Boat hire rules in the River Thames
10 rules for hire businesses in the River Thames, from 4 official sources — on top of the rules that apply everywhere in the United Kingdom.
Rules in the River Thames
Briefing and checklist before each hire
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Nobody may navigate or be in charge of a boat on the Thames while drink or drugs impair their control. Include this in your hire briefing.
Show the official wording
“No person shall navigate or attempt to navigate or be in charge of a vessel on the Thames under the influence of drink or of a drug or drugs to such an extent that his ability to have proper control of such vessel may be impaired.”
Kayaks, canoes and SUPs
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To register unpowered open boats for hire you need boat insurance and public liability insurance.
Show the official wording
“Unpowered open - hire boat - Boat insurance, Public Liability insurance”
Safety equipment on board
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You must not let anyone board or use a hire boat unless it is in sound and serviceable condition.
Show the official wording
“The owner or master or person in charge of a pleasure boat for hire shall not allow any person to embark in the boat for the purpose of being carried therein or using the boat for hire unless the boat is in sound and serviceable condition.”
Registering the craft
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You must not keep, let for hire or use a boat on the Environment Agency's waterways unless it is registered with the Agency and meets any registration conditions.
Show the official wording
“An owner or master of a vessel must not keep, let for hire or use the vessel on the waterways unless— (a) the vessel is registered with the Agency under article 5; and (b) any requirement imposed by the Agency under article 8 when registering the vessel is complied with.”
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Registration covers the whole non-tidal Thames from Cricklade to Teddington Lock, the short tidal stretch down to the Port of London Authority boundary, and backwaters and marinas. You must display the registration plate.
Show the official wording
“This requirement extends to every part of the non-tidal River Thames between Cricklade Bridge and Teddington Lock, and the short section of the tidal River Thames between Teddington Lock and the Port of London Authority’s boundary, including backwaters and marinas.”
Survey and commercial vessel rules
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Your powered hire boats must meet the Agency's construction and equipment standards at all times. These are the Boat Safety Scheme checking procedures plus the additional Hire Boat checks.
Show the official wording
“You must make sure your powered boat complies with the Environment Agency’s construction and equipment standards at all times it is kept, let for hire or used on the River Thames. These standards are set out in the BSS Examination Checking Procedures for Privately Owned and Managed Vessels and for hire vessels the additional Hire Boats Examination Checking Procedures.”
Permits and licences for the business
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To register a self-drive hire boat you need boat insurance, public liability insurance, a Boat Safety Scheme hire boat certificate, and to follow the Code of Practice for Hire Boats. Ask the Agency for the business boats supplementary registration form.
Show the official wording
“Self-drive day hire boat - Boat insurance, Public Liability insurance, BSS Hire Boat Certification, Code of Practice for Hire Boats”
Local rules and by-laws
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The maximum speed for powered boats is 8 km/h over the riverbed, and every boat must go at a safe speed that causes no avoidable damage or disturbance.
Show the official wording
“The master shall not navigate a power-driven vessel at a speed over the bed of the river greater than 8 kilometres per hour.”
Insurance
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Every powered boat must have third-party insurance of at least £1,000,000 for as long as it is registered, covering the owner and anyone the owner authorises to control the boat. For a hire boat that means your hirers.
Show the official wording
“The policy must be for a minimum sum of £1,000,000 (one million pounds).”
Other rules
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Do not let a boat be loaded beyond the weight or number of people it was designed for, or loaded in a way that affects its stability.
Show the official wording
“The owner or master or person in charge of any vessel shall not permit the loading of that vessel to exceed the loading limits whether expressed by weight or numbers of persons for which that vessel was designed or is constructed”
The national rules still apply
Everything on the the United Kingdom page applies here too: 38 rules · checked 18 October 2026
All national rules for the United KingdomIn an emergency
999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard, or VHF channel 16. VesselSOS is not a rescue service — teach your hirers to call for help the official way.
VHF channel 16
HM Coastguard (Maritime and Coastguard Agency): call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard
Not confirmed yet
What we looked for and could not confirm from an official source. Ask the authority before you assume anything here.
The Port of London Authority's rules for hire craft and jet skis on the tidal Thames are not included yet.
We found no Thames byelaw or Environment Agency rule on a minimum hirer age.
We have not read the Environment Agency business boats supplementary registration form, which can set further conditions.
The Agency's Thames registration requirements page is headed October 2016. We have not confirmed whether newer wording exists.
Official bodies
Who makes and enforces these rules.
Questions operators ask
Do I have to brief hirers before a hire in the River Thames?
Nobody may navigate or be in charge of a boat on the Thames while drink or drugs impair their control. Include this in your hire briefing. Source: gov.uk, checked 18 October 2026.
Is a hire boat a commercial vessel in the River Thames?
Your powered hire boats must meet the Agency's construction and equipment standards at all times. These are the Boat Safety Scheme checking procedures plus the additional Hire Boat checks. Source: gov.uk, checked 18 October 2026.
Do I need a permit to hire out boats in the River Thames?
To register a self-drive hire boat you need boat insurance, public liability insurance, a Boat Safety Scheme hire boat certificate, and to follow the Code of Practice for Hire Boats. Ask the Agency for the business boats supplementary registration form. Source: gov.uk, 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.
Boating safety rules in the UKHow to call the CoastguardPassage planJet ski safetySUP safetyFree tools for hire operators
Print a safety briefing card, a hire agreement template or a dock poster. Free, in your browser.
Safety briefing cardHire agreement & waiver templateDock poster Starting a boat hire business in the United Kingdom All free toolsRun the hire day on one screen.
VesselSOS Fleet checks hirers out in 30 seconds and shows every craft live until it is back — your customers’ phones are the trackers.
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