There is a persistent bit of dock lore that says you need an ICC to sail in France. It gets repeated in chandleries, in marina bars and on forums, and it is mostly wrong. But "mostly wrong" hides an important "sometimes essential", and the difference depends entirely on three things: whose boat you are on, where you are sailing, and whether you are touching the inland waterways.
I sat on the wrong side of this once. I assumed my RYA Day Skipper would let me bareboat a charter cat out of Hyeres. It did not, on its own. So let me lay out what France actually recognises, and when each piece of paper earns its place.
First, the two are not rivals
People say "ICC vs RYA" as if you must pick one. You do not. They do different jobs.
The RYA certificates (Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, Yachtmaster) are training and competence qualifications. They prove you can actually handle a boat. They are recognised and respected internationally, and charter companies love them.
The ICC, the International Certificate of Competence, is a single-page document issued under a United Nations (UNECE) framework. It is not a course. It is a portable proof-of-competence card designed to be understood by foreign authorities and charter firms who may never have heard of "Day Skipper". In the UK the RYA issues the ICC, and you can get it on the back of an existing RYA qualification or by passing an assessment.
So the honest mental model is: RYA proves you can sail; the ICC translates that into a format foreign officials recognise at a glance.
Coastal cruising in your own foreign-flagged boat: you need neither
This is the bit the dock lore gets wrong. If you are cruising French coastal waters in your own foreign-flagged boat, France applies the rule that you must hold whatever your flag state requires. For a UK-registered boat under 24 metres in coastal waters, the UK requires no certificate of competence at all. Therefore France requires none of you either.
You can sail the entire French Channel, Atlantic and Mediterranean coast in your own British (or Dutch, or German) yacht with no ICC and no RYA ticket and be entirely legal. We spell this out in full in do you need a licence to sail in French coastal waters as a visitor, because it is the single most misunderstood point for incoming cruisers.
That said, I carry my ICC anyway. It does no harm, it is recognised, and on the rare occasion an official wants to see something, a one-page ICC is easier to wave than a discussion about UK competence law. It also helps with marina paperwork and insurance.
Where the ICC becomes essential: charter and French-flagged boats
The moment you step onto a chartered or French-registered boat, the picture changes. You are no longer covered by your own flag state's "no licence needed" position. You are operating a boat under French or charter-company rules, and they will want to see competence.
For a bareboat charter, the operator decides what they accept. In practice, around the French coast, an ICC or an RYA Day Skipper (or higher) is the usual bar, and many companies want both a sailing CV and an ICC. Some accept RYA certificates directly, some prefer the ICC because their staff recognise it instantly. This is exactly where I came unstuck assuming one document would do. If chartering is your plan, read bareboat charter in France and the licence question before you book, and email the specific operator to confirm what they accept. Do not assume.
The canals are a different country: CEVNI
If your plan involves the French inland waterways (the Canal du Midi, the Rhone, the Burgundy canals, the cross-France route from Channel to Med), coastal rules no longer apply. Inland navigation in France requires the skipper to hold an ICC endorsed for inland waters, which means you also have to pass the CEVNI test.
CEVNI is the code of signs, signals and rules for European inland waterways: the buoyage, the light and sound signals, the lock procedures, the rules of the road on a canal. The RYA runs a short multiple-choice CEVNI test, and passing it adds the inland endorsement to your ICC. Without it, your ICC may say "coastal" only, which is not enough for the canals.
So for the inland traveller the chain is: get an ICC, take the CEVNI test, get the inland endorsement on the card. The full inland picture is in our guide to the CEVNI and ICC licence for French waterways.
Quick reference by situation
- Own foreign-flagged boat, coastal: no certificate legally required, but carry your ICC anyway.
- Bareboat charter, coastal: ICC and/or RYA Day Skipper plus a sailing CV; confirm with the operator.
- Any boat on the inland waterways: ICC with the CEVNI inland endorsement.
- French-flagged or French-resident skipper: French permis plaisance rules apply, a separate world.
How to actually get an ICC, and the eligibility quirk
Because the ICC is so useful and so misunderstood, a word on getting one. In the UK the RYA issues the ICC, and there are two routes. If you already hold a recognised RYA practical certificate, you can apply on the strength of it, with the ICC issued for the categories your qualification supports (sail, power, and the size of craft). If you do not hold one, you can take an ICC assessment with an RYA-recognised training centre, which is a practical test rather than a course, though most people do a short refresher first.
There is an eligibility quirk that catches people out. The ICC is issued under a UNECE resolution, and not everyone is entitled to one from the UK authority. Broadly you need to be a UK resident or otherwise eligible through the RYA. If you live abroad, you may need to obtain your ICC through your country of residence rather than the UK. Check before you book a test, because turning up ineligible wastes a day.
The ICC also distinguishes coastal from inland use. A coastal ICC covers, unsurprisingly, coastal waters. To add inland waters you take the CEVNI test and get the inland endorsement, which brings us back to the canals. If there is any chance you will use the French waterways, do the CEVNI at the same time; it is far easier to add the endorsement up front than to chase it later from a canal-side mooring.
Validity, renewal and carrying the thing
An ICC issued by the RYA is generally valid for five years and renewable. Keep an eye on the expiry, because an out-of-date ICC handed to a charter desk or a harbour office is an awkward moment. RYA practical certificates do not expire, which is one quiet advantage of holding the underlying qualification as well as the ICC.
Whatever you hold, carry the physical document on the boat. A certificate sitting in a drawer at home is no use to a charter operator at check-in or to a curious official. It belongs in the same folder as your registration and insurance, which is the same folder the authorities will ask for: see the boat documents the Gendarmerie checks.
A note on the VHF, because it always comes up
None of these documents give you the right to transmit on VHF. The right to navigate and the right to use the radio are separate in France. To use VHF or DSC legally you need a recognised radio operator's certificate; the UK Short Range Certificate (SRC) is accepted. Carry it with your ship's radio licence, which is part of the boat documents the Gendarmerie checks.
What I would actually do
If you only cruise your own boat along the coast, you legally need nothing, but spend the modest effort to hold an ICC. It is the universal "yes, I am competent" card and it removes friction everywhere from marinas to insurers.
If you might ever charter, get the ICC and keep an RYA Day Skipper or above, and check each operator's requirements in writing before you pay a deposit.
If the canals are on your list, add the CEVNI endorsement. It is a short test and without it the inland waterways are technically off limits.
The ICC is not a legal hoop for the coastal cruiser. It is a small, cheap insurance policy against the gap between what France allows and what a charter desk or harbour office expects. For that reason alone, mine lives in the document folder with everything else.
