Do you need a licence for a jet ski in the UK?
No national licence is needed to ride your own jet ski in UK waters, petrol or electric, but many harbours, lakes and councils ask for a launch permit, and some for the RYA jet ski certificate. The no licence answer is our reading of the law, and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) reads it the same way; no statute says it in so many words. What the guidance does say is narrower. MGN 599 states only that the STCW Regulations 2022, the certificate rules for professional crews, “do not apply” on pleasure vessels under 80 gross tonnes or 24 metres, and MGN 684, the government's guidance on powered watercraft, sets no licence or training duty. An electric jet ski sits in law where a petrol one does.
No licence does not mean no rules. Since 31 March 2023 the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 has put every craft that moves under its own mechanical power and carries a person within reach of section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and the government's guidance names electric craft outright. On top of that sit the harbour authorities, councils and lake managers. The RYA puts it plainly: “there isn't a national scheme in operation, so you may need to pay for additional registrations to launch in some areas. Many local councils also set minimum rider ages and require RYA qualifications to ride in the area.”
So the water decides. On a busy stretch of coast a launch usually comes with a permit, proof of third party insurance and a registration number, and in several harbours with the RYA Personal Watercraft Proficiency certificate that people call the RYA jet ski licence. On a lake it may come with a registration and a speed limit, or with a flat no.
What the Watercraft Order changed
For years there was a hole in the law. MGN 684 records that the Court of Appeal found personal watercraft “were not legally within scope” of the dangerous use provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, after a personal watercraft user had been prosecuted following an accident. The Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/35), made under section 112 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, “closes this gap”. It came into force on 31 March 2023.
Its definition is broad. Under article 3(1) a watercraftis any craft that “is capable of moving under its own mechanical power”, “is used, navigated or situated wholly or partly in or on water” and “is capable of being used to carry one or more persons”. Ships and fishing vessels within section 313(1) of the 1995 Act are left out by article 3(2). Nothing in the test asks what turns the propeller or the pump, and MGN 684 settles the point in paragraph 1.4: “It does not matter what kind of power is used, so electrically-powered vessels of any size (including, for instance, eFoils) are “watercraft” and come within the Order's reach.” The eFoil rules start from that Order too.
The section 58 offence
Article 6 applies section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act to watercraft. An act or omission that causes, or is likely to cause, the loss of or serious damage to the watercraft or another craft, or death or serious injury, becomes an offence when it was “deliberate or amounted to a breach or neglect of duty”, or when the person “was under the influence of drink or a drug”. On summary conviction the penalty is a fine (in Scotland and Northern Ireland up to level 5 on the standard scale). On indictment it is up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The owner is not off the hook either. Articles 7 and 8 allow a dangerously unsafe watercraft to be detained and make the owner liable for its unsafe operation, again with up to two years on indictment. Article 14 and Schedule 2 apply the collision regulations (COLREGs), and the word “master” there includes “any person for the time being using a watercraft”, which puts whoever holds the handlebars in the master's shoes.
By our reading there is no prescribed alcohol limit for a private rider. The Order does not apply sections 78 to 80 of the 2003 Act to watercraft, so drink and drugs matter as a condition of the section 58 offence. A distress beacon is not compulsory either: MGN 684 recommends wearing an EPIRB but does not make it mandatory, and if anyone aboard wears one, owner and operator must make sure it has been properly registered.
Harbour permits do the gatekeeping
Article 11 of the Order lets harbour authorities give harbour directions to watercraft, and MGN 684 tells riders they “should always consult the information published by the harbour authority and comply with any local regulations”. The RYA goes further: “Many UK harbours require PW riders to hold an RYA qualification to launch.” Some, it adds, “may ban them altogether or offer a dedicated PWC zone.”
Poole, Weymouth and Portland
Poole Harbour's Local Notice to Mariners 15/2026 names jet skis and e-foils alongside other powered personal watercraft. You carry a Poole PWC permit, register with Datatag and display the number, ride only between sunrise and sunset and hold third party insurance. Riders under 16 need an RYA PWC certificate. Riding without a permit can cost up to £1,000 plus costs. The harbour's 2026-27 charges, in force from 1 April 2026 with VAT included, put the PWC permit at £28.92 a day, £74.96 a week and £229.19 a year.
A short way west, Weymouth issues a Motorised Water Sports Permit on proof of £5 million third party insurance and Datatag registration. Portland Harbour wants you registered with the Harbour Authority first and lets you launch only from Ferrybridge slipway. Poole's notice names e-foils as well, so the eFoil UK guide covers much of the same ground for electric boards.
Crouch, Langstone and Chichester
On the Crouch every PWC “must be licensed” by the harbour authority before it is used, and the authority counts jet skis, wetbikes and power boards in that. The 2026 licence fee is £213.38, third party liability cover must be “not less than £3,000,000”, and the RYA PWC Certificate of Proficiency is a condition of the licence. The river has 8 knot zones, and a fine can reach £2,500.
Langstone Harbour writes it as a rule of law: “It is an offence to use a ski in the harbour without a Licence.” The licence needs RYA PWC Proficiency, Powerboat Level 2 or another STCW compliant certificate, and the craft must be insured. Once issued it stays valid unless revoked. The limit is 10 knots over the ground and 5 in the marina approach channel. Next door, Chichester Harbour has an 8 knot limit across the whole harbour.
The Thames, Anglesey and Gwynedd
On the tidal Thames the Port of London Authority byelaws allow no PWC above Lower Hope Point, and a PWC may launch only at the Authorised Launch Sites. In north Wales, Anglesey charges £40 to register a power driven craft under 10 hp and £70 for one over 10 hp, wants £3 million of third party insurance and sets 8 knots at all 26 of its locations. A Roxen, which its maker rates at 22 kW (30 hp), lands in the upper band by our reckoning. Gwynedd asks £196.50 for registration plus an annual launching permit in 2026/27, or £80 for registration alone.
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| Water | Permit and fee | What the rider needs |
|---|---|---|
| Poole Harbour | PWC permit: £28.92 a day, £74.96 a week, £229.19 a year (incl. VAT) | Datatag registration, third party insurance, sunrise to sunset only, RYA PWC certificate under 16 |
| Weymouth | Motorised Water Sports Permit | £5 million third party insurance, Datatag registration |
| Portland Harbour | Registration with the Harbour Authority | Launch only from Ferrybridge slipway |
| River Crouch | Licence, £213.38 for 2026 | RYA PWC Certificate of Proficiency, at least £3,000,000 liability cover, 8 knot zones |
| Langstone Harbour | Licence, valid unless revoked | RYA PWC Proficiency, Powerboat Level 2 or other STCW compliant certificate, insurance, 10 knots |
| Tidal Thames | Authorised Launch Sites only | No PWC above Lower Hope Point |
| Anglesey | Registration £40 under 10 hp, £70 above | £3 million third party insurance, 8 knots at all 26 locations |
| Gwynedd | £196.50 registration and launching permit, or £80 registration only (2026/27) | £3 million insurance; from 12 to 17 an RYA PWC certificate or Powerboat Level 2 (12 to 14 also under direct adult supervision); nobody under 12 |
Lakes, lochs, rivers and canals
On Windermere every powered boat needs a current Windermere Registration. The byelaws cap speed at 10 miles per hour outside the six knot areas, and they define those miles as nautical miles, so the limit is 10 knots. A breach is punishable by a fine up to level 2 on the standard scale.
Elsewhere in the Lake District the National Park's access page lists Coniston Water, Derwentwater and Ullswater with “Powered craft: yes” and a 10 mph limit. Brotherswater, Buttermere, Crummock Water, Ennerdale Water, Grasmere and Haweswater are marked “Powered craft: no”. A yes on that list is a general line about motor boats, not a promise of a jet ski launch, so ask at the slipway or the landowner before you set off.
Scotland adds a layer of its own. The Loch Lomond Byelaws 2023, in effect since 1 November 2024, require every power driven vessel on the loch to be registered. The famous right of access under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 stops at motors: section 9(f) excludes being on inland water “in or with a motorised vehicle or vessel”. By our reading that means a powered craft needs the permission of the landowner or the authority before it goes in.
The Norfolk Broads have their own Act. Section 33(1) of the Broads Authority Act 2009 defines a “personal water craft” as one “propelled by a jet drive or other mechanical means of propulsion” and steered by a handlebar or by the rider's body weight. An electric jet ski falls inside that definition by our reading. According to the Broads Authority, jet skis are not allowed on its waters, and in a case reported by the Great Yarmouth Mercury in February 2019 the Authority's prosecutor told the court that “jet-skis were not permitted anywhere along the network”.
On canals and navigable rivers the licence is for the boat. The Canal & River Trust says that “All types and sizes of boats with or without a motor need a licence.” Across inland waterways in general, gov.uk warns that without the right licence or registration “You may be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000 or have your boat removed”.
Insurance comes with the permit
Neither the Watercraft Order nor MGN 684 or MGN 599 obliges the owner of a private craft to insure it, by our reading. The duty arrives through the launch permits and navigation licences. gov.uk sets the usual floor for boats on rivers and canals: “You'll usually need to have ‘third party’ insurance for at least £1 million if you have a powered boat or a houseboat.”
The local figures run higher. The Canal & River Trust and South West Lakes Trust ask for £2 million. Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy and Langstone ask for £3 million, the Crouch for at least £3,000,000, and a Weymouth permit for £5 million. By our count, of the waters named on this page that set a figure, a policy with £5 million of third party cover meets every one; one with £3 million falls short only at Weymouth.
Permit fees and insurance belong to the running cost of the craft, next to charging. What the craft itself costs, model by model, is on the electric jet ski price page.
The RYA jet ski licence and the ICC
What people search for as the RYA jet ski licence is the RYA Personal Watercraft Proficiency certificate. By our reading it is not a legal licence, because no national law asks for one. It still opens doors. Crouch and Langstone make it a licence condition, Poole requires it of riders under 16, and it is the only route to the personal watercraft category on an International Certificate.
The course takes one day and is “predominantly practical”. The minimum age is 12, and candidates aged 12 to 16 may then use a personal watercraft only under the supervision of a responsible adult. Every candidate receives the RYA Personal Watercraft Handbook (G35).
Taking a jet ski abroad with an ICC
“If you want to use a personal watercraft overseas, you're likely to need an ICC,” the RYA says. “Our Proficiency certificate can be used as evidence of your competence.” The International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft is issued by the RYA on behalf of the UK Government, in conformity with UNECE Resolution 40. You must be 16 to apply, it is valid for five years, and RYA members apply free of charge. The ordinary ICC assessment does not cover personal watercraft; the RYA's own notes say the PW Proficiency certificate “is the only certificate that will validate the Personal Watercraft category”, together with the Coastal category.
The RYA keeps a country table for UK flagged pleasure craft that arrive in another country by water; regional or local rules may add to it. Croatia marks evidence of competence as essential, with an ICC recommended. Italy says yes on the coast, ICC recommended, and “check locally” inland. Portugal and Spain mark it as required and Greece as yes, each with an ICC recommended, and France asks visitors on foreign flagged boats for whatever licence the flag state requires. According to the RYA, Spain, Greece and Portugal “are still likely to ask visitors for an ICC” even though they have not adopted Resolution 40.
That table is about bringing your own craft. A jet ski hired on holiday is a local craft under local rules, and the operator or the local law decides what proof is accepted. For chartering, the RYA's advice is to “ask the charter company for advice on what evidence of competence will be acceptable”.
Registration: national, voluntary, local
MGN 684 is clear that UK registration of a powered watercraft “is not mandatory”. An individual owner may still register on the Small Ships Register, and gov.uk puts the price simply: “It costs £35 for 5 years.”
The registrations a rider meets on the water are local ones, by our reading. Poole and Weymouth want a Datatag registration. Windermere Registration covers “any boat with an outboard or electric motor” and costs £48 new or £36 to renew in 2026, then £50 new or £37.50 to renew in 2027. The Small Ships Register exemption on Windermere ended in April 2011, so an SSR number no longer replaces it, and the registration has to be made by someone aged 16 or over. Loch Lomond registers every power driven vessel, and Anglesey and Gwynedd charge their own registration fees (see the table above).
A craft bought abroad and brought in has a tax step before any of this. The electric jet ski for sale page covers where to buy one and what import adds.
Minimum ages, water by water
The UK has no national minimum age for riding a jet ski, by our reading. The RYA notes that councils set their own, and harbours set theirs. The result is a patchwork:
- Windermere, byelaw 13.1: no vessel above 4 bhp or 3 kW “shall be navigated by a person under the age of 16 years”.
- Poole Harbour: under 16 only with an RYA PWC certificate.
- Gwynedd: 18 and over to operate a powerboat or PWC; 15 to 17 with an RYA PWC certificate or Powerboat Level 2; 12 to 14 with one of those and direct adult supervision; under 12 not at all.
- Langstone Harbour: under 12 “not permitted to operate or take charge of a jet ski”; adult supervision “strongly recommended” from 12 to 16.
- Firth of Forth, byelaw 30: nobody under 16 in charge of a craft above 10 hp or 8 knots.
- RYA PW Proficiency course: from 12, with adult supervision up to 16.
The rules pull against each other. A 15 year old with an RYA certificate may ride in Poole and may not drive an electric jet ski on Windermere, because both makers' craft are far above the 3 kW line: Roxen quotes 22 kW, Taiga up to 120 kW.
Where electric and petrol part ways
Mostly they do not. By our reading UK law treats an electric jet ski like a petrol one: the Watercraft Order and MGN 684 are indifferent to the power source, the Broads definition takes in “other mechanical means of propulsion”, and Windermere names electric motors in its registration rule. An electric craft needs the permits, insurance and registration a petrol one would, unless a local rule says otherwise.
The Lake District's small lakes are where a local rule does. Internal combustion engines have not been permitted on any non-navigable lake in the National Park since 1973, while the current byelaws allow electric powered vessels. The National Park Authority has proposed amendments under which electric craft would no longer be permitted either. That is a proposal, not law: it needs approval from DEFRA and a further formal consultation before it can take effect, and until then the present byelaws stand. Byelaws are only one layer, though, so check the access page and the landowner before launching anything powered on a small lake.
Bassenthwaite Lake sits between the two. Powered craft are generally not permitted there; the National Park limits electric motors to holders of a 12 month permit and says this may change with the byelaws.
One difference lies in the craft. Roxen's app works over 4G and can set speed limits and geofences, which the maker pitches at rental fleets; on a harbour with an 8 knot zone, a limit set in software is a useful backstop. Abroad the motor can change the legal category altogether: Ireland's definition of a personal watercraft names a combustion engine, although an electric craft fast enough can still fall under the Irish rules for fast power craft.
Jet ski licence in Ireland
Irish law defines the jet ski by its engine. Section 5 of the Maritime Safety Act 2005 makes a “personal watercraft” a craft under 4 metres, other than a recreational craft, “which uses an internal combustion engine having a water jet pump” as its main propulsion. An electric jet ski is not a personal watercraft in that sense, by our reading. It can still be a fast power craft, which S.I. 921 of 2005 defines as a mechanically powered pleasure craft that can reach 17 knots or more. Roxen gives its top speed as 30 knots, so on our reading it counts, and the age and safety rules for jet skis then apply to it.
Those rules put the duty on the master or owner, not on the young rider. Regulation 4 requires the master or owner of a personal watercraft or fast power craft to “take all reasonable steps” so that nobody under 16 operates or controls it, and gives them the same duty for children under 12 on any pleasure craft above 5 hp or 3.7 kW. The Code of Practice for recreational craft says it in one line: “A person under the age of 16 years should not be allowed to operate or control a personal watercraft such as a jet ski or a fast power craft”. Regulation 8 forbids operating a pleasure craft “under the influence of alcohol or drugs”.
By our reading, the Act, S.I. 921 and the Code of Practice set no national licence or registration for a recreational personal watercraft. That is not the same as no licence anywhere, because local bye-laws can ask for permits. Under section 6 of the Act, local authorities, harbour authorities and Waterways Ireland may make bye-laws regulating craft. Breaking a bye-law that prohibits or restricts craft can cost a fine of up to €1,000 for a first offence and up to €2,000 for a second or later one; breaking a bye-law on launching, operating conditions or speed limits carries a fine of up to €1,000.
Two examples show the range. Dún Laoghaire Harbour holds jet skis to 8 knots and to 4 knots, or no wake, inside the marina. Galway County Council's beach bye-law 5 keeps jet skis 200 metres from the water's edge on its scheduled beaches, rescue craft excepted. The eFoil Ireland guide walks through that Act for electric boards.
The US and Canada in brief
Florida's statute defines a personal watercraft as a vessel under 16 feet “which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump”, with no fuel named. By our reading an electric craft driven by a jet pump fits; whether a given model uses one is a question for its maker. Under section 327.39 the owner or person in charge may not let anyone under 14 operate a personal watercraft, nobody may ride from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise, and the owner of a rented craft may not let anyone operate it who has not been instructed in safe handling. Section 327.395 adds that anyone born on or after 1 January 1988 needs photo ID and a boating safety identification card (or a temporary certificate) to operate a vessel with a motor of 10 hp or more.
California has required its Boater Card of all operators of motorized vessels, whatever their age, since 1 January 2025; people driving a rental are exempt. Nobody under 16 may operate a boat with a motor of more than 15 horsepower, apart from a sailboat of up to 30 feet or a dinghy running between a moored boat and the shore. Michigan's handbook is explicit on registration: “All watercraft with a motor must be registered, including electric and inflatable vessels”.
Canada's regulations (SOR/2010-91) define a personal watercraft by “an internal combustion engine powering a water-jet pump”, wording close to Ireland's, and Transport Canada bars anyone under 16 from operating one.
