

In addition, on sailboats

The deck safety harness with its tether (safety line): 1 within 12 nautical miles, 2 within 50 nautical miles and with no limit. Within 6 nautical miles it is not required. It can be built into the life jacket.

Rules that always apply

At night, if you are boating alone, the life jacket must always be worn.
On boats entered in the registers, life jackets carry the boat’s registration code and number (or its identification number); for unregistered small craft this is optional.
The service boat (the tender, a small craft or personal watercraft) that carries the mother boat’s registration code and number, when used within 1 nautical mile of the coast or of the boat, only needs the life jackets (Regulations, art. 56).

The four items required from October 21, 2025

The 2024 decree gave one extra year for four items (art. 99, paragraph 2), which are therefore mandatory from October 21, 2025:

the automatically activated light on life jackets: within 12 nautical miles, within 50 and with no limit;
the table of visual signals for day and night (COLREG): within 12 nautical miles, within 50 and with no limit;
the depth sounder up to 20 meters: within 50 nautical miles and with no limit;
the harness with safety line, for sailboats: within 12 nautical miles, within 50 and with no limit.

You often read that “the equipment changes” from October 21, 2025: in fact the new table has applied since October 21, 2024, and October 21, 2025 concerns these four items. Since that day, according to the Ministry, you can also be fined if the equipment manufacturer’s recommendations are missing on board, or if they are not followed (circular no. 1078 of January 17, 2025).

What can be used instead of what

A hand flare can be replaced with a SOLAS MED approved LED device.
The magnetic compass with an electronic compass.
Nautical charts with approved electronic charts.
The EPIRB with a satellite phone that sends the distress message to the Italian Coast Guard.
The bell with a portable sound device.

The life raft

Beyond 12 nautical miles, but within the Italian search and rescue area, the coastal life raft is enough if there are geolocation devices on board (Regulations, art. 54): for the Ministry this means GPS and EPIRB together, and the EPIRB can be replaced by a satellite phone (circular no. 1078/2025).
Within 12 nautical miles the coastal life raft can be replaced with a CE-marked inflatable dinghy that complies with the UNI EN ISO 6185 standards and is ready for use: with a device for climbing back on board, the survival kit, room for everyone on board, at least 2.5 meters long and kept inflated on deck (Regulations, art. 54; circular no. 1078/2025).
CE-marked inflatable boats and RIBs (gommoni) of design category A, B or C built to the UNI EN ISO 6185 standards, parts 3 and 4 (in practice, those for engines of 15 kW and up), do not need the life raft within 12 nautical miles if they have the survival kit; in that case one extra fire extinguisher (estintore) is required (Regulations, art. 54, paragraph 2-bis; Annex V, letter E).

Fire extinguishers

On CE-marked boats, the fire extinguishers are the ones indicated in the owner’s manual. Small craft without CE marking need one portable fire extinguisher, based on the total installed power (the sum of the engines):

Small craft without CE marking: one fire extinguisher
Total engine power (CV = metric horsepower)	Extinguisher, at least
Up to 18.4 kW (25 CV)	13 B
Over 18.4 and up to 147 kW (200 CV)	21 B
Over 147 kW	34 B

For boats over 10 meters (imbarcazioni) without CE marking, the number depends on the power and on the compartments (Annex V, letter E). The law does not require periodic inspection of fire extinguishers: they must be in good condition, with the pressure gauge, if there is one, in the green zone.

Expiry dates and servicing

For all equipment, the manufacturer’s recommendations apply, and they must be kept on board; the time limits run from the production date printed on the product (Regulations, art. 52; Ministry circular no. 1078 of January 17, 2025).
Distress signals approved in Italy (hand flares, rockets, smoke signals) are valid for 4 years from the date of manufacture (Ministerial Decree, DM 387/1999, art. 5); for SOLAS MED approved ones, the manufacturer’s expiry date applies.
Life rafts: a check every 2 years and a special inspection every 6 years (DM 219/2002, art. 9). Coastal life rafts: first service after 36 months, then every 24 months (decree of March 2, 2009).

Rented and chartered boats

If you rent a boat (legally a locazione, a bareboat rental: you skipper it yourself or, since May 10, 2026 and only for boats over 10 and up to 24 meters (imbarcazioni), a professional skipper you choose does, art. 42-bis of the Recreational Boating Code), whoever rents it to you must hand it over complete with all the safety equipment (Code, art. 45). For small craft and personal watercraft, this is the equipment in Annex V for the distance the boat is allowed to go, and whoever rents it out must explain to you how to use it (DM of September 1, 2021, art. 4).

If the boat remains with whoever charters it out (the company or the boat’s operator, the armatore), with their crew (a noleggio, a charter with crew, art. 47 of the Code), the table is a different, more extensive one: Annex VIII. Even within 6 nautical miles it requires, among other things, the coastal life raft, life jackets of at least category 150 for all the people the boat can carry (up to 12) plus the crew, a compass, a first aid kit, a radar reflector, a VHF radio and a depth sounder. The owner or operator of the charter boat can carry the equipment of a shorter band (3, 6 or 12 nautical miles) if they declare that they will only navigate within that distance; the declaration is recorded on the certificate of fitness (Regulations, art. 88).

Since May 10, 2026, foreign-flagged boats used on a permanent basis in Italy for charter or bareboat rental must add the equipment that is missing compared with the Italian rules (Code, art. 48, paragraph 1-bis).

Fines

Anyone who breaks the navigation safety rules with a recreational boat risks a fine of €276 to €1,377; with a small craft (natante: a rowboat or a boat with a hull up to 10 meters long, but not a jet ski), half that (Recreational Boating Code, art. 53, paragraph 4).

Sources

Checked on October 16, 2026.

This guide summarizes the rules in force on October 16, 2026. It does not replace the official texts or the ordinances of the Harbor Office (Capitaneria di porto) for the area where you are boating. If in doubt, ask the Harbor Office; for emergencies at sea call 1530 (or 112).