Recreational boating licence: The cheque card arrives at the turn of the year

According to the German Sailing Association - entrusted by the Ministry of Transport with issuing recreational boating licences - the changeover to the new licences will take place at the beginning of the new year:

On 1 January 2018, the new recreational craft licence in cheque card format will replace the previous "SBF Binnen" and "SBF See" licence documents.

The new recreational craft licence ordinance has been in force since the beginning of May 2017. It replaces the two previous recreational boating licence regulations for inland waterways and sea. Just in time for the turn of the year, the documents for these two areas of validity will now also be combined and converted to the so-called ID1 card format in accordance with ISO standard 7810. The respective areas of validity "inland waterways" and/or "maritime waterways" as well as the propulsion types "propulsion engine" and/or "sail" are documented on the new licence card.

The new document not only fits in every wallet, but is also more waterproof and forgery-proof than the previous recreational craft licence.

The new licence will be issued from January 2018 and all previously issued recreational boating licences will remain valid. It is possible to exchange the "old" documents for the new licence for a fee. The applications for an issue or "exchange" you get here.

Further information can be found here.