Guide · License

Boating without a license: what you can drive in Italy

Without a boating license (patente nautica) you can drive many boats, including rented ones. What matters most is where you go and what engine you have; length matters for the minimum age and over 24 meters. Here are the rules in force in 2026, with the articles of law they come from.

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

When you need a license

You need a boating license (art. 39 of the Italian Recreational Boating Code, the Codice della nautica da diporto):

beyond 6 nautical miles from the coast, with any boat, even a sailboat with no engine;
on a jet ski, always, at any distance from the coast;
within 6 nautical miles, and on lakes and rivers, if the engine exceeds any one of these limits.

The engine you can use without a license (within 6 nautical miles)
Engine	Without a license up to
Power, for any engine	30 kW (40.8 CV, metric hp)
Two-stroke, carbureted	750 cc
Two-stroke, fuel-injected	900 cc
Four-stroke outboard	1,000 cc
Four-stroke inboard	1,300 cc
Diesel, naturally aspirated (no turbo)	2,000 cc
Diesel, turbocharged or supercharged	1,300 cc

To boat without a license, the engine must be within both limits, power and displacement. In the law the power limit is 30 kW, or 40.8 CV (metric horsepower), not “40 CV” as you often read. CV and hp are not the same unit: 30 kW is about 40.2 hp, so check the engine’s kW figure.

Over 24 meters (large yachts, navi da diporto) you always need the license for large yachts (patente per nave da diporto).

Natante, imbarcazione, nave: the legal terms

Natante (small craft): a rowboat, or a boat with a hull up to 10 meters long. Jet skis do not count as small craft.
Imbarcazione (boat over 10 m): hull more than 10 and up to 24 meters long.
Nave da diporto (large yacht): hull more than 24 meters long.
Moto d’acqua (jet ski, or personal watercraft): hull under 4 meters, propelled by a water jet, ridden on top of the hull (sitting, standing or kneeling).

Up to 24 meters, length does not decide whether you need a license: it decides the minimum age. For example, a 12-meter sailboat with a 30 CV non-turbo diesel engine, under 2,000 cc, can be skippered without a license within 6 nautical miles of the coast, once you have turned 18 (art. 39, paragraph 3).

How old you need to be

To drive without a license you must be at least (art. 39, paragraph 3):

16 years old for a small craft;
18 years old for a boat over 10 meters (imbarcazione);
14 years old for a small sailing craft with more than 4 m² of sail, and for a rowboat that goes beyond 1 nautical mile from the coast.

The age limits do not apply to courses, training sessions and races of the schools run by the sports federations and by the Lega Navale Italiana (Italian Naval League), provided the participants are insured (art. 39, paragraph 4).

How far the boat can go

Without a license you may never go beyond 6 nautical miles. In addition, each boat has its own limit. For small craft and jet skis, it is set by art. 27 of the Code:

small craft without CE marking: within 6 nautical miles (within 12 if type-approved or recognized as suitable for unlimited navigation);
small craft with CE marking: within the limits of their design category, and in any case no more than 12 nautical miles;
pedal boats, small rowing and paddle boats (jole, pattini, sandolini, mosconi), canoes, kayaks, boards and small sailing craft with up to 4 m² of sail: within 1 nautical mile;
jet skis: within 1 nautical mile.

For boats over 10 meters (imbarcazioni), the limit is the one written in their documents.

Jet skis: a license is always required

For a jet ski you always need a license, at any distance from the coast and even when rented (art. 39, paragraph 1).

Since October 21, 2024 there has also been a D1 license, which you can get from age 16. It is valid only in daytime: for boats up to 12 meters within 6 nautical miles of the coast (or on lakes and rivers), or for jet skis within 1 nautical mile, with engines up to 85 kW (115.6 CV) and below the engine displacements set in the Boating Regulations. Until age 18 it is valid only for small craft and jet skis (Boating Regulations, the regolamento della nautica, art. 27-bis).

In Palermo, you must be at least 18 to rent a jet ski and ride it yourself (ordinance no. 70/2026 of the Harbor Office, the Capitaneria di porto, which is part of the Italian Coast Guard). In the Capo Gallo – Isola delle Femmine Marine Protected Area jet skis are always banned (ordinance no. 59/2026). Palermo’s other rules (daytime only, within 1 nautical mile, no children under 14 on board) are in the guide Palermo distance and speed limits.

If you rent a boat without a license

In everyday Italian people say “noleggio senza patente” (rental without a license). Legally, renting a boat that you skipper yourself is a locazione (bareboat rental); a noleggio (crewed charter) is when the boat comes with its own crew.

Before handing you a small craft (up to 10 meters), whoever rents it to you must (Ministerial Decree of September 1, 2021, art. 4):

check that you are at least 16 years old;
tell you that beyond 6 nautical miles you need a license;
tell you how far that boat may go and give you the boat’s documents;
explain the engine, the safety equipment, the anchor and the local rules;
if you have no license, give you the “essential instructions” in writing, in Italian and in English: speed, harbors, swimmers, divers, right of way, anchoring, VHF radio, lights (Code, art. 27, paragraph 8; Boating Regulations, art. 60-bis).

The contract, or the official receipt for the payment, must be kept on board (Ministerial Decree of September 1, 2021, art. 3). Pedal boats, small rowboats, sailing dinghies and jet skis can only be rented from one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset, in good sea conditions; pedal boats, small rowboats and dinghies are not handed over to anyone under 14 (art. 6).

In Palermo, whoever rents you the boat must also give you a copy of the beach safety ordinance and tell you about the local marine protected areas (Harbor Office ordinance no. 70/2026).

These rules are written for small craft. For boats longer than 10 meters, ask the operator what you need.

If you have a foreign boating license

According to the Boating Regulations (art. 34):

foreign nationals can command boats in Italy with the license, or recognized qualification, of the country of which they are citizens;
Italians living abroad, with that of the country where they live;
always within the limits of that license, “provided they do so free of charge” (purché a titolo gratuito), with the original license on board and a document proving residence abroad;
for them, on boats over 10 meters and large yachts (imbarcazioni and navi da diporto) entered in foreign registers, whether a license is needed is decided by the law of the flag country;
citizens of EU countries, and Italians living in another EU country, may command without a license if the law of their country (of citizenship or residence), or of the boat’s flag country, provides for no boating license at all: they keep on board, in the original, a declaration from the competent authorities saying so, and the document proving residence abroad (art. 34, paragraphs 3 and 5);
Italians living in Italy follow the Italian rules, whatever the flag of the boat.

Since May 10, 2026, Italians registered with AIRE (the registry of Italians resident abroad) who move back to Italy can have the license they obtained in the country where they lived converted into an Italian one without exams, with a medical certificate (art. 39-ter of the Code).

What changed in 2026

Law no. 70 of May 7, 2026 (“Valorizzazione della risorsa mare”, enhancing the sea as a resource), in force since May 10, 2026, did not change the rules on when you need a license, the engine limits, the distances and the minimum ages. Among other things, it introduced:

the conversion of a foreign license for Italian citizens moving back from abroad (see above);
the rental (locazione) of boats over 10 meters (imbarcazioni) with a professional skipper chosen by the customer, for no more than 12 people besides the skipper (art. 42-bis of the Code);
the “noleggio occasionale” (occasional charter) marking, at least 100 × 20 cm on each side of the hull, for boats over 10 meters (imbarcazioni) of private individuals and companies that charter them out occasionally (art. 49-bis).

Speed and distances: the basic rules

Throughout Italy, unless local ordinances say otherwise (Boating Regulations, arts. 91 and 91-bis):

no more than 8 knots (about 15 km/h) within 500 meters of the coast; on lakes and rivers, within 200 meters;
no more than 3 knots in harbors, and in roadsteads and bays where boats are at anchor;
at least 100 meters from divers’ markers: the “diver down” flag, red with a white diagonal stripe.

In the instructions given to those who rent without a license, the 8-knot limit applies within 500 meters of high rocky coasts and within 1,000 meters of beaches (Ministerial Decree of September 1, 2021, Annex 2, as amended in 2023).

Each Harbor Office also has its own ordinance for the bathing season. In Palermo, during the bathing season, within 300 meters of beaches and 100 meters of cliffs you may not travel under engine power, not even electric, from 8 a.m. to sunset; between 300 and 1,000 meters from the coast (between 100 and 500 meters from cliffs) you may go at most 8 knots, without planing: all the details are in the guide Palermo distance and speed limits.

Fines

Driving without a license when one is required: from €2,755 to €11,017, or double that on a large yacht (art. 53, paragraph 1).
Driving a boat that needs no license while under the minimum age: from €65 to €665 (art. 53, paragraph 5).
Exceeding the speed limits in harbors, near beaches, beach clubs and mooring fields, in launch corridors or near boats at anchor: from €414 to €2,066 (art. 53, paragraph 6). If you have a license, it is suspended for 1 to 3 months, including when you pass within 100 meters of a diver’s marker (art. 53, paragraph 9).

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).