Mandatory safety equipment on a pleasure boat (France)

This guide describes the French rules, which apply to French-flagged pleasure craft (and, in French waters, to some foreign-flagged boats whose owners live in France). Other countries have their own requirements.

In France, the safety equipment of a pleasure boat is set by division 240, one of the regulations annexed to the order of 23 November 1987 on the safety of ships. It applies to pleasure craft for personal or training use up to 24 metres. What decides the equipment is neither the size of the boat nor the skipper’s licence: it is how far you go from a shelter. This guide summarises the consolidated edition published by the French ministry responsible for the sea (Official Journal edition of 8 June 2026, updated to the order of 21 May 2026). The text is amended regularly: if in doubt, the text itself prevails, and the links are at the bottom of the page.

1. The rule: distance from a shelter

A shelter (“abri”), as the text defines it, is a place on the coast where a boat and its crew can get to safety. The text divides navigation into zones, and each zone adds equipment to the previous one:

• Up to 300 metres from a shelter: no equipment required for most craft (the text provides for exceptions).
• Basic: up to 2 miles from a shelter.
• Coastal: from 2 to 6 miles.
• Semi-offshore: from 6 to 60 miles.
• Offshore: beyond 60 miles.

The skipper (“chef de bord”) is responsible: they check that the equipment is on board, in good condition, accessible and up to date with its servicing.

2. Basic equipment (up to 2 miles from a shelter)

• A personal flotation device (PFD: lifejacket or buoyancy aid) of at least level 50 for each person on board. Under certain conditions, the text accepts a neoprene wetsuit or a drysuit worn instead.
• A light: a waterproof torch with at least 6 hours of battery life, or an individual light.
• One or more fire extinguishers, according to the owner’s manual or annex 240-A.3 of the text.
• A means of manual bailing (bailer, bucket or hand pump) for a boat that is not self-draining or that has a cabin.
• A strong point and a towline.
• An anchor line suited to the boat and the area. The text exempts, under the skipper’s responsibility, sailing boats under 250 kg light displacement, motor boats under 250 kg with no more than 4.5 kW of power, and personal watercraft.
• A means of knowing the tide times and coefficients for the day and the area (not required in the Mediterranean).
• Outside territorial waters, the national flag flown.

3. Coastal equipment (from 2 to 6 miles)

The basic equipment, plus:

• PFDs of at least level 100, one per person (instead of level 50).
• A man-overboard marker and rescue device (horseshoe or ring buoy).
• Three red hand flares.
• A waterproof magnetic steering compass.
• The official nautical charts of the area (or extracts).
• The international regulations for preventing collisions at sea (COLREGs), or a summary.
• A document describing the buoyage system of the area.

4. Semi-offshore equipment (from 6 to 60 miles)

The coastal equipment, plus:

• PFDs of level 150, one per person on board.
• A fixed VHF radio.
• One or more liferafts able to take everyone on board.
• The means to fix your position, plot and follow a course.
• An up-to-date list of lights (paper or electronic).
• A logbook kept up to date.
• A means of receiving marine weather forecasts on board.
• A harness and tether: one per boat on a motor boat, one per person on a sailing boat.
• A first-aid kit complying with the text (article 240-2.19).
• A waterproof searchlight, portable or fixed.

5. Offshore equipment (beyond 60 miles)

The semi-offshore equipment, plus:

• An emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
• A waterproof handheld VHF.
• A liferaft of one of the types the text provides for offshore use (type I under ISO 9650, class II, or an approved type).

The text also recommends a means of satellite communication, without requiring it. For a long passage, see also preparing your boat for an ocean crossing.

6. Three points that often come up

• Lifejackets (PFDs): they must carry the “CE” or “wheel mark” marking and a performance level (50, 100 or 150, under the ISO 12402 standard). Children weighing 30 kg or less must have a level 100 PFD, whatever the zone.
• The kill cord: on a boat with an outboard engine controlled from the helm or remotely, and on a personal watercraft, when it is fitted with one, the cord that stops the engine must be attached to the driver’s wrist, leg or lifejacket. The ministry specifies that a second kill cord must be accessible on board.
• Fire extinguishers: their number and capacity depend on the layout (berths, galley, heating) and the engines, according to a table in annex 240-A.3; their service life and inspection interval are set by the manufacturer.

7. Tenders, personal watercraft, beach craft

• Tender: it does not go more than 300 metres from a shelter, the mother ship counting as a shelter. More than 300 metres from the coast, it needs a level 50 PFD per person and a waterproof light with at least 6 hours of battery life.
• Personal watercraft (PWC, jet ski type): daylight use only, up to 2 miles from a shelter for a single-seater and 6 miles for a multi-seater; a PFD worn at all times (level 50 up to 2 miles, 100 beyond) and a neoprene suit at least 2 mm thick; an individual light; beyond 2 miles, additional equipment listed in article 240-2.12.
• Beach craft: daylight use, no more than 300 metres from a shelter, no equipment required (except for supervised activities, which the text covers separately).

8. The dates to watch

Being compliant also means having equipment that is valid: out-of-date hand flares, an extinguisher whose inspection is overdue or a liferaft that missed its service no longer do their job. The skipper must keep the equipment up to date with its inspections, and the text refers to the manufacturer for service life and inspection intervals. In the Hullteam log, each boat’s Safety page lists the equipment required for its sailing area and tracks expiry and service dates (flares, extinguishers, liferaft, lifejackets): a reminder arrives before the due date. On a used boat, it is one of the first things to check (see buying a used boat), and the spring relaunch checklist makes it a must every spring.

9. Keep a record

A serviced liferaft, inspected extinguishers, replaced flares: recorded in the log with their invoices and dates, these purchases and services show the buyer a boat kept in order — see which proofs of maintenance count.

Sources

Official texts consulted in November 2026 (in French):

• French ministry responsible for the sea — “Le matériel d’armement et de sécurité et les limites d’utilisation” (page updated on 19 June 2026).
• Division 240 — safety equipment of pleasure craft, consolidated edition (Official Journal of 8 June 2026), published by the ministry responsible for the sea.
• French ministry responsible for the sea — “Mise à jour des référentiels techniques de la plaisance : évolutions des divisions 240 et 241”.
• The orders amending division 240 are published in the Official Journal and can be consulted on Légifrance.