Most countries have introduced boating license systems to ensure people driving or skippering recreational vessels have a basic level of boating competency. These licensing requirements are designed to promote safety for both boaters and other water users. Licensing systems may be set and administered either by national or regional governments.
For example, in the USA and Australia licensing laws are written and managed by individual state governments. By comparison, in Canada the licensing regime is written and managed at the national level. The relevant administering authority is the national bureaucracy known as Transport Canada. The law is enforced by a mix of various federal and regional peace officers such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police as well as various other regional police forces.
Most jurisdictions set threshold size limits for recreational vessels above which boat driver licensing is required. For example, in Queensland (QLD), Australia, a boat driver licensing is required to operate a recreational boat that is powered by a motor greater than 4.5 kilowatts (or 6 horsepower). Additionally, personal watercraft (PWC or jet ski) licensing is required to operate a personal watercraft. Licensing is not required to operate any other recreational vessels.
By contrast, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia adopts a speed criterion rather than a size criterion. In NSW, boat driver licensing (so-called general licensing) is required to operate any vessel at ten knots or more, except for jet skis. Special licensing is required to drive a jet ski at any speed. To obtain general licensing, persons must be aged 16 years or more; alternative licensing arrangements exist for persons aged from 12 to 16 years. To obtain initial PWC licensing, the general licensing must be obtained first.
Many countries or jurisdictions issue various categories of recreational boat driver licenses depending on the type of vessel or some other criteria. For example, in QLD the categories are a recreational marine driver, a recreational ship master and a recreational speed boat driver license.
It is important to draw a distinction between boat driver licensing regimes and certification regimes. Licenses can be revoked or suspended and they generally (although not always) have a definite expiry date. By contrast, boat driver certifications cannot be revoked or suspended and do not have an expiry date. Recreational boat driver regulatory schemes operating in most nations are licensing schemes.
However, the system operating in Canada is a certification system. Recreational boaters in Canada are issued with a pleasure craft operator card (PCOC). This card cannot be revoked or suspended and it does not have an expiry date. The PCOC is known as a competency card.
Fortunately, within a federal system such as the USA and Australia, boating licenses issued by one state are recognized by other states. As a result, a boater that has been issued with a license in, say, California is generally able to operate the stipulated class of vessel in other US states. This general principle also applies in Australia where a license issued in one state is also recognized in another state.
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