Registration lettering, boat name and home port

Lettering is mandatory if registration is. In France, registering and recording your boat is essential in maritime zones (coastal and offshore zones) for most vessels (sailboats, motorboats, and personal watercraft - PWCs). All vessels with a hull length of at least 2.5 meters or equipped with an engine with a power equal to or greater than 4.5 kW are concerned.

If it is a human-powered boat, there is no obligation for lettering or registration. Nevertheless, this number and its marking can help identify the vessel in case of theft, damage, or accident.

Display regulations on the hull vary depending on the propulsion mode. On a sailboat over 7 meters, the boat's name and the two letters of the registration district must be clearly visible. On a motorboat, it's the registration number.

For maritime navigation, the registration number is set by the Decree of October 21, 2016, relating to the registration of ships and other vessels at sea. It consists of 8 characters (3 letters and 5 digits), assigned by the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea):

• 2 letters correspond to the registration district
• 1 letter
• 5 digits
• or 6 digits
• 1 key letter

In France, there are 45 historical registration districts (now many are grouped, for example, Marseille, Nice, and Toulon are grouped under Toulon), each represented by 2 letters.

The lettering must be legibly inscribed inside the boat's cockpit AND on the hull. It can be inscribed directly on the hull, on an adhesive, or on a securely fastened plate.

These identification marks are determined by article D. 5111-5 of the Transport Code and by the Order of April 8, 2009, concerning identification marks for pleasure craft at sea (updated in December 2016).

They must be inscribed in Latin characters and Arabic numerals, in a light color on a dark background or in a dark color on a light background.

The height and thickness of the characters vary depending on the propulsion mode and hull length. If the configuration of your pleasure craft does not allow for inscription in the regulatory locations, you must mark the hull in any other visible location.

All sailboats and motorboats must display an identification mark visible from inside the cockpit or from the main helm station. If the boat is human-powered and registered (optional procedure), the mark must be inscribed to be visible from the rower's position, just like on a PWC.

The characters forming the registration number must be at least:

• 1 centimeter high
• 0.1 centimeter thick

The minimum 1/10th ratio must be respected if the characters are larger (e.g., 0.2 cm thick for a height of 2 cm).

If the hull length of the sailboat is less than or equal to 7 meters, there is no lettering requirement. On a hull of 7 meters or more, the lettering must be visible on the stern, with the name of the boat (boat's motto) and the two initials of the registration district. The letterform is free (Latin characters only), with variable height and thickness of characters depending on the hull length of the sailboat.

The height is a minimum and you can make the lettering larger. You only have to respect one ratio: the width must remain equal to half the height and the thickness to at least 1/10th of the height.

Regulations are slightly different for a motorboat, which is subject to lettering from 2.5 meters in hull length. The external marking must be visible on both sides of the hull. If its configuration does not allow this, it is inscribed on both sides of a vertical part of the structure. The registration number must appear in full and in capital letters, with character height and thickness varying according to the motorboat's hull length.

This height is a regulatory minimum that you can exceed as long as you respect the following ratio: the width must be equal to half of the height and the thickness to 1/10th of the height (at least).

Being smaller, personal watercraft (PWC) do not allow for large lettering, but it is nonetheless mandatory as long as their engine power reaches or exceeds 4.5 kW.

The PWC's registration number must be displayed on both sides of the hull and remain visible even when the boater(s) are in position for navigation. It must be written in capital letters with minimum dimensions of:

• 4 cm in height
• 1.5 cm reserved width
• 0.5 cm stroke thickness.

A tender is defined as a boat that does not have its own registration and is used as an annex to its mother ship. It must bear the same identification number as the mother ship, preceded by the letters AXE.

For interior lettering, the identification mark of type AXE ST A12345 must be at least 1 cm high and 0.1 cm thick for each character.

For exterior lettering, the identification mark of type AXE ST A12345 must meet the minimum dimensions of:

• 4 cm high
• 1.5 cm wide reserved for each character
• 0.5 cm stroke thickness.

Legislation differs somewhat for navigating inland waterways on the river network or on national bodies of water. First, only pleasure boats 5 meters or more in length, or with an engine with a power output equal to or greater than 4.5 kW (6 HP), must be registered. No distinction is made based on the propulsion method.

Lettering is not mandatory for hull lengths under 5 meters, as stipulated in Article 20 of the Decree of October 15, 2009, relating to the conditions for registration, titling, and affixing of external identity marks for pleasure boats navigating or mooring on inland waters.

The registration number issued upon registration must be displayed on both sides, either directly on the hull or on a plate attached to the hull. It must be perfectly legible and followed by the letter F (for "fluvial") as well as the name (device) of the boat placed on the stern (rear of the boat). This identification marking is in Arabic numerals and Latin characters, light-colored on a dark background or dark-colored on a light background.

The minimum height of the lettering varies according to the hull length of the pleasure craft:

Paint is the traditional marking solution, but alternatives exist, such as special adhesive lettering for boats and PWCs. A partner of Bateau-immatriculation.com, Navimmat.com is a service specializing in adhesive marking for boaters. Their quality 3M products are fully customizable and highly resistant to the marine environment and sun.