BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide
Offshore Extension: How Far Out Can You Go on a Coastal Licence?
The French coastal boating licence stops 6 nautical miles from shelter: what the offshore extension changes, when it actually matters, and what it doesn't require for a rental.
Our guide to the French coastal licence mentions it in passing: beyond 6 nautical miles from shelter, an extension applies. Here's what it actually changes, and when it matters for a boat rental.
The 6-mile limit
The coastal licence (permis côtier) allows driving any motorboat, with no power limit, but within a zone bounded to 6 nautical miles from shelter (a harbour or refuge point). That's plenty for the vast majority of day rentals, including reaching a nearby island such as Porquerolles from Hyères or Formentera from Ibiza.
What the extension adds
The offshore coastal extension removes that distance limit and adds a navigation module: using a nautical chart, a compass, and working out course and position without a visual landmark. It's usually taken after the coastal licence, with a short course and a dedicated exam.
When it actually matters
A crossing like Bastia to Elba, or a full Corsica circuit that spends long stretches away from the coast, falls outside the strict scope of the coastal licence alone. In practice, most operators offering that kind of powerboat crossing will ask either for the extension or for a skipper on board — worth checking at booking time rather than on departure day.
What about sailing?
Sailing requires no licence at all in France, but an operator will almost always ask for a sailing CV detailing the stand-in skipper's experience for a bareboat charter — which, in practice, serves much the same purpose as the offshore extension does for powerboats.
The takeaway
For a standard day rental in the Mediterranean, the coastal licence alone covers the vast majority of cases. The extension only becomes a real question for long crossings or island circuits by motorboat — at that point, hiring a skipper beats scrambling to get certified before departure.
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