Legal frame Pomorski zakonik art. 5 and art. 673.č (as amended by NN 17/19); Pravilnik o brodicama i jahtama (NN 27/05) arts 70, 77, 81–83, kept in force by Pravilnik NN 13/20 art. 48 "until special regulations are adopted".
The word that decides the rule
Croatian law sorts leisure craft by hull length, not by marketing. A brodica (boat) is any craft over 2.5 m or with more than 5 kW of propulsion, up to 15 m. A jahta (yacht) is a leisure craft over 15 m. Both may carry at most 12 passengers. So a 45-foot cruising monohull (about 13.7 m) is legally a brodica; a 56-footer is a yacht. Take the length from the boat's papers, not from the brochure: charter fleets quote overall length, the register uses hull length.
The bareboat bands
The minimum-crew rules sit in Glava X of the 2005 Pravilnik, which the 2020 regulation repealed except for the licence and crew chapters. Art. 77 says boats hired out without crew follow the rules for personal-use boats.
| Charter craft | Minimum on board | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Brodica up to 15 m, bareboat | One skipper with voditelj brodice B or a recognised equivalent; 18 or older if the engine exceeds 15 kW | arts 70, 77 |
| Yacht over 15 m and up to 18 m, bareboat | A B holder or recognised equivalent may command | art. 81(2) |
| Yacht 18–24 m | Zapovjednik jahte A (or equivalent) plus one crew member with B | art. 82 |
| Yacht over 24 m | Zapovjednik jahte B plus engine and safety crew — not a bareboat proposition | art. 83 |
Category A (boats up to 7 m and 15 kW, within 6 nm) matters only for small day boats, which the Renting a Boat or Jet Ski in Croatia course covers.
"30 BT" on old paper
Until 1 February 2020 the yacht limits were written in gross tonnage. NN 13/20 art. 48(2)–(3) replaced "30 BT" with "18 m" and "100 BT" with "24 m". Printed B certificates, the 2020 recognition table and plenty of websites still say "yachts up to 30 BT". Teach yourself the current reading: compare the yacht's length with 18 m and 24 m.
Whose problem is it?
The najmoprimac (hirer) must ensure that the craft is skippered by a properly qualified person for the whole charter and that enough qualified crew are on board (Pomorski zakonik art. 673.č(2)). The charter company checks your papers at the handover (NN 42/17 art. 25), but a lenient check does not shift the duty. While the boat is in your possession you share legal liability with the owner and operator (art. 673.č(4)).
CAUTION — The skipper must stay the skipper The qualified person named at check-in is the one the bands assume is in command. Handing the helm to an unlicensed friend for a passage is fine; handing over command is not.
Flag matters
These bands apply to Croatian-flag charter craft, which make up most bareboat fleets. On a charter boat flagged in another EEA state, crew competence follows the flag state's rules (NN 42/17 arts 8 and 26), and Croatian rules apply only if the flag sets none (Pravilnik art. 4(8)). Ask the base which flag your boat flies before you assume anything.
Reform on the horizon
The Ministry has announced a new regulation covering every title from voditelj brodice to master, with computer-based exams and compulsory practical training for B; a public consultation was planned for autumn 2026 [secondary: press reports, June–July 2026]. Nothing had been published in Narodne novine by 30 September 2026. The rules above are the ones in force.
TIP — Check the length before you book Fleets often list a 15.6 m "50-footer" next to a 14.9 m one. For a skipper with B, both are fine; at 18.2 m the answer changes.