Boat licences and registration
A mooring is somewhere to keep the boat. To use it on most inland water you also need a licence or registration from the authority that runs the waterway, and that is a separate bill.
| Authority | What you need | Sites we list |
|---|---|---|
| Canal & River Trust | a Canal & River Trust boat licence | 421 |
| Environment Agency | Environment Agency registration (Thames, Medway, Anglian waterways) | 119 |
| Broads Authority | Broads Authority tolls | 36 |
| Scottish Canals | a Scottish Canals licence | 38 |
| Avon Navigation Trust | an Avon Navigation Trust licence | 12 |
| Private navigation | the navigation's own licence | 87 |
| Harbour authority | harbour dues where the harbour authority charges them | 399 |
| Lake or loch authority | lake registration where the lake authority requires it | 30 |
Canals
Most canals in England and Wales are run by the Canal & River Trust, which licenses every boat on its water whether it moors in a marina, on a towpath mooring or cruises continuously. Scottish canals are run by Scottish Canals. A few canals (the Basingstoke, the Chelmer & Blackwater and others) have their own navigation authorities.
Rivers
The non-tidal Thames, the Medway and the Anglian waterways (Nene, Great Ouse and others) are run by the Environment Agency, which calls its licence registration. Other rivers are run by the Canal & River Trust (the Severn, Trent and others) or by their own trusts, such as the Avon Navigation Trust.
The Broads
Boats on the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads pay tolls to the Broads Authority, charged by boat size.
Coast and estuaries
On tidal water there is usually no navigation licence. Some harbour authorities charge harbour dues on moored boats; marinas normally include them or list them separately.
Licence prices change every year, usually from 1 April. Check the authority's own calculator for your boat.