The legal frame
Governing: Code des transports L5421-1 to L5421-6 and L5423-1 to L5423-14; Division 240 (rental duties). Builds on: Working on Yachts in France, L4.2.
Three contracts, three sets of duties
French maritime law gives you three ways of doing business with a boat.
| Contract | Code des transports | Who runs the boat | Typical yacht use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affrètement coque nue (bareboat charter) | L5423-8 | The affréteur, without crew or with incomplete crew, for a set time | Long bareboat deals between companies |
| Affrètement à temps (time charter) | L5423-10 | The fréteur supplies a crewed ship for a set time | The classic crewed yacht charter |
| Contrat de passage (passage contract) | L5421-1 | The carrier carries a passenger on a defined route for a fare | Ferries, excursion boats, sold seats |
Under L5423-1, the fréteur (owner side) puts a ship at the affréteur's (charterer's) disposal for payment. The chapter is supplétif: it applies only where the parties have not agreed otherwise, so the written charter party does most of the work. Charters of more than a year must be in writing (L5423-2), and actions under a charter are time-barred after one year (L5423-4).
The passage contract is tougher on the operator. The carrier must keep the ship seaworthy, properly manned and equipped and must take all care for passenger safety (L5421-2). It answers for death or injury in a shipwreck, collision, stranding, explosion or fire unless it proves no fault (L5421-4). Liability actions run for two years (L5421-6).
How yachting uses the words
The CCI/DGFiP/DGDDI guide on yachting tax and customs draws the line that the industry uses:
- Location means hiring out a boat bareboat for private use. The hirer takes legal responsibility for the boat. A French hire boat stays a pleasure boat.
- Affrètement means putting a commercially registered yacht with its full crew at the client's disposal, normally as an affrètement à temps. Brokers usually act in the owner's name.
Customs sees it the same way. A hire contract must be signed and kept aboard, and a boat used for paid passenger transport with crew must be on the commercial register with a "commerce" francisation.
WARNING — the skipper trap The same guide warns that a French-flag hire boat supplied with a skipper and invoiced as one package can be requalified from private to commercial use. The boat then needs NUC status (L1.2). mer.gouv.fr is blunt: carrying fare-paying passengers from a non-NUC boat, or without a brevet de commandement, is illegal command and can be treated as undeclared work.
Bareboat hire: the rental company's duties
Division 240 puts specific duties on a company hiring out French-flag pleasure boats:
- an annual special inspection (vérification spéciale) whose report goes with the contract;
- a pre-use declaration (annexe 240-A.6) completed by the hirer and countersigned, with a copy aboard; since 2026 it carries dates and a sheet for additional drivers;
- a notice in the premises showing local buoyage, lanes and speeds, and "permis bateau obligatoire" in French and at least two other languages.
Why the label matters
| If the deal is… | The boat must be… | The person in charge needs… |
|---|---|---|
| Bareboat hire to a private user | A pleasure boat meeting Division 240 | The hirer's own permis (above 4.5 kW) |
| Crewed charter, ≤ 24 m | A NUC (Division 241) | A professional brevet |
| Crewed charter, > 24 m | A Division 242 commercial yacht | Professional titles and a fiche d'effectif |
TIP — read the contract before the guest list Before the season, ask who is named as fréteur, who is master, and whether a skipper is billed separately. Those three answers tell you which regime you are sailing under.
Summary
Affrètement puts a ship at someone's disposal, and passage carries a passenger. In yachting, "location" means bareboat hire for private use, and "affrètement" means a crewed commercial yacht. Package a skipper with a hire boat and you may have created an unapproved commercial vessel.