Where candidates go wrong
Questions about the licence itself look easy and catch people out, because the numbers are close together:
- mixing up 85 kW (the D1 cap) with 30 kW / 40.8 CV (the threshold below which no licence is needed inside 6 nm);
- forgetting that D1 is daytime only;
- assuming a 16-year-old can command anything up to 12 m: until 18 it is natanti and jet skis only;
- giving the jet ski the 6 nm limit instead of 1 nm.
What D1 allows
Category D is a special licence (Codice della nautica art. 39(6)(d)). Type D1 is set out in art. 27-bis of D.M. 146/2008, added by D.M. 133/2024.
| Item | D1 limit |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 16 |
| Hours | navigazione esclusivamente diurna (daytime only) |
| Craft | natanti and imbarcazioni with hulls up to 12 m (ISO 8666) |
| Area | inland waters and the sea within 6 nm of the coast |
| Moto d'acqua (jet ski) | within 1 nm |
| Power | never above 85 kW = 115.6 CV |
| Under 18 | natanti and jet skis only |
The Codice definitions (art. 3): a natante has a hull up to 10 m (or is rowed); an imbarcazione is over 10 m and up to 24 m; a moto d'acqua is under 4 m, water-jet driven, ridden seated, standing or kneeling.
The engine-size caps
Besides the power cap, art. 27-bis(3) sets a maximum cilindrata (engine capacity) for each engine type. The ones examiners like:
| Engine | Max capacity |
|---|---|
| Two-stroke fuoribordo (outboard) | 1,900 cc |
| Four-stroke outboard, not turbocharged | 2,400 cc |
| Four-stroke entrobordo (inboard), not turbocharged | 1,700 cc |
| Inboard diesel, not turbocharged | 2,400 cc |
| Jet ski two-stroke / four-stroke not turbocharged | 1,000 / 1,700 cc |
Conversion: 1 kW = 1.36 CV (metric horsepower). So 85 × 1.36 = 115.6 CV and 30 × 1.36 = 40.8 CV.
When a licence is needed
For craft up to 24 m a patente nautica is compulsory (Codice art. 39(1)):
- beyond 6 nm, sail included;
- always on a jet ski;
- inside 6 nm if the engine exceeds 30 kW / 40.8 CV or the Codice's cc limits.
Below those thresholds inside 6 nm, you need only be 16 for a natante (18 for an imbarcazione). D1 is for the bigger engine and the jet ski, not for a 30 kW RIB.
WARNING — D1 does not work after dark If the trip home runs late and the light goes, you are outside your licence. Plan to be back well before sunset.
Validity and moving up to category A
- The licence is valid 10 years; 5 years if you are 60 or over at issue or renewal (D.M. 146 art. 38).
- At 18 a D1 holder can obtain categoria A with a supplementary theory exam on the topics not in the D1 course plus a practical test (art. 30(2-bis)).
TIP — Think ahead to A If you will want to go beyond 6 nm or sail at night, learn D1 properly: much of it comes back in the category A base quiz. See Patente Cat. A 12 miglia prep.
What the examiner wants to see
The quiz checks you know the edges of your licence. Say it without hesitating: 16, daytime, 12 m, 6 nm, 1 nm on a jet ski, 85 kW, and natanti and jet skis only until 18.
Vocabolario d'esame
| Italiano | English |
|---|---|
| natante | unregistered craft, hull ≤10 m |
| imbarcazione | registered craft, 10–24 m |
| moto d'acqua | jet ski / PWC |
| navigazione diurna | daytime navigation |
| cilindrata | engine capacity (cc) |
| fuoribordo / entrobordo | outboard / inboard |
| sovralimentato | turbocharged |
| convalida | licence renewal |
| esame integrativo | supplementary exam |