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The charity making life better by water

Boat licencing, compliance and enforcement team

Our licence, compliance and enforcement team is available to support our boating customers with any licence issues.

Here to help

If you need to talk about something else – for example, if you're concerned about a particular boat, want some advice on our guidance for continuous cruisers or need help to understand the terms and conditions of your licencecontact our team.

If we've tried to support you, but you still don't follow the conditions of your licence, our team may have to take further action. This could ultimately result in us removing your boat or terminating your licence. We'll always contact you before any action to give you as much time as possible to get in touch with us and try to resolve issues.

Contact us as soon as possible if you ever find yourself in a situation that means you can't keep to the terms and conditions of your licence.

How we tackle boat licence evasion

Our boat licensing, compliance and enforcement team works to make sure all the boaters on our network have the right, up to date licences

How we monitor boat movement

We have a team of licensing rangers who record sightings of all the boats across our 2,000 mile network

Extra help for vulnerable boaters

A crucial part of our team's role is to support boaters who are in need and, for whatever reason, are struggling to follow the rules. For example, our welfare team can agree to longer stay times if you're having medical treatment.

Boater welfare support

How to seek help, advice or support as a boater on our waterways.

Last Edited: 25 August 2026

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