Danish certificates for recreational sailing
All Danish recreational sailing certificates issued either by the Danish Maritime Authority or our approved providers are issued based on Danish rules and regulations, and only apply to Danish recreational vessels.
The recreational sailing area and related certificates are not harmonised, e.g. within Scandinavia or the EU, which means that there are no applicable rules for mutual recognition of the recreational sailing certificates issued by the respective countries.
Denmark is also not part of international certification schemes in the recreational sailing area, such as ICC and RYA.
Can I sail abroad?
As a starting point, you may sail abroad with your Danish recreational sailing certificate if you sail in a Danish recreational vessel, as your certificate and recreational vessel are covered by Danish regulations.
However, you must be aware that there may be other rules and requirements abroad that you must also comply with. It could be, for example, a requirement for insurance, channel certificate, etc.
There may also be a requirement that you have a recreational sailing certificate, notwithstanding that your recreational vessel in Denmark does not require a masters certificate, e.g. sailboats under 15 metres.
You should therefore research the rules in the country you wish to sail in or to.
Can I rent a boat abroad?
There is no guarantee that you can rent a recreational vessel abroad with your Danish recreational sailing certificate. This depends solely on the assessment in the respective country, whether they will recognize your Danish certificate as a basis for letting.
Historically, a great many recreational sailors have been able to rent recreational vessels abroad, and some countries are more familiar with our certificates than others.
The Danish Maritime Authority cannot give any guarantee or help with this, we can only confirm that you have a Danish recreational sailing test as the basis for a Danish certificate, if this is registered with us. You can see and present documentation for your tests and certificates yourself in the self-service for seafarers and the My Maritime app, on the "Certificates" page under "Recreational sailing tests".
You should therefore research the regulations in the country in which you wish to rent a recreational vessel before you set off.