Legal frame UNECE Working Party on Inland Water Transport (SC.3), Resolution No. 40, Revision 5 (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/147/Rev.5), adopted 31 October 2025 and published in 2026. It replaces Rev.4 (2015) and its Amendments 1–3. UNECE Guidelines to Res. 40 (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/2023/14).
A recommendation, not a treaty
The International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (the ICC; most British sailors still say International Certificate of Competence) began life in 1998 to make life easier for leisure boaters on the Rhine and Danube. It is a recommendation of a UNECE working party. Governments tell the UN Secretary-General whether they accept it. Nobody is obliged to.
Rev.5 changed little of substance. It folds in the three amendments to Rev.4, updates the list of governments, and asks states to say whether their specimen ICC is physical, digital or both. The digital ICC is still on the agenda, and SC.3 meets again on 26–28 October 2026.
What the card certifies
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| I | Inland waters (requires CEVNI knowledge) |
| C | Coastal waters (COLREGs and buoyage). Res. 40 does not define "coastal" |
| M / S | Motorised / sailing craft, by the design of the boat |
| Limits | Length, tonnage or power, filled in by the issuing state |
The minimum age is 16. The holder must be medically fit and have passed an exam, or hold the issuing state's national certificate. There is no maximum size in Res. 40 itself.
Who is on the list
Annex IV is a column headed "Acceptance of resolution No. 40 (Yes/No)". For the countries this guide covers:
| Status | Countries |
|---|---|
| Yes | Croatia |
| No | France, Italy |
| Not listed | Spain, Greece, Malta, Montenegro, Turkey, Portugal |
On the issuing side, the UK and Ireland are both "Yes". So are Germany, the Netherlands and Czechia. Poland is "No".
In other words, eight of the nine destinations owe the ICC nothing under Res. 40. Where they accept it, or accept your RYA or Irish Sailing certificate, it is because their own national law says so. Module 2 goes through that country by country.
Flag state, coastal state, charter company
Three different parties decide whether your paperwork is enough:
- The flag state governs the boat wherever it is. A UK-flag yacht follows UK law, which requires no licence for a pleasure vessel.
- The coastal state adds its own rules in its territorial and internal waters. That is the case the ICC was designed for: a visiting foreign yacht.
- The charter company sets its own terms. A locally flagged charter yacht falls under that state's licence rules, and the company can ask for more.
UNECE's guidelines put it plainly: the ICC "was not intended for use within the territorial and internal waters of the flag state", and "charter companies are not obliged to recognize ICC".
CAUTION — The list is not the law Annex IV tells you who signed up to the recommendation. It does not tell you what a Greek port police officer or a Croatian charter base will accept. National law does, and it often names your home licence rather than the ICC.
TIP — Commercial use The ICC is for leisure only and cannot be commercially endorsed. Skippering for pay is a different subject; see the MCA library courses.