Antigua & Barbuda
- Who issues it
- Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services and Merchant Shipping (ADOMS); cruising permits: Port Authority or National Parks
- Minimum age
- 16 years
- Buoyage
- IALA region B
- Collision rules
- Collision Regulations
Do you need a licence?
Local or Antigua-registered pleasure craft under 24 m need a vessel licence, except unpowered craft under 5 m. Foreign visitors need a cruising permit and equivalent safety standards. Skippers must show competence. Powered craft: normally age 16+; no minimum power or speed for licensing.
Small Craft Control Safety Certificate and Licence
- What it lets you do
- Covers the vessel's safety and permitted local operations, with the operator's competence recorded; applies to pleasure craft under 24 m.
- How you get it
- Pre-2016 operators: assessed experience. New operators: approved training or oral, written and practical assessment.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Cruising Permit
- What it lets you do
- For visiting foreign-registered pleasure boats in local waters, normally for up to six consecutive months, with equivalent safety standards.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Personal Watercraft Proficiency Certificate
- What it lets you do
- Recommended evidence of competence for private jet ski use; equivalent courses are accepted.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Professional deck titles
Boatmaster Grade 3 License
- What it lets you do
- Open small commercial boats carrying up to 12 passengers in protected waters, within 3 miles of a safe refuge.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Boatmaster Grade 2 License
- What it lets you do
- Other small commercial vessels in protected waters, within 3 miles of a safe refuge.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Boatmaster Grade 1 License
- What it lets you do
- Small commercial passenger vessels in coastal waters up to 20 miles offshore, or vessels operating beyond those limits.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Radio certificates
VHF Radiotelephone Operator licence
- What it lets you do
- Required for skippers of small commercial vessels fitted with VHF radio.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
General Operator’s Certificate
GOC- What it lets you do
- GMDSS qualification required for small commercial vessel skippers in exposed waters.
- Where to study
- Study it in Academy
Ready to study for it?
The Academy is free with an account: lessons for every topic, timed mocks marked like the real exam, and your progress saved.
Official sources: ADOMS — Small Craft (Control) Regulations, 2017: regulations 19, SCC Code sections 5 and 21, Schedule 2 · ADOMS — Operator Competence · ADOMS — Frequently Asked Questions: foreign vessels, cruising permits and jet ski age exceptions · ADOMS — Code of Safety for Small Commercial Vessels, August 2021, Annex 11 section 1.2 · ADOMS — Marine Notice 2013-01 Rev 8: Boatmaster Licenses, 25 May 2022 · NGA — Sailing Directions, Publication 140: Antigua and Barbuda, Buoyage System