Amateur categories and the CHA
1The lesson in plain words
In Brazil you skipper a recreational boat with a CHA, the amateur licence. Its category must match the waters you are sailing in.
The rule book
Brazilian recreational boating follows NORMAM-211/DPC, issued by the Navy's Directorate of Ports and Coasts (DPC). The current text is the 2026 edition, revision 1 of 27 February 2026. Jet skis follow separate rules, NORMAM-212/DPC. Local rules come from each Capitania (port authority) in its NPCP (port standards and procedures).
The CHA
Your licence is the CHA (Carteira de Habilitação de Amador, amateur licence), physical or digital, and you must carry it. The digital CHA lives in the gov.br app and shows a QR code. A CHA without a photo needs official photo ID with it. A CHA is valid for 10 years, or 5 years if you are 65 or older.
Five categories
Arrais-Amador (ARA): inland waters, as locally defined. Mestre-Amador (MSA): coastal, within sight of the coast and up to 20 nautical miles (NM), between Brazilian and foreign ports. Capitão-Amador (CPA): no distance limit. Motonauta (MTA): jet skis, in inland waters. Veleiro (VLA): sailing boats without an engine, in inland waters. Holders first licensed in ARA, MSA or CPA from 2 July 2012 need MTA to ride a jet ski.
Getting it
ARA, MSA and CPA need a written exam in Portuguese, and you must be at least 18. ARA also needs a practical training certificate from an accredited school. You must hold ARA to sit MSA, and MSA to sit CPA.
Small boats and visitors
Floating devices and miúda craft (very small, up to 6 m) without an engine need no CHA. For sail-only dinghies up to 6 m, Veleiro is optional from age 8. Larger sailing yachts need ARA, MSA or CPA for their area. Brazil accepts a foreign amateur licence issued by a maritime authority and written in Portuguese, Spanish or English. Carry it with your passport, or photo ID for visitors from Mercosur member countries. Its own limits still apply; there is no conversion to a CHA.
2Key data
- Arrais-Amador (ARA)
- Inland waters, as defined in each NPCP
- Mestre-Amador (MSA)
- Coastal, within sight of the coast and up to 20 NM
- Capitão-Amador (CPA)
- No limit from the coast
- Motonauta / Veleiro
- Jet skis / sail without engine; inland waters
- CHA validity
- 10 years; 5 years from age 65
- Exam age (ARA, MSA, CPA)
- 18; Veleiro from 8 (optional for sail craft ≤6 m)
3Key points
- 1
NORMAM-211/DPC (2026 edition) is the rule book; jet skis follow NORMAM-212/DPC.
- 2
ARA covers inland waters; MSA covers coastal waters within sight of the coast to 20 NM; CPA has no distance limit.
- 3
Holders first licensed in ARA, MSA or CPA from 2 July 2012 need MTA to ride a jet ski.
- 4
Carry the CHA, paper or digital; valid 10 years, 5 years from age 65.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: An Arrais-Amador may go a few miles out to sea in good weather.
Right: ARA covers inland waters only, as set in the local NPCP. Open coastal waters need at least Mestre-Amador.
Wrong: A Capitão-Amador can ride any jet ski.
Right: Holders first licensed in ARA, MSA or CPA from 2 July 2012 need the Motonauta (MTA) category to ride a jet ski.
Wrong: A foreign licence can be converted into a Brazilian CHA.
Right: There is no conversion. A foreigner who wants a CHA starts at Arrais-Amador and sits the full process.
5Practice case & exam keys
A Portuguese visitor has a valid maritime-authority licence in Portuguese that permits her planned route, plus her passport. She charters a 12 m yacht in Salvador to sail 15 NM offshore, within sight of land and outside NPCP inland limits. May she or her friend, who holds only ARA, skipper?
Show the answer
She may skipper: Brazil accepts her maritime-authority licence in Portuguese with her passport, and it permits this route. The route is coastal: within sight of the coast and within 20 NM, outside inland limits. Her friend may not skipper with ARA, which covers inland waters only. Check the charter conditions too.
Exam keys
- Categories: CPA unlimited; MSA coastal, within sight of the coast and ≤ 20 NM; ARA inland; MTA jet skis inland; VLA sail-only inland.
- Start at ARA; hold ARA before sitting MSA, and MSA before CPA. Exam age: 18.
- CHA valid 10 years (5 years from 65); carry it, paper or digital.
- Foreign maritime-authority licences in PT, ES or EN: carry with passport, or photo ID for Mercosur nationals; no conversion.
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