Not every recreational vessel needs to receive a Pleasure Craft Licence in Alberta, but a lot of them will. Here’s everything you need to know about whether or not and how to get yours.
Getting Your Pleasure Craft Licence in Alberta
Just like you have to register your commercial vessel with Transport Canada, you will have to get a pleasure craft licence in Alberta for your recreational vessel. That’s right, you don’t have to go through the registration process in order to use your recreational vessel, but you will certainly need to look into getting the right licence. While this process can often be confusing, don’t worry, because that is what we are here for. Let’s take a closer look at what this licence process looks like.
Pleasure Craft Licence Guidelines
First of all, you need to figure out whether or not you have to request a pleasure craft licence form for your particular vessel. There are actually very specific boating regulations established by Transport Canada for which recreational vessels do need to receive the licence in question. If you have a pleasure craft equipped with motors of 10 horsepower (7.5 kilowatts) or more, even if it is a personal watercraft, that is maintained or operated in Canada, you will need to obtain the corresponding licence. Don’t worry, this process doesn’t have to be difficult or impossible, especially when you count on our team’s help throughout the process.
Displaying the Licence Number
Once you receive your pleasure craft licence in Alberta, the Canada Shipping Act of 2001 dictates that you must display the number accordingly. Just like with registered vessels, there are very specific guidelines that need to be taken into account at the time of properly displaying the pleasure craft number on your vessel. If you are not aware of where the pleasure craft number should be displayed or end up painting the digits in the wrong place, you might end up getting in trouble with the Transport Canada authorities. In order to avoid that, let’s make sure you have everything in order.
- The licence number has to be displayed on both sides of the bow.
- The number always has to be above the waterline.
- The digits need to be written in block characters that are at least 7.5 centimetres (or 3 inches) high.
- The colour of the letters has to distinctly contrast the colour of the bow on which it is painted.
Submitting Transport Canada Documentation
Transport Canada documentation applications can be tedious and inconvenient to go through, but we don’t want that to be the case for you. Our platform is designed to make sure that all these processes are made easier for you, and that you have no trouble filing for any vessel documentation that you need. Not only that, but our team is always ready to provide you the help that you need should you have any questions or doubts about any application process. Whether you are dealing with registration, licences, transfers, or just about any other piece of documentation, you will find everything that you need right here at the National Vessel Registry Center.
