Waterway maintenance workboat

These are for workboats with no overnight accommodation that are used exclusively for ‘qualifying waterway maintenance work'. This is defined as follows:

Work on waterway infrastructure, structures or development sites adjacent to the waterway under contract to the Canal & River Trust, another statutory undertaker or a private contractor, providing that the work is undertaken from or involves direct access from the craft operating on the waterway.

The boat will require a home mooring unless it is removed from the waterway when not in use. We understand that some works will take longer than 14 days, but there is no provision for leaving these craft on the waterway between jobs.

This licence does cover the removal of 'Section 8' boats from the waterway, but not private towing contracts or cargo carrying; these activities require a Roving Trading Licence. The Policy for Workboats and Cargo Carrying gives further details.

Key considerations

The boat will need to be removed from the waterway when not in use or have a permanent mooring where it can be kept.

This licence does not apply to any boat with living accommodation on board.

Regulations

A copy of the Regulations checklist for each sector can be downloaded here.

Insurance

You will need to obtain Third party and Public Liability Insurance cover provided by a company that is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which covers liabilities of at least two million pounds for each claim.

You must provide us with evidence that you are insured for your proposed activities on application.

Boat Safety Scheme Certificate

You will need a Boat Safety Scheme certificate. If you wish to licence an unpowered butty, hopper, dumb barge or workflat please provide a Boat Safety Scheme Exemption Declaration instead.

Boatmaster's licence

All skippers on the licensed craft must hold a valid Boatmaster's Licence (BML) or equivalent.

Boater's Handbook

We have now launched a new edition of the Boater's Handbook in partnership with the Environment Agency.

First published in 2002, the handbook is written for boat owners and hirers and contains lots of 'getting started' tips, as well as important information about how to boat safely.

The updated handbook contains some new information on waterway dimensions. There are also pointers on the extra factors owners and hirers of wide beams need to be aware of when navigating and mooring.

The Handbook was originally commissioned by British Waterways in partnership with the Environment Agency and the British Marine Federation. An expert group was commissioned to develop key messages and content, drawing on other published sources and relevant empirical evidence. Since then, there have been several re-prints which incorporated best practice updates.

Download it below, or order a free hard copy from the online shop.

Other regulations

Other regulations may apply to your business. Please read our General Guidance section and make your own independent enquiries to ensure that you understand and comply with all the regulations relevant to your proposed operation.

Boat licence

Workboats require a Business Licence. All our price list can be found on our Fees and Terms & Conditions pages here. A copy can also be found on the useful downloads at the bottom of this page.

Operating proposal

If you are a new or existing customer and wish to set up a new business boat, you need to submit an Operating Proposal via our online system (please log in to our Business Licensing system at the top right of the page).

Please provide as much information as possible for us to assess your proposal.

For the assessment of new Operating Proposals there is a non-refundable fee towards our administration and initial assessment costs. The fee is to be paid online to progress your application and will be applicable for all submissions received from 1 December 2023 onwards.

The fees for each operating proposal are:

1. £90 (inclusive of vat) for Fixed Location Trading Boat, Static Letting, Self-Drive Holiday Hire, Self-Drive Day Hire, Skippered Hotel, Skippered Passenger, Roving Trader (fuel, events boats & roving café boats)
2. £50 (inclusive of vat) for Roving Trader, Trade Plate, Maintenance Work Boat, ROW, Cadets
3. No fee to be applied to applications for Emergency & Safety Boats and Exhibition Boats.
4. No fee to be applied to existing business who wish to add additional craft (where new craft are to be added to an existing fleet or extension to existing moorings).

Upon receipt of your submitted proposal, you will receive email confirmation and reference number. We will then aim to give you an in principle decision within six weeks. Please note that you may need to obtain planning permission and negotiate agreements for using our property which could take much longer to finalise.

Do not commit financially to your proposed business before receiving our ‘in principle' approval.

If you do not have access to a computer or mobile device and would like to request a paper copy of the operating proposal please email [email protected]

Useful downloads

• Regulation Checklist
• Fees Terms and Conditions