Short term visitor licences

If you visit or use your boat on our canals and rivers for a short time, you’ll need a licence. You can buy a short term licence at any point of the year. They’re for one week or one month, plus there’s a ‘30-day explorers’ visitor licence.

Buy your licence online

It's the fastest and easiest way to get a short term visitor licence

Before you buy a short term visitor boat licence you will need:

To read the boat licence terms and conditions – it’s the legal bit!

If your boat has an engine or motor of any sort and/or any kind of heating, lighting, cooking facilities, toilet or electrical systems then you will also need

A Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) certificate - if you don’t have this you can still get a short term visitor licence if you fill in and send us a boat condition declaration application form

What we mean by boat

River or canal boats visiting our waterways for a short time from non-Trust navigations
’Rivers only’ licence holders who want to cruise on the canals for a short time
Small unpowered, trailed, portable or ‘open boats’ such as canoes, paddleboards, rowing boats or dinghies

Note: If you’re a club or society or you use your boat for business such as a floating café or shop, renting it out for people to live on or holiday boats, you need a boating business licence.

Types of short term boat licence

1. Our standard canals and rivers
2. ‘Rivers only’: only covers:

Avon (Hanham Lock to Bath)
Bow Back Rivers
Fossdyke and Witham (Torksey to Boston)
Lee Navigation (Hertford to Limehouse)
Limehouse Cut
Ouse and Ure (Goole to Ripon)
Severn (Stourport to Gloucester)
Soar Navigation (Trent Junction to Leicester)
Stort Navigation
Tees (Tees Barrage to Low Worsal)
Trent (Shardlow-Gainsborough, including the Nottingham & Beeston Canal)
Weaver Navigation (Winsford Bridge to Manchester Ship Canal)

30-day explorer – ideal for canoes and kayaks

These are only available to trailable boats and visitors with a home mooring on another navigation. These are ideal for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards

You can buy 30 x one-day tickets, which you can use at any point within 12 months of issue. And they don’t need to be consecutive. Simply date and display your tickets for each day your boat is on the water. You can only buy these licences online.

Short term visitor boat licence fees

The fee depends on the length of your boat, plus the length of time you want the licence - one week or one month, and the ‘30-day explorers’ visitor licence.

If you buy your boat licence before it is due to start, you can get a 2.5% prompt payment discount off your licence fee. To qualify for the discount you need to complete your application before the start date of the licence and also pay in full or by direct debit. There is also a discount of 2.5% for buying your licence online.

Short-term licence fees 2021-2022

Short term licence fee discounts

There is a discount for holders of a current three, six or 12-month long term Canal & River Trust ‘River only licence’. See our terms and conditions for details.

Calculate the approximate cost of your licence here

What the licence covers

All short term visitor licences allow you to 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 . You can buy these from our online shop. And windlasses are available from most local chandleries. Passage on the Anderton Boat Lift, and the Ribble Link are also not included.

Set up or renew your boat licence

Already to pay for your licence? If you already have a boat licence account, go to our web licensing portal. If you're new to boating, you'll need to go to the portal and set up a new account. Click the sign in button on the top of this page when you're ready or to go to our web licensing portal now. You can also pay your boat licence by calling our customer service team on 0303 040 4040.