Opening a boat rental base

The company’s status

Information article, based on the official texts consulted on 26 September 2026. It replaces neither legal advice nor the opinion of the competent State services for your case.

Bareboat pleasure boat rental falls under NAF code 77.21Z (the French business activity classification); rental with crew is excluded (Insee). Renting out movable goods is a commercial act (French Commercial Code (code de commerce), art. L110-1), and the formalities are completed on the single business registration portal (guichet unique des entreprises) (service-public). Skippered rental follows a different regime: see skippered rental.

Registered and inspected boats

Every vessel flying the French flag is registered, and receives a certificate of registration (certificat d’enregistrement) that replaces the former carte de circulation and acte de francisation (French Transport Code (code des transports), art. L5112-1-10 and L5112-1-11). Registration is mandatory for every boat of 2.50 m or more and every jet ski; it is done free of charge online with the DDTM (the local maritime and territorial authority) (French Ministry of the Sea). Before its first rental, each boat undergoes the Division 240 special inspection — see the Division 240 obligations.

A location: port or beach

• In a port: marinas are created and operated by municipalities (communes) or their groupings (French Transport Code, art. L5314-4); the berth is negotiated with the port operator, whose own regulations apply.
• On a beach: occupying the maritime public domain requires an AOT, a temporary occupation permit, which is precarious and revocable, issued by the préfet after advertisement and selection; the DDTM processes the application (préfecture des Alpes-Maritimes).
• On a beach granted under concession to the municipality, for twelve years at most, operation may be subcontracted through a public service delegation (code général de la propriété des personnes publiques (the French public property code)).

Within the 300 m coastal strip, the mayor polices water-sports activities (code général des collectivités territoriales (the French local authorities code), art. L2213-23): channels, bathing areas and local rules also come from the mayor.

VAT on rentals

A boat rental of 90 days or less is a “short-term” rental, taxable in France when the boat is actually made available there; the share corresponding to use outside EU waters is exempt (BOFiP, BOI-TVA-CHAMP-20-50-30). No reduced rate applies: it is the standard rate of 20% (CGI (French General Tax Code), art. 278).

The penalties to know

Failing to comply with the préfet maritime’s regulations — prohibited areas, speed — carries up to one year’s imprisonment and a €150,000 fine (French Transport Code, art. L5242-2). None of the texts consulted provides a specific penalty for a rental company’s breaches of Division 240: it is in the event of an accident or an inspection that a missing register or declaration weighs.

In SunSea Hub

The fleet, each boat’s documents and their due dates, the planner, the contracts and the payments all live in a single tool; we set up the rental base with you, existing data included. See the software.

Read next

• Online booking

  A widget for the rental company’s website: the customer picks boat, date and slot, sees the rate-card price, pays an advance or requests a quote.

• Planner and bookings

  Fleet, the rental operator’s office: fleet, customers, seasonal rates and every booking, from the enquiry to the deposit release, on one planner.

• Division 240: the rental operator’s obligations

  The order of 21 May 2026 requires the operator to run an annual check and keep its register, file the renter’s prior declaration and display it in the agency.

• Skippered rental: what the law requires

  Once the operator provides the skipper, the boat becomes a NUC: permis d’armement, Division 241, professional certificate (capitaine 200), status and ENIM.