What changed
Governing: RD 1188/2025 art. 4.1 (BOE-A-2025-27010), rewriting RD 875/2014 art. 10 from 1 Oct 2026; DGMM press release of 23 Sep 2026. Builds on: L1.1.
The old rule
For years Spain let adults helm small motorboats with no title at all: up to 5 m, up to 15 CV (about 11 kW), within 2 nm and in daylight. Rental firms around the Balearics built whole fleets on it, the barca sin licencia (licence-free boat). In Mallorca and Menorca the Capitanía Marítima de Palma added its own safety rules in 2024 because so many first-timers were getting into trouble.
The new rule
RD 1188/2025 rewrote the exception. Since 1 October 2026 it reads, in short:
| Still no title needed | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Private use of motor craft ≤5 m and ≤15 CV (no power reducer) | 2 nm from where you left; daylight; age 18 |
| Sporting use of sailing boats ≤6 m | same |
| Floating or beach craft (artefactos flotantes o de playa): pedalos, kayaks and similar | same |
What disappeared is the word that let rentals in. The ministry's press release of 23 September 2026 spells it out: anyone who helms a boat under a nautical hire contract (arrendamiento náutico) now needs a Licencia de Navegación or a title, whatever the boat's length. Jet skis were never in the exception and are unchanged.
What it means for you
- Renting any motorboat, even the little 4.5 m one with a 15 CV outboard: someone aboard must hold at least a Licencia (or a PNB or higher, or an accepted foreign title) and must be the one helming.
- Your own boat, or a friend's lent free of charge, ≤5 m and ≤15 CV: still no title, provided it is genuinely private use, you are 18 or over, within 2 nm and in daylight.
- A pedalo or kayak from the beach: no title.
- A small rented sailing dinghy: the ministry says the sail exception "continues", but the law now says sporting use. Whether a hire counts is not defined. Ask the rental firm, and if in doubt, ask the Capitanía.
WARNING — The desk has to say no Under the Balearic hire decree (Decreto 44/2025 art. 4.2) the lessor must check that you hold a sufficient title and must not sign the contract if you don't. A firm that hires you a boat anyway is committing an offence too, and so are you (lesson 5.1).
The 2024 Palma rules
The Capitanía de Palma resolution of 26 June 2024 (BOIB 85) applied to licence-free rental boats in Mallorca and Menorca waters:
- no more than 1 nm offshore and 5 nm from the start point;
- no more than 7 kn;
- not above Force 4, waves over 1 m or visibility under 6 nm;
- tracking devices, laminated rules in the renter's language, one assistance boat per 10 rentals.
From 1 October 2026 no rental boat is "licence-free", so the resolution appears to have lost its subject. Whether the Capitanía will set similar rules for Licencia holders is unknown. They are still a sensible personal standard for a first day out.
CAUTION — Under appeal, still in force Press reports (elDiario.es, 16 Sep 2026) say rental firms' association ALET has appealed RD 1188/2025 to the Tribunal Supremo. No suspension has been reported and the ministry is applying the rule. Plan on the basis that it applies.