Let’s Take a Look at the Basics of a Pleasure Craft Licence in Ontario

What do you need in order to drive your car around? Well, for one, a licence, right? If you want to use your vehicle on the streets, you need a driver’s licence. Something similar will apply to recreational boats, for which you will need a pleasure craft licence in Ontario.

Getting Your Pleasure Craft Licence in Ontario

Just like you have to register your commercial vessel with Transport Canada, you will have to get a pleasure craft licence in Ontario 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

So, how do you know whether or not you should submit the pleasure craft registration form for your particular vessel? Well, that’s what we are here to help you with. There are actually very specific boating regulations set forth by Transport Canada for which ones do need 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 Ontario, you will have to display the number accordingly. Now, just like with registered vessels, there are very particular 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 on 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 license number needs to be displayed on both sides of the bow.
• For obvious reasons, the number needs 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 needs to distinctly contrast with the colour of the bow.

Submitting Transport Canada Documentation

So, what’s next? Well, it’s time to submit the application for your pleasure craft licence in Ontario. You can do so directly and risk delays, or you can submit everything through our platform here at the National Vessel Registry Center Corp. We are always making sure that people have easier access to Transport Canada forms and applications, as well as the right venue through which to submit them. You’ll be able to find everything you need here on our website. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by calling +1 (800) 419-9569 or emailing us at info@canadianvesselregistry.ca.