Boat hire rules in New Zealand
What the law asks of a boat, jet ski, kayak and SUP hire business — 35 rules from 9 official sources, each with its source and the date we checked it.
Rules everywhere in New Zealand
Briefing and checklist before each hire
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For every hire, record the hirer's full name, address and signature, the date and time the boat went out and came back, and the number of people the hirer said would be on board. Maritime NZ can ask to see the record.
Show the official wording
“(1) The owner of a hire and drive boat must maintain a record of the following for all hire and drive contracts entered into: (a) full name, address and signature of hirer: (b) date and time when boat hired out: (c) date and time when boat returned by the hirer: (d) number of persons declared by the hirer to be carried. The owner must produce the record on demand by the Director.”
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Don't hire out the boat if the number of people the hirer declares is more than the boat's Certificate of Survey allows.
Show the official wording
“(2) The owner of a hire and drive boat must not hire out the boat if the number of persons declared by the hirer is in excess of the number of persons the boat is certified to carry under its current certificate of survey.”
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Give every hirer clear, concise instructions on: handling and navigating the boat; the engine, fuel, gas and pumping systems and any valves or hull openings; where the lifesaving equipment is and how to use it; where the fire equipment is and how to use it; and the boat's operating limits, hazards to navigation within them and any other conditions of use.
Show the official wording
“(4) The owner of a hire and drive boat must ensure that the hirer is issued with clear and concise instructions on— (a) correct and safe handling and navigation of the boat; and (b) correct and safe operation of machinery, fuel, gas and pumping systems and valves or openings in the hull; and (c) stowage and use of lifesaving appliances; and (d) location and use of fire appliances; and (e) the boat's operating limits, any dangers to navigation in those limits, and any other conditions on the use of the boat.”
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Display a plan on the boat showing the area it may be used in, and give the hirer up-to-date charts and publications for that area.
Show the official wording
“(5) The owner must exhibit on the boat for the use of the hirer a plan showing the operating limits within which the boat may be operated, and provide up to date charts and publications relating to those limits.”
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Get a signed statement from the hirer confirming they fully understand the permitted operating limits and any conditions on using the boat.
Show the official wording
“(6) The owner must obtain from the hirer a signed statement indicating that the hirer fully understands the permissible operating limits and any conditions that have been placed on the use of the boat.”
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The hirer also has legal duties: they must be at least 16, must not carry more people than the boat is certified for while underway, must not misuse the required equipment, and must not take the boat outside the operating limits on its certificate. Cover these in your briefing.
Show the official wording
“(1) The hirer must not be less than 16 years of age. (2) The hirer must not permit more than the maximum number of persons the boat is certified to carry to be on board when the boat is underway.”
Does the hirer need a licence?
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Maritime NZ says the law does not require your hirer to hold a seafarer certificate, but the hirer must be at least 16. You still have to be satisfied that the hirer is competent.
Show the official wording
“Does the person hiring my boat have to hold a seafarer ticket? This is not required by law, but the hirer must be at least 16 years of age.”
Age limits
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Before you hand over a hire and drive boat, satisfy yourself that the hirer is at least 16 years old and competent to take charge of that boat within its assigned operating limits.
Show the official wording
“(3) The owner of a hire and drive boat must satisfy himself or herself that the hirer is— (a) not less than 16 years of age; and (b) competent to take charge of that boat within the operating limits assigned to it.”
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As the owner of a powered boat or jet ski that can go faster than 10 knots, you must not let anyone under 15 drive it unless they are directly supervised by someone over 15 who is within immediate reach of the controls.
Show the official wording
“(2) The owner of a power driven vessel that is capable of a proper speed exceeding 10 knots must not allow any person who is under the age of 15 years to be in charge of or propel or navigate that vessel, unless he or she is under the direct supervision of a person over the age of 15 years who is in immediate reach of the controls.”
Jet skis (PWC)
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WorkSafe and Maritime NZ guidance says a maritime document from Maritime NZ is required when your activity is a maritime transport operation, that is, operating a commercial ship. Their examples include jet skiing. Kayaking and canoeing are listed as activities that do not need a maritime document.
Show the official wording
“A person who carries out specific activities for which a maritime document is required or who operates a maritime transport operation (i.e. operates a commercial ship) must hold a maritime document issued by the Director of Maritime New Zealand under the Maritime Transport Act.”
Kayaks, canoes and SUPs
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Under Part 91, a 'recreational craft' is not only a private pleasure craft: any craft powered solely by hand or solely by sail counts too. The Part 91 lifejacket rules for recreational craft therefore cover your hire kayaks, SUPs, canoes and small sailing boats.
Show the official wording
“recreational craft means a vessel that is— (a) a pleasure craft; or (b) solely powered manually; or (c) solely powered by sail:”
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The lifejacket carriage and wearing rules don't apply to surfboards and similar unpowered craft, to a SUP surfer attached to the board by a suitable leash, or to a windsurfer who wears a wetsuit at all times. 'SUP surfing' means riding breaking waves in a surf zone, so ordinary SUP hire on flat water is not covered by this exception.
Show the official wording
“(2) Rule 91.4(1), (1A), and (6) shall not apply to— (a) any surfboard or similar unpowered craft; and (aa) a SUP surfer, if the surfer is attached to the stand-up paddleboard by a board leash that is fit for purpose and suitable for the circumstances; and (b) any sailboarder or windsurfer, if a wetsuit is worn at all times;”
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For paddle craft, a buoyancy aid that meets type 406 of NZS 5823:2005 and carries the required 'restricted use: paddle craft applications only' marking counts as a lifejacket, even if no recognised authority has certified it.
Show the official wording
“(9) For the purposes of rule 91.4(1), (1A), and (6), in the case of a paddle craft, a lifejacket shall include a buoyancy aid not certified by a recognised authority, provided that buoyancy aid— (a) meets type 406 of New Zealand Standard NZS 5823:2005 as demonstrated by prototype testing,”
Safety equipment on board
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Every recreational craft must have enough lifejackets of the right size for each person on board, in a readily accessible place.
Show the official wording
“(1) No person in charge of a recreational craft may use it unless there are on board at the time of use, and in a readily accessible location, sufficient lifejackets of an appropriate size for each person on board.”
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From 9 October 2026, on a recreational craft of 6 metres or less, the person in charge must make sure everyone on board is wearing a lifejacket of the right size while the craft is underway. Give every hirer a correctly sized lifejacket to wear, not just to carry.
Show the official wording
“(1A) A person in charge of a recreational craft of 6 metres or less in length must ensure that each person on board is wearing a lifejacket of an appropriate size while the craft is underway.”
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Whatever the craft's length, everyone on board must wear a properly secured lifejacket when tides, river flows, poor visibility, rough seas, bad weather or an emergency create danger.
Show the official wording
“(6) Despite rule 91.4(4), no person in charge of a recreational craft may use that craft in circumstances where tides, river flows, visibility, rough seas, adverse weather, emergencies or other situations cause danger or a risk to the safety of person on board, unless every person on board is wearing a properly secured lifejacket of an appropriate size for that person.”
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Anyone being towed behind a vessel must wear a properly secured lifejacket of the right size. This applies to every vessel, including hire boats and jet skis.
Show the official wording
“(7) No person in charge of a vessel may use it to tow any person and no person may cause himself or herself to be towed by any vessel, unless the person being towed wears a properly secured lifejacket of an appropriate size for that person.”
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Even if your hire operation is not an adventure activity, you still have duties as a business under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. The equipment you provide must be fit for purpose and safe to use, and your hirers must know the risks of using it.
Show the official wording
“This means the operator doesn't need to seek a safety audit and registration, but as a PCBU they'll still have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. For example, they must ensure that any equipment they provide is fit for purpose and safe for use, and people are aware of the risks associated with using it.”
Survey and commercial vessel rules
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A boat, jet ski, kayak or board that is offered for hire is not a 'pleasure craft' under the Maritime Rules. The same applies to craft provided by a hotel, motel, holiday park, club or other business. Your hire fleet is treated as commercial, not private recreational boating.
Show the official wording
“pleasure craft means a vessel that is used exclusively for the owner's pleasure or as the owner's residence, and is not offered or used for hire or reward; but does not include— (a) a vessel that is provided for the transport or sport or recreation by or on behalf of any institution, hotel, motel, place of entertainment, or other establishment or business:”
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A boat you let without a skipper, for the hirer's own pleasure, is a 'hire and drive boat': a commercial ship under the Maritime Rules. This includes boats provided with holiday accommodation or a hotel for guests.
Show the official wording
“hire and drive boat— (a) means a commercial ship that— (i) is let, without a skipper, for hire or reward or for any other consideration whatsoever; and (ii) the hirer uses solely for pleasure; and (b) includes a ship provided in conjunction with a holiday establishment or hotel for the use of guests or tenants.”
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No vessel in your MOSS operation may be used unless it has a valid Certificate of Survey and any other certificates the Maritime Rules require for it.
Show the official wording
“(1) No person may operate or permit the operation of a ship in the maritime transport operation unless the ship has a valid Certificate of Survey issued under rule 44.41 and any other valid certificates required for the ship under other maritime rules and marine protection rules.”
Permits and licences for the business
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Maritime NZ says a business that hires out boats without a skipper (a bareboat charter) is a commercial operation that must be in the Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS). You need a Maritime Transport Operator Certificate (MTOC).
Show the official wording
“A bareboat charter is a commercial business that offers boats for hire without a Skipper. Under Maritime Rules Part 19, a bareboat charter is a commercial operation that needs to be part of the maritime operator safety system (MOSS). The operator needs to have a maritime transport operator certificate (MTOC).”
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If your hire business is a maritime transport operation, you may only run it under a current Maritime Transport Operator Certificate, and you must follow that certificate.
Show the official wording
“A person who conducts a maritime transport operation must do so under the authority of, and in accordance with, a current Maritime Transport Operator Certificate.”
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Maritime NZ says you need a valid MTOC together with a Maritime Transport Operator Plan (MTOP) to legally run a commercial maritime transport service. It recommends talking to a Maritime Officer first and allowing time: start the MTOP about six months before you plan to operate.
Show the official wording
“If you wish to enter MOSS,you are advised to talk to a Maritime Officer first.”
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WorkSafe's adventure activity registration and safety audit apply only to activities where the participant is guided, taught or assisted. Plain equipment hire, where hirers are mainly responsible for their own actions, is excluded. If you guide, teach or supervise hirers on open or dangerous water, check whether you need to register with WorkSafe.
Show the official wording
“Regulation 4(2)(b) excludes activities where equipment or infrastructure is provided but participants are primarily responsible for their own actions.”
Local rules and by-laws
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Hire and drive boats can't be certified for use beyond restricted limits. The surveyor who sets your boat's operating limits must keep them within restricted limits.
Show the official wording
“(2) A surveyor who assigns operating limits to a hire and drive boat under rule 20.20 must not assign operating limits that permit operation of the boat beyond restricted limits.”
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To tow someone at more than 5 knots, there must be at least one other person on board, aged 10 or over, who watches the person being towed and tells the driver immediately about any mishap. A jet ski towing a rider needs room for that observer.
Show the official wording
“(1) No person in charge of a vessel may use it to tow any person at a speed exceeding 5 knots unless at least one other person is on board who is— (a) 10 years of age or older; and (b) responsible for immediately notifying the person in charge of every mishap that occurs to the person who is being towed.”
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No towing of water skiers, wakeboarders, biscuits or parasailers between sunset and sunrise.
Show the official wording
“(1) No person may operate, between sunset and sunrise … a vessel that is towing any person on water skis, an aquaplane, surfboard, or similar object, or who is barefoot skiing, or who is on a paraglider or similar object.”
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Unless there is a reasonable excuse, the speed limit is 5 knots within 50 m of any other vessel, raft or person in the water, within 200 m of the shore or any structure, and within 200 m of a vessel flying the dive flag (Flag A). Regional bylaws can add local limits. Include these in every hirer briefing.
Show the official wording
“(1) No person may, without reasonable excuse, propel or navigate a vessel (including a vessel towing a person or an object) at a proper speed exceeding 5 knots: (a) within 50 metres of any other vessel, raft, or person in the water; or (b) within 200 metres of the shore or of any structure; or (c) within 200 metres of any vessel or raft that is flying Flag A of the International Code of Signals (divers flag).”
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A powered vessel must not go faster than 5 knots while anyone has part of their body over the bow or side (for example, sitting on the bow with legs over the edge).
Show the official wording
“(2) No person may propel or navigate a powered vessel at a proper speed exceeding 5 knots while any person has any portion of his or her body extending over the fore part, bow, or side of that vessel.”
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Regional councils make their own navigation safety bylaws, which can add speed limits and require communication devices to be carried. Some also licence hire or commercial operators. Check the bylaw for every waterway your craft use (see the region pages).
Show the official wording
“Many regions have bylaws covering navigational safety, speed limits and the carriage of communication devices while boating.”
Reporting accidents
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Under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, the master of a commercial or recreational vessel must notify Maritime NZ of accidents, incidents and other events. Make sure your hirers know to tell you at once, so the notification can be made.
Show the official wording
“Under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (MTA), masters of commercial and recreational ships must notify Maritime NZ of incidents, accidents, and other events.”
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As a business that is a maritime operator, you must also notify Maritime NZ of notifiable events, incidents, injuries and illnesses under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, as soon as possible. Telling a regional council does not count as notifying Maritime NZ.
Show the official wording
“Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), people conducting a business or undertaking who are maritime operators or working on ports must notify Maritime NZ of events, incidents, and injuries or illnesses of a particular seriousness or nature. These notification requirements are mandatory and you must meet them as soon as possible.”
Other rules
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Keep a current, complete copy of the safe operating procedures for each vessel on board it, somewhere easy to reach.
Show the official wording
“(c) ensure that each ship in the maritime transport operation carries at all times, in a readily accessible place, a current and complete copy of the safe operating procedures relevant to the ship.”
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The usual MOSS rule that each vessel carries a log does not apply to recreational bare boat charter operations, where a boat is let without a master for the hirer's own pleasure.
Show the official wording
“(c) except in relation to recreational bare boat charter operations, ensure that the log relevant to each ship in the maritime transport operation— (i) is maintained and carried on the ship in a readily accessible place at all times;”
Rules by region
Regions add their own rules on top. Pick yours:
- Auckland 6 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Bay of Plenty 2 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Lake Taupō 8 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Marlborough 5 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Nelson 7 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Otago 7 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Southland 5 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Tasman 3 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Waikato 6 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
- Wellington 6 extra rules · checked 18 October 2026
In an emergency
111 and ask for Police, or VHF channel 16. VesselSOS is not a rescue service — teach your hirers to call for help the official way.
VHF channel 16
Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ, part of Maritime NZ), 24 hours: 0508 472 269, or +64 4 577 8030 from outside NZ. Coastguard NZ (a charity) takes non-urgent calls on *500.
Not confirmed yet
What we looked for and could not confirm from an official source. Ask the authority before you assume anything here.
The Part 40A hire and drive rules (records, hirer age 16, briefing, signed statement) apply to boats over 3.5 m length overall. We have not confirmed which of these duties Maritime NZ expects for smaller hire craft such as most jet skis, dinghies, kayaks and SUPs.
Part 40A does not apply to sailing ships. We have not yet confirmed the equivalent hire rules for sailing boats (Maritime Rules Part 40C).
We have not confirmed whether hiring out kayaks, SUPs or other unpowered craft needs a Maritime Transport Operator Certificate (MOSS). WorkSafe guidance lists kayaking and canoeing as activities that do not need a maritime document, but we found no Maritime NZ rule or exemption that says so. Several regional bylaws require a council licence for hire craft that are outside the Maritime Rules (see the region pages).
Hired powered boats and jet skis are not 'recreational craft' under Part 91, so the new lifejacket-wearing rule for craft of 6 m or under may not apply to them directly. Their lifejacket requirements come from your MOSS safety system, the equipment rules for commercial vessels, and regional bylaws that cover all vessels of 6 m or less. Confirm with Maritime NZ.
The duty to notify accidents and incidents is quoted from Maritime NZ's guidance. We have not yet quoted the notification sections of the Maritime Transport Act 1994 itself.
Maritime NZ has published safety guidelines for paddle craft rental (2010). We have not confirmed whether they are still current, so they are not included here.
We found no national licence requirement for hirers, and no national requirement for hire operators to hold liability insurance.
Official bodies
Who makes and enforces these rules.
- Maritime New Zealand (Maritime NZ)national maritime regulator: Maritime Rules, Maritime Transport Operator Certificates (MOSS), surveys, incident notifications, RCCNZ search and rescuemaritimenz.govt.nz ↗
- WorkSafe New ZealandHealth and Safety at Work (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2016: safety audits and registration of adventure activity operatorsworksafe.govt.nz ↗
- Regional councils and their harbourmastersnavigation safety bylaws: local speed limits, lifejacket and communication rules, and in some regions hire or commercial operator licencesmaritimenz.govt.nz ↗
Questions operators ask
Does a hirer need a boat licence in New Zealand?
Maritime NZ says the law does not require your hirer to hold a seafarer certificate, but the hirer must be at least 16. You still have to be satisfied that the hirer is competent. Source: maritimenz.govt.nz, checked 18 October 2026.
Do I have to brief hirers before a hire in New Zealand?
For every hire, record the hirer's full name, address and signature, the date and time the boat went out and came back, and the number of people the hirer said would be on board. Maritime NZ can ask to see the record. Source: maritimenz.govt.nz, checked 18 October 2026.
What are the rules for jet ski hire in New Zealand?
WorkSafe and Maritime NZ guidance says a maritime document from Maritime NZ is required when your activity is a maritime transport operation, that is, operating a commercial ship. Their examples include jet skiing. Kayaking and canoeing are listed as activities that do not need a maritime document. Source: worksafe.govt.nz, checked 18 October 2026.
Is a hire boat a commercial vessel in New Zealand?
A boat, jet ski, kayak or board that is offered for hire is not a 'pleasure craft' under the Maritime Rules. The same applies to craft provided by a hotel, motel, holiday park, club or other business. Your hire fleet is treated as commercial, not private recreational boating. Source: maritimenz.govt.nz, checked 18 October 2026.
Do I need a permit to hire out boats in New Zealand?
Maritime NZ says a business that hires out boats without a skipper (a bareboat charter) is a commercial operation that must be in the Maritime Operator Safety System (MOSS). You need a Maritime Transport Operator Certificate (MTOC). Source: maritimenz.govt.nz, checked 18 October 2026.
For your hirers
Free safety pages on VesselSOS for the people who take your craft out — link them from your booking confirmation.
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