The Sport or Pleasure Vessel Code is the MCA's code of practice for small UK boats used commercially for sport or pleasure: skippered charter, sea schools, sail training and race support. The RYA describes it as a single code for vessels under 24 m carrying no cargo and no more than 12 passengers. It's read with the Merchant Shipping (Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure) Regulations, SI 2025/1195.
What it replaces
GOV.UK says the code applies to new vessels from its entry into force, and that boats certificated under the Blue, Yellow or Red Codes, or the equivalent standards in MGN 280, must meet it by their next renewal examination or three years after it came into force, whichever is later. A boat can't combine the new code with the old ones. The RYA adds the Intended Pleasure Vessel Code to the list it replaces. Workboats and pilot boats have their own code, the Workboat Code Edition 3.
Area categories
The certificate limits how far the boat may go. The code sets seven area categories:
| Category | Area |
|---|---|
| 6 | Within 3 miles of land and of the point of departure, favourable weather and daylight |
| 5 | Within 3 miles of land and of the point of departure, favourable weather |
| 4 | Up to 20 miles from a safe haven, favourable weather and daylight |
| 3 | Up to 20 miles from a safe haven |
| 2 | Up to 60 miles from a safe haven |
| 1 | Up to 150 miles from a safe haven |
| 0 | Unrestricted |
The equipment the boat must carry rises with the category. The code also accepts a valid design category under the Recreational Craft Regulations as suitable for the matching area category: see design categories.
The certificate and the examination cycle
A certificate is valid for not more than five years from the examination, and the certifying authority can set less. The cycle in the code's Table 4.3.1:
- Compliance examination at the start, in and out of the water, by an authorised surveyor.
- Annual examinations in years 1 to 4, within 3 months either side of the anniversary. For smaller boats in areas 2 to 6 carrying 15 or fewer persons, the owner or managing agent can carry them out; for the rest, an authorised surveyor does.
- Intermediate examination by a surveyor in year 2 or 3, so no more than 36 months pass between surveyor examinations. Boats in areas 0 or 1, or carrying 16 or more persons, are also examined out of the water.
- Renewal examination in year 5, in and out of the water, which starts the next cycle.
The code says the certificate stops being valid if the annual or intermediate examination isn't done in time, and that it's cancelled automatically when the boat is sold.
The SCV2 and the certifying authorities
Everything on board is documented on the SCV2, signed by the surveyor and the owner and sent to the certifying authority after the compliance examination. Later examinations and changes are recorded against it.
The RYA says certificates are issued by certifying authorities on behalf of the MCA, each with its own list of authorised surveyors. The GOV.UK list includes the RYA, IIMS, YDSA, SCMS, MECAL, the MCA itself, and the classification societies Bureau Veritas, DNV, Lloyd's Register and RINA.
For surveyors
A coding examination is a checklist against the code for the boat's area category, with each item compliant, not compliant or not applicable, and a deficiency list for the owner. See how to become a yacht surveyor in the UK for the memberships behind authorisation, and Fleet and charter for checklists used between examinations.