Why do you need to register your boat?
The legislation that gives the Environment Agency its various navigation responsibilities also gives it powers to charge vessels using its waters. For historical reasons the registration schemes differ in each of our regions, and every vessel must be registered with the appropriate region of the Environment Agency.
What do we do with the income?
We spend the income raised from craft registration, together with government grant-in-aid (GIA) on improving and maintaining the navigation fairway and lock structures as well as providing facilities such as sewage disposal, water points and electricity charging points. Every vessel on the waterways must display its current valid navigation certificate and registration number at all times.