"Licensed and insured" appears on nearly every charter operator's site. For an advisor or family office putting a client's name behind a referral, that claim is worth almost nothing until it's actually verified. Spain's charter regulation is specific and checkable — here's what to actually ask for.
Sixth List registration, not just "commercial insurance"
Any vessel chartered commercially in Spanish waters must be registered on the Lista Sexta (Sixth List) of the ship registry — the classification for vessels used for profit-making nautical activity. This is separate from ordinary private-use registration, and it's checkable: ask for the vessel's registration and confirm it, rather than accepting "we're fully licensed" as an answer.
The regional charter licence
Beyond Sixth List registration, operators need a charter licence issued by the maritime administration of the autonomous community where they operate — in the Balearics, that's the regional government, not a generic national permit. An operator working genuinely within the law will produce this without hesitation.
Insurance — what's actually mandatory
Spanish regulation requires compulsory civil liability insurance covering guests and third parties, alongside passenger accident cover, as set out in the country's compulsory insurance rules for chartered vessels. Ask for the current certificate of coverage, not a general statement that the yacht is "insured" — coverage lapses, and a certificate has a visible expiry date.
Crew qualifications
The skipper needs a licence matched to the vessel's size and navigation zone — Licencia de Navegación, PNB, PER, PY or CY, depending on the boat. For crewed charters, crew must be formally enrolled (enrolamiento) with the maritime authority before each departure — this is a real, checkable administrative step, not a formality that gets skipped for convenience.
A short list to run before referring a client
- Sixth List registration confirmed for the specific vessel
- Regional charter licence current and matched to the operating area
- Civil liability and passenger accident insurance certificates, in date
- Skipper's licence matched to vessel size
- Crew enrolment confirmed for crewed charters
This sits alongside, not instead of, the privacy and confidentiality checks covered in our NDA-protected charter checklist — one covers whether a client's identity is protected, this one covers whether the charter is legally sound in the first place. Both matter before a referral goes out.
Working with an operator who can answer all of this directly
We can produce Sixth List registration, our Balearic charter licence, current insurance certificates and crew qualifications on request, as part of how we work with travel advisors, family offices and concierge desks referring clients into Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Details on the referral relationship itself are on our partner page, and ground-logistics coordination is covered on our concierge page.