License It Or Lose It!

Licence evasion is an annoyance that upsets law abiding boaters and British Waterways alike. It's only fair that all boaters contribute towards the cost of caring for the waterways. Whilst the taxpayer is the largest contributor towards waterways maintenance, we depend on around £20 million a year in income from boat licences and mooring fees – without this, we could not dredge, keep the locks in order, the tunnels safe and all the other things you'd reasonably expect from a navigation authority.

So, our headline is not kidding. Over the past couple of years, we've made radical changes to our enforcement systems. We now have local teams patrolling the banks with hand held computers that show whether your boat has a valid licence – no matter what's displayed in the window. If you're not complying with the rules, your details are automatically recorded and enforcement action commences.

Our main tool for enforcement is the power for British Waterways to 'section 8' unlicensed boats. This relates to the British Waterways Act 1983 and allows us to remove boats from the waterway if they are there without our permission or persistently in breach of our licence terms and conditions – including not having a licence.

If a boat is also someone's home, we take the added precaution before exercising these powers to get a court order to remove the boat from the waterway.

Once we've removed the boat we can either sell it or, if it is of little value, we may destroy it. We have first claim on any sale proceeds which we use to recover outstanding fees and to cover our costs of taking enforcement action.

Pay and Display!

It's also a legal requirement to display the licence on both sides of your boat. Contact us if you would like a free pair of plastic holders for your licence. If you cover it for any reason (e.g. during winter), you must paint or display the index number on the cover so that it can always be seen.

Sadly, many people ignore these rules. We feel our enforcement resources are best deployed in tracking down and dealing with unlicensed boats, so we appeal to all boaters to display their licence and avoid suffering the increasing stigma of being seen as an evader.