You want a boating holiday on the Müritz or the Mecklenburg Lake District – but without taking the Sportbootführerschein first? It’s possible: with the charter certificate. Here’s what the Charterbescheinigung allows, what the requirements are, and where its limits lie.

What Is the Charter Certificate?

The charter certificate – officially the Charterbescheinigung – lets you operate a rented boat on certain designated inland waters that would otherwise require a license. You need no Sportbootführerschein for it.

Instead of weeks of training, you receive a briefing from the rental company on site and then the certificate. With it you may operate the boat for the duration of the rental.

Requirements

For the charter certificate to be valid, several conditions must be met:

  • The boat: a maximum of 15 m long and a maximum of 12 km/h fast.
  • Minimum age: generally 16 years.
  • Briefing: a roughly 2- to 3-hour theoretical and practical briefing by the rental company (traffic rules, operation, safety).
  • Crew: usually limited to a maximum of 12 people.

The charter certificate is issued to the person who took part in the briefing – only that person may operate the boat.

On Which Waters Is the Charter Certificate Valid?

The charter certificate is valid only on expressly approved inland waters. The most important area is the Mecklenburg Lake District, which includes:

  • the Müritz with its connected lakes
  • the Mecklenburg Great Lakes and the Kleinseenplatte (small-lakes area)
  • sections of the Müritz-Elde waterway and the Upper Havel waterway

Parts of Brandenburg also have charter areas. Exactly which stretches are approved is specified in the respective charter-certificate regulation – the rental company knows its area.

The Key Rules on Board

The charter certificate comes with conditions that serve safety:

  • No night travel: you sail only in daylight.
  • No travel above wind force 4: in too much wind the boat stays in the harbor.
  • Life jackets: on large lakes the crew must wear life jackets.
  • The general traffic rules (give-way rules, sea marks) of course still apply – they are part of the briefing.

Where the Charter Certificate Reaches Its Limits

As practical as the charter certificate is, it is not a substitute for the Sportbootführerschein. It is not valid:

  • for your own boat – only for the rented charter boat
  • outside the designated inland waters
  • on the sea and on coastal waters
  • abroad (e.g. for a charter in Croatia)
  • for boats faster than 12 km/h or longer than 15 m

As soon as you sail regularly, own a boat, want to go to sea, or want to charter abroad, you need the proper Sportbootführerschein.

Charter Certificate or the SBF After All?

The charter certificate is ideal for a one-off boating holiday on the lake district. But anyone who wants to sail more often is better served long-term by the SBF Binnen (inland) or SBF See (coastal): the license is valid indefinitely, nationwide and – with the ICC endorsement – abroad too. The theory for it can now be learned conveniently via app.

Conclusion

With the charter certificate you can take a boating holiday on the Mecklenburg Lake District without a Sportbootführerschein – the boat may be at most 15 m long and 12 km/h fast, there’s a short briefing and clear conditions like the night-travel ban and the wind limit. For your own boat, the sea, or abroad, however, you need the proper SBF. If you want to take the license, you can start for free in the Boatpass app with the official ELWIS question catalog for the theory exam.