Information - Services - Formalities by subjects - Real estate and transport - Special permits in traffic - Driving licence on federal waterways; application for a patent or certificate of competency - Dienstleistungsportal Bayern

Description

If you want to drive a vehicle on federal inland waterways, you generally need a driving licence.

Driving licence on federal waterways

You may only drive a vehicle on federal waterways if you are the holder of a corresponding permit. The permits are divided into different patent classes:

• Schifferpatent A: for driving all vehicles on inland waterways and maritime waterways up to the limit of maritime navigation.
• boatmaster's certificate B: for driving all vessels on inland waterways
• Boatmaster's certificate C1: for driving vessels with a length of less than 35 metres on inland waterways and maritime waterways up to the limit of navigation, except for.
  • authorised passenger vessels for the carriage of more than 12 passengers
  • passenger boats authorised to carry more than 12 passengers
  • pusher craft and tugs with a propulsion power exceeding 73,6 kW (100 hp)
• boatmasters' certificate C2: to navigate vessels of less than 35 metres in length on inland waterways, except for
  • passenger ships certified to carry more than 12 passengers
  • passenger boats certified to carry more than 12 passengers
  • pusher craft and tugs of more than 73,6 kW (100 hp) propulsion power
• Fire-fighting boat certificate D1: for driving fire-fighting boats and civil defence and disaster control vehicles on inland waterways and maritime waterways up to the limit of maritime navigation
• Fire-fighting boat certificate D2: for driving fire-fighting boats and civil defence and disaster control vehicles on inland waterways.
• Recreational craft certificate (patent class E): for driving recreational craft with a length of not more than 25 metres on inland waterways
• Ferry licence (patent class F): for driving ferries for a specific ferry station

Certain federal and state official vehicles do not require a permit issued by the GDWS to drive official vehicles. These include:

• Service vehicles of the Federal Armed Forces, the Federal Customs Administration, the Federal Police, the Riot Police and the Water Police of the Länder with a length of less than 25 metres.
• Service vehicles of the Civil Protection and Disaster Control, the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, the Federal State Navigation Administration and the Fire Brigade with a length of less than 20 metres.

Rhine patents

Special regulations apply on the Rhine. You may only drive a vehicle there if you are the holder of a Rhine patent or the holder of a boatmaster's certificate recognised as equivalent by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine for the respective type and size of vehicle and for the route to be navigated.

A distinction is made between

• Large patent: for the navigation of all vessels on inland waterways and maritime waterways up to the limit of maritime navigation
• Small patent: to navigate a vessel of less than 35 metres in length,
  • intended for the carriage of not more than 12 passengers
  • provided that:
    • is not a tug or pusher craft, or
    • does not move coupled vehicles
• Sporting licence: for driving a sports craft with a length of less than 25 metres.
• Authority licence: for driving authority vehicles and fire-fighting boats.

Special regulations apply to small craft up to 15 metres in length: these may be driven on the Rhine with a licence issued in accordance with national regulations. In Germany, for example, this is the sports boat licence.

To obtain a boatmaster's certificate or Rhine patent, you must pass an examination at the General Directorate for Waterways and Shipping (GDWS).

Further certificates and patents

For vessels over 15 metres in length, special route knowledge is also required on certain inland waterways and the Rhine. You can also obtain proof of special route knowledge by taking an examination at the GDWS.

A patent can also be issued as a Danube captain's patent. You may then drive vehicles on the Danube in international traffic, i.e. also outside the scope of the Binnenschifferpatentverordnung.

Prerequisites

• Physical and mental fitness to drive a vehicle
• Reliability (among other things, no previous convictions for traffic offences)
• Passing of the corresponding examination
• Depending on the type of certificate applied for, a certain minimum age:
  • 21 years of age for the large and small Rhine patent, the authority patent as well as the inland navigation patent A, B, C, D and F
  • 18 years for the sport patent and the inland navigation patent E
• Beginning at age 50, you must periodically submit a current medical certificate to re-verify your fitness. The certificate is necessary
  • on completion of the 50th, 55th, 60th and 65th year of age and
  • annually from the age of 65

Procedure

You must apply for the boatmaster's certificate or patent in writing to the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping (GDWS):

• Download the application form from the Electronic Waterways Information Service (ELWIS). Fill it out completely and print it out.
• Attach the necessary supporting documents. First and foremost, have a licensed physician examine you and provide proof of medical fitness.
• Submit the application documents to the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping.
• Apply to the authority responsible for you for a certificate of good conduct for submission to an authority. Have the certificate of good conduct sent to the General Directorate for Waterways and Shipping.
• If you meet all the requirements for the respective certificate, the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping will admit you to the examination and arrange a suitable examination date with you.
• Take the examination. If you have passed the examination, you will receive a provisional boatmaster's certificate on the spot, with which you can drive a vehicle for three months. Within these three months, your personal licence card will be issued by Bundesdruckerei and sent to you by post.
• If you have not passed the examination, you can retake the examination after a certain blocking period has expired. As a rule, the examination board will impose a blocking period of three to six months on you. You will have to pay the examination fee again for the repeat examination. Those parts of the examination that you passed at the first attempt will generally remain recognised, so that you will only be re-examined on the parts that you did not pass.

Deadlines

Your application and all documents should be submitted to the relevant field office at least four weeks before the desired examination date. However, due to the high number of applicants, you will usually have to expect significantly longer waiting times until the examination.

Processing time

Depending on the volume of applications and the location of the examination.
Exams are usually held every two to three months.

Required documents

• Required Documents
  • medical certificate confirming your physical and mental fitness for navigation on the Rhine or inland waterways (not older than three months)
  • Copy of your identity card or passport
  • certificate of good conduct for submission to an authority (document type "O")
  • Current passport photograph
  • Presentation of the skipper's service book

Forms

• Form, Bavaria-wide: Antrag auf Zulassung zur Prüfung für ein Schiffsführerzeugnis

  Please note

  This form has to be signed and sent to the responsible authority. You can sign the form manually and send it by email/fax or sign the form electronically with your qualified electronic signature an send it by (secure) email. If the responsible authority has set up a De-Mail account, you can also send the form by De-Mail using an sender-confirmed message.

Fees

• Depending on the scope of the examination, different fees apply:

  • Admission to the examination: EUR 147 or EUR 158
  • Examination fee: between EUR 390 and EUR 585 (the exact fee depends on whether, for example, a route knowledge test is carried out at the same time or whether a practical test is included).

Legal bases

• Verordnung über die Besatzung und über die Befähigungen der Besatzung von Fahrzeugen in der Binnenschifffahrt (Binnenschiffspersonalverordnung - BinSchPersV)
• Verordnung über das Schiffspersonal auf dem Rhein (RheinSchPersV)

Links to more information

• Informationen zu den Befähigungsnachweisen für Schiffsführer auf der Internetseite „ELWIS“ der Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes
• Informationen zu Prüfungsterminen für Schiffsführerprüfungen auf der Internetseite „ELWIS“ der Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes