Boat and personal watercraft licences

You must have a marine licence to operate a boat that has an engine power greater than 4.5kW. You can verify your licence online.

In Queensland, a boat (also known as a Queensland regulated ship) must only be used for recreational activities, or for school, surf lifesaving or community activities—not for business, trade or commerce. To operate a personal watercraft, you must have a recreational marine licence and a personal watercraft licence.

If you have a supervisor with a valid marine licence on board, you can operate a boat or personal watercraft without a licence. The licensed supervisor must be able to take immediate control in case of trouble.

You can only operate a boat or personal watercraft that is towing a person—for example, someone water skiing or riding a tube—if you have a valid marine licence.

Certain rules apply if you want to drive a hire boat—contact your local Maritime Safety Queensland office to find out more.

How to get a marine licence

Example of Marine licence indicator, showing photo, personal details and the licence class and conditions

Once you have your Queensland marine licence, you don't need to renew it—it is valid for life.

To get a Queensland marine licence, you must:

be at least 16 years old
complete and pass a BoatSafe course or have a recognised and valid interstate marine licence.

When you enrol in a BoatSafe course, you must complete a medical fitness disclosure statement (PDF, 50KB) and give it to the BoatSafe training provider. If you are concerned about your medical fitness, tell your BoatSafe training provider who can give you information about processing marine licences with medical conditions.

Once you successfully complete your BoatSafe course, the training provider will give you a statement of competency. You will need this as part of your application for a Queensland marine licence. Your statement of competency for completing the BoatSafe course is only valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

Apply for a marine licence

You can apply for your marine licence at your nearest transport and motoring customer service centre or QGAP office that provides marine licensing services—please call to confirm before visiting.

What to bring with you

You will need to:

complete a marine licence application (F2334)
bring your proof of identity – if you have your driver licence in the Digital Licence app, you can use the app to verify your identity
bring your original and current statement of competency from your BoatSafe training provider—if your original statement is lost, you must get a replacement from the training provider
pay the licence fee.

Confirmation of your marine licence

You will get a printed marine licence indicator receipt showing you have a recreational marine driver licence and/or personal watercraft licence.

If you have installed and onboarded with the Digital Licence app, your recreational marine licence will appear in the app shortly after you complete your application, and it is approved.

If you have a valid Queensland driver licence, we will send you a new licence card in the mail with your Queensland marine licence type/s printed on the back. Even if you are using the Digital Licence app, we'll still send you a new licence card.

If you don't have a valid Queensland driver licence, we will send you a marine licence indicator card.

If you have signed up for e-reminders we will email you when your licence is posted.

How to verify your marine licence

Verify your marine licence

If you do not have proof of your marine licence, you can apply online for a marine licence verification or for a replacement licence in person at your nearest transport and motoring customer service centre or QGAP office. Please call to confirm they provide marine licensing services before visiting.

You will need to pay a fee for the online verification service and replacement licence.

Interstate marine licences

You can use a valid recreational marine licence issued by another Australian state or territory in Queensland if all of the following apply:

you are at least 16 years old
your marine licence is current
you operate within the conditions on your interstate marine licence.

If your interstate marine licence has expired, you need to:

renew your licence with the issuing state

OR meet the full requirements for a Queensland marine licence and apply for a Queensland boat or personal watercraft licence.

You can convert your valid interstate marine licence to a Queensland marine licence at a transport and motoring customer service centre or QGAP office that provides marine licensing services—please call to confirm before visiting.

To do this, you will need to:

complete a marine licence application (F2334)
bring your proof of identity
bring your original interstate marine licence (must be current or expired less than 5 years)
pay the one-off licence fee.

You will get confirmation of your marine licence.

Overseas marine licences for visitors

When you visit Queensland from another country, you may be able to use your overseas marine licence if it is a current recognised overseas licence.

If your recognised overseas marine licence is not in English, you will need a translation from an accredited National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters translator and must keep this with your licence.

If your overseas marine licence is not recognised, you will need to contact an approved BoatSafe training provider to assess recognition of prior learning and then apply for your marine licence.

Moving to Queensland from overseas

If you are planning to become an Australian resident or citizen, or are an Australian citizen returning to Queensland from living overseas, you must get a Queensland marine licence within 3 months of:

arriving in Australia or Australian waters

OR getting a resident visa.

If you have a current recognised overseas marine licence, you can convert this into a Queensland marine licence at a transport and motoring customer service centre or QGAP office that provides marine licensing services, after obtaining a Statement of Competency from an approved BoatSafe provider (via course completion or RPL)—please call to confirm before visiting.