Gold licences

If you regularly use both our waterways and those owned by the Environment Agency (EA), you can save money on your boat licence by having a combined gold licence. They run from 1 January until 31 December each year, no matter when you buy them.

Before you buy a gold licence you will need:

To read the boat licence terms and conditions – it’s the legal bit!
Insurance
A Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) certificate or a current Declaration of Conformity with the EU's Recreational Craft Directive

What we mean by boat

Any boat with a motor, including river boats and canal boats on our waterways, plus rivers owned by the EA. It doesn’t cover a tender – you’ll need to register or licence this separately with us and the EA individually.

The waterways covered by gold licence

All our canals and rivers, plus:

River Thames
River Medway
River Nene
River Great Ouse System
River Ancholme
River Glen above Surfleet Sluice
River Welland above Spalding Lock
River Stour

Gold licences fees 2022

If your boat is less than 3.5 metres (11’5”) wide, the cost starts from £634, depending on its length.

Gold licence fees 2022

Gold licence fees 2021

If your home mooring is on the River Thames, you can get a quote for a wider boat by calling 0303 040 4040.

For vessels over 23.09 metres/75’9” prices are available on request.

Gold licence discounts

Our prompt payment discount is already deducted from the payment in full
25% discount for boats powered by a permanently fitted inboard electric motor.
If you have a historic boat and you want to claim the historic boat discount, call 0303 040 4040

How to buy your gold licence

You can only apply for a Gold licence by filling in the application form. This is because of the way we need to share information with the EA. The form explains what you’ll need and how to pay.

Remember, once you have bought a Gold licence you cannot get a refund. If you sell your boat, you transfer the licence to the new boat owner.

What the gold licence covers

All gold licences allow you to keep and use your boat on our waters. You also get access to some boaters’ facilities, such as water points. See our boaters’ services pages for details.

What the licence doesn’t include

You don’t get any of the windlasses, keys or cards with your licence. You can buy these from our online shop. And windlasses are available from most local chandleries. You need to get a separate key for the EA’s Anglian Waterways (£15.00) per key, call 03708 506 506.

For the Environment Agency, call 03708 506 506, email boatreg@environment-agency.gov.uk or see their website www.gov.uk/environment-agency