The single most confused subject among British and Australian friends planning a French canal trip is the licence. I have lost count of the times someone has told me with total confidence either that you need nothing at all, or that you need some fearsome French boat exam. Both are wrong, and the truth depends on one simple fork in the road: do you hire, or do you own?
We own a steel cruiser based in Burgundy, so I have been through the paperwork myself. Here is how it actually works.
The one question that decides everything
If you hire a boat, you need no licence. None. The hire company gives you a briefing at the base, a bit of theory and a short practical handover, and issues a temporary authorisation that covers you for the duration of the trip. People who have never touched a boat take a hire cruiser out every single week on this basis. That is the entire system, and it is why canal-boat holidays are so accessible.
If you bring or buy your own boat, you need a qualification. For a private pleasure boat under 20 metres on the French inland waterways, the skipper is expected to hold an International Certificate of Competence (ICC) endorsed for inland waters. And the inland endorsement is where CEVNI comes in.
So before you read another word: hire equals no licence, own equals ICC plus CEVNI. Everything below is about the second case.
What the ICC is
The International Certificate of Competence is a recognised statement that you are competent to handle a boat of a given type and size. It exists under a United Nations resolution, which is why it is accepted across much of Europe. In the UK the Royal Yachting Association is the body that issues it. You can be awarded an ICC by holding certain existing RYA qualifications, or by sitting an assessment at an RYA-recognised centre.
The ICC comes in categories. The two that matter are coastal waters and inland waters, and they can be combined. For the French canals you specifically need the inland waters endorsement. An ICC is valid for five years, after which you renew it.
One useful point post-Brexit: the RYA can now issue the ICC to some non-UK nationals where their own country does not provide an equivalent, so Australians, New Zealanders and others without a national scheme can often go this route.
What CEVNI is, and why it is separate
CEVNI stands for Code Europeen des Voies de la Navigation Interieure, the European code for inland navigation. It is the rulebook for the interconnected inland waterways of Europe: the signs along the bank, the lights and shapes on boats, who gives way to whom, how you behave around commercial barges, the buoyage that marks the channel. It is genuinely different from the IALA buoyage and collision rules you learn for the sea.
To get the inland endorsement on your ICC you have to pass the CEVNI test. It is a short multiple-choice paper, often done online or at a training centre. There is no separate CEVNI certificate; the centre simply signs off the relevant box on your ICC application. I revised for it over a couple of winter evenings from the RYA's CEVNI handbook and an online practice test, then sat it remotely. It is not hard, but the signs are unfamiliar and worth learning properly, because you will see them on the bank from day one.
How a UK or foreign owner gets sorted
The practical route for a British owner is straightforward. Book onto an RYA-recognised provider, either an in-person session or one of the online CEVNI courses, pass the CEVNI test, and apply for the ICC with the inland waters endorsement. If you already hold a suitable RYA practical certificate, the ICC can be issued largely on the strength of that plus the CEVNI pass. The whole thing can be done in the UK before you ever set foot on the boat.
For non-UK visitors without a national equivalent, check whether the RYA route is open to you, or whether your own authority issues an ICC. Several countries do.
Carry the original certificate on the boat. If the Gendarmerie or VNF staff ask to see your papers, this is one of the documents they may want, alongside the boat's registration and your VNF vignette. I have set out exactly what an inspection covers in my note on carrying your boat documents for the Gendarmerie Maritime.
The French permis fluvial, and why you probably do not need it
You will read about the French permis plaisance option eaux interieures, the French inland boating licence. That is the qualification French residents take. As a visiting foreign boater you do not sit the French exam; the ICC with CEVNI endorsement is the internationally recognised equivalent that France accepts for boats under 20 metres. Boats over 20 metres fall under a higher category, the grande plaisance fluviale, which is beyond most visitors.
Where the licence fits in the bigger picture
The licence is one of three things an owner has to get right before cruising, and they are easy to muddle. You need the ICC with CEVNI to be allowed to skipper. You need the VNF vignette to be allowed to use the water, which is a separate toll and nothing to do with your competence; I cover it in detail in my guide to the VNF vignette and what it costs. And you need to keep within the physical limits of the canals, which is about the boat, not the paperwork.
If you are hiring, none of this applies to you, and you can skip straight to enjoying yourself. If you want the whole picture before deciding which way to go, start with my complete beginner's guide to cruising the French canals, which puts the licence, the toll and the boat-size rules in one place.
The short version
- Hiring a boat: no licence required, ever. The base briefs you and issues a temporary authorisation.
- Owning a boat under 20 metres: ICC endorsed for inland waters, which means passing the CEVNI test.
- CEVNI is the European inland navigation code, a short multiple-choice test, no separate certificate.
- The ICC is valid for five years; the RYA issues it to UK nationals and, in many cases, to foreigners without a home scheme.
- Carry the original on board; it is one of the documents an inspection may ask for.
We sorted ours in a single winter from the sofa in Yorkshire. It cost a fraction of what people imagine, and it turned the canals from a thing we worried about into a thing we just do.
