Where candidates go wrong
- They treat 32 out of 45 as the whole rule. The doble criterio de valoración (double marking criterion) fails more people than the total does: 30 easy marks mean nothing if you drop a sixth RIPA question.
- They turn up with a calculator. For the PER it is not allowed; only Patrón de Yate and Capitán de Yate candidates may use one.
- They revise buoyage from an old manual. The 2026 DGMM convocatoria names IALA-MBS 2022 as the standard examined.
The paper in law
RD 875/2014, Anexo II, fixes the exam: 45 independent questions, four options each, 1 h 30 min maximum. The questions are distributed by Unidad Teórica (UT, theory unit):
| UT | Unit | Questions | Max errors | Min correct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nomenclatura náutica | 4 | – | – |
| 2 | Elementos de amarre y fondeo | 2 | – | – |
| 3 | Seguridad | 4 | – | – |
| 4 | Legislación | 2 | – | – |
| 5 | Balizamiento | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | Reglamento (RIPA) | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Maniobra | 2 | – | – |
| 8 | Emergencias en la mar | 3 | – | – |
| 9 | Meteorología | 4 | – | – |
| 10 | Teoría de navegación | 5 | – | – |
| 11 | Carta de navegación | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 45 | 13 | 32 |
You pass only if you have 32 correct and stay within all three caps. The table pairs each cap with a minimum of correct answers, so a blank answer costs you exactly what a wrong one does. Never leave a question empty.
WARNING — The caps are independent 40 correct with three chartwork errors is a fail. Balizamiento (5 questions) and Carta (4 questions) allow only 2 errors each, so they carry the most weight per question on the paper.
If you already hold the PNB
Holders of the Patrón para Navegación Básica (PNB), or anyone who passed its theory exam, sit only UT 7 to 11: 18 questions in 45 minutes, needing 15 correct, no more than 3 errors in total and no more than 2 in Carta. A PNB exam pass (not the title) can be used this way only before the same administration and within its next two PNB sittings.
The rule also works in reverse. If you fail the PER but your answers in UT1–6 meet the PNB standard, the administration recognises that PNB pass for up to two consecutive PER sittings.
On the day
- The administration supplies the carta náutica (chart) and the Anuario de Mareas (tide tables) extracts with the question booklet.
- You bring a blue or black pen, a pencil and your drawing kit (dividers, square protractor, parallel ruler). No calculator.
- DGMM 2026 fee: 55.98 €. DGMM sittings are held in Madrid (18 April, 27 June and 21 November 2026). Twelve regions, Baleares included, run their own exams and publish their own dates.
- The title also needs the practicals and the short-range radio course at an authorised school. A theory pass on its own does not give you a title.
TIP — Budget your 90 minutes Two minutes a question on average. Answer the recall units first, then give the four chartwork questions a protected block of about 25 minutes.
What the examiner wants to see
Clean, literal answers. The syllabus says RIPA questions follow the literal text of the Regulations, not anyone's interpretation. Read every option: distractors are often one word away from the correct text ("babor" for "estribor", "12 metros" for "20 metros").
Vocabulario del examen
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| doble criterio de valoración | double marking criterion |
| unidad teórica (UT) | theory unit |
| errores permitidos | permitted errors |
| convocatoria | exam sitting / call |
| tasa | fee |