Two systems, one coastline
Governing: décret 2007-1167 and arrêté of 28 Sep 2007 (permis plaisance); Code des transports and décret 2015-723 (professional titles).
The split
France runs two regimes that barely touch. One licenses people who drive their own or a hired boat for pleasure. The other certifies seafarers who are paid to work on board. If you remember one thing from this course, make it this: the leisure licence is not a work ticket, however large the boat you drove to get it.
| Permis plaisance | Titres de formation professionnelle maritime | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Décret 2007-1167; arrêté 28 Sep 2007 | Code des transports; décret 2015-723 |
| STCW? | No | Yes |
| Who issues it | State, after a private-operator exam (côtière) or DDTM paper (hauturière) | DIRM, or the RIF guichet unique for RIF ships |
| Paid work | Never | Yes, within the title's limits |
| Expiry | None | Deck titles five-yearly |
The permis in brief
The permis plaisance is needed to helm a motor pleasure boat of more than 4.5 kW (6 CV). Sailing boats at sea need none, even with an auxiliary. The option côtière covers up to 6 nm from a shelter; the extension hauturière removes the distance limit. Minimum age is 16 and the permis does not expire.
The côtière theory test is a 40-question multiple-choice test with at most 5 errors, sat on a tablet at a private operator's centre, and it is in French only. If you want it, see Permis Côtier prep and Extension Hauturière prep.
The professional side
Paid crew hold titres de formation professionnelle maritime: French STCW certificates of competency under décret 2015-723. They are issued as secure PDFs on the Portail du marin. Training is modular, delivered by approved providers (prestataires agréés), and assessed during the course. Unlike Spain, there is no national self-study written exam for yacht officers that you can sit on your own.
WARNING — the day-charter trap Taking paying guests out on a boat that is not approved as a NUC, or without a brevet de commandement, is treated by the administration as illegal exercise of command and can be requalified as undeclared work (mer.gouv.fr). A permis côtier, a Day Skipper or an ICC does not change that.
Where the two meet
The systems overlap in only a few places:
- Tenders and toys. Whoever drives a motor tender over 4.5 kW for pleasure needs a licence the French rules accept. On a commercial yacht the crew member is working, so the question becomes one of professional competence and the flag's rules. Ask your master what the vessel's documents require.
- Criminal law. Since 20 Aug 2026 (loi 2026-798), helming a motor boat that requires a permis with 0.80 g/L of blood alcohol, or 0.40 mg/L in breath, or more is a crime: up to 3 years and €9,000, and more where drugs are involved.
- Coastal rules. The Préfet maritime's orders bind every boat, leisure or professional, French flag or foreign.
TIP — build the right ladder If your aim is a career on French-flag yachts, a permis is pleasant to have but is not a step on the professional ladder. Start with STCW basic safety and a proper deck route instead.
Summary
Two boxes: a leisure permis with no STCW status and no work rights, and STCW titles that let you be paid within stated limits. The rest of this course lives almost entirely in the second box.