RYA SRC Part 9 — Regulations: Licences, Watchkeeping, and Who Makes the Rules

21 May 2026 PersonalSRCRYAregulations

Syllabus coverage: CEPT/RYA section E1 — awareness of national and international documentation, knowledge of the international regulations and agreements (Radio Operator’s Certificate, Ship Station Licence, radio record keeping, secrecy of correspondence, prohibited transmissions, watchkeeping).

The regulations section is the part most candidates underestimate. It’s also the part that gets a written question or two in every paper, and the part the exam pulls the trick questions from. (“Can I operate a friend’s radio if they’re not on board?”) This post is a reference; treat it as something to revise from rather than read once.

Who makes the rules — three layers

We met them in Part 1; this post drills in.

ITU — global

The International Telecommunication Union is the UN specialised agency for telecommunications. Its Radio Regulations are the international reference for maritime radio. The ITU defines:

VHF/MF/HF channel allocations.
MMSI structure and country MIDs.
Distress, urgency, safety, routine procedure terminology (MAYDAY/PAN-PAN/SECURITE).
Secrecy provisions (Article 17).
The MARS database of registered ship stations (covered below).
The lists of coast stations and ship stations.

The ITU itself does not enforce anything — it sets the standards that member states implement.

CEPT — European harmonisation

The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations harmonises ITU regulations for European member states. CEPT writes:

CEPT/ERC/REC 31-04 — the harmonised SRC examination syllabus. The RYA’s SRC syllabus is a UK expansion of this.
The harmonised allocations for the European maritime VHF band.
The mutual recognition arrangements for operator and station licences across CEPT members (one of the reasons your SRC works in French and Dutch waters).

National — Ofcom and the MCA

In the UK:

Ofcom is the spectrum regulator. Ofcom issues operator licences (SRC, ROC, LRC, GOC — though SRC is issued via the MCA/RYA) and the Ship Radio Licence / Ship Portable Radio Licence. Ofcom manages MMSI allocation and the public Ship Radio Licence database.
The MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) is the maritime safety regulator. The MCA runs the EPIRB Registry, sets safety standards for UK-flagged vessels, and enforces SOLAS for commercial vessels. The MCA manages SRC training and assessment in partnership with the RYA.
HM Coastguard (an MCA function) provides the operational shore station service — the MRCC network you actually talk to when you key the PTT on CH16.

The exam expects you to be able to answer:

“Which body sets the international radio regulations?” → ITU.
“Which body harmonises radio standards across Europe?” → CEPT.
“Which UK body issues your Ship Radio Licence?” → Ofcom.
“Which UK body runs the Coastguard?” → MCA.

Operator licences — what each authorises

Operator licences certify a person, not a station. Held for life, no renewal needed.

Certificate	Equipment authorised	Sea Areas	Audience
SRC — Short Range Certificate	VHF + VHF DSC	A1	The standard for UK pleasure craft
ROC — Restricted Operator’s Certificate	VHF + VHF DSC	A1	Commercial equivalent of SRC
LRC — Long Range Certificate	VHF + MF/HF + Inmarsat (limited)	A1/A2/A3	Yachts cruising offshore
GOC — General Operator’s Certificate	Full GMDSS	A1/A2/A3/A4	Commercial SOLAS vessels

The exam asks:

“What does an SRC authorise?” → VHF + VHF DSC operation on a non-SOLAS vessel in Sea Area A1.
“What certificate do you need to operate the MF/HF radio on a yacht crossing the Atlantic?” → LRC (or GOC).
“If you upgrade from VHF to add MF/HF, what operator certificate do you need?” → LRC.

A Restricted VHF certificate (issued under previous regulatory regimes for VHF-only without DSC) is still recognised in some contexts as evidence of eligibility for the SRC exam — i.e. holders can sit the SRC without doing the full course. The MCA/RYA accept this on the eligibility document list for the exam.

There is no expiry on an operator certificate. Once you have it, you have it.

Station licences — what each covers

Station licences cover a piece of equipment (or set of equipment) and link it to a registered MMSI and callsign.

Ship Radio Licence

The standard licence for a UK-flagged vessel. Issued by Ofcom, free, online, lifetime validity (subject to keeping the details up to date).

Covers ALL radio equipment carried on a named vessel — VHF, MF/HF, satellite, AIS, radar, EPIRB.
Each piece of equipment is listed on the licence.
Provides the vessel’s callsign (e.g. MJEM4) and MMSI.
Tied to the named vessel — sells with the vessel; transfers via Ofcom.

You must:

Keep the licence (or an electronic copy) accessible aboard.
Update Ofcom if vessel ownership changes, if you add or remove radio equipment, or if any contact detail changes.
Renew (by request) periodically; the licence is “lifetime” but Ofcom does spot-check the records.

Ship Portable Radio Licence

A separate licence for radio equipment carried by a person rather than fixed to a vessel.

Used for handheld VHF that isn’t permanently associated with one boat (e.g. you take it kayaking, on a chartered boat, or you sail multiple boats).
Covers handheld VHF DSC, PLBs registered to the person, and similar portable kit.
Provides a portable MMSI prefixed 8 in the UK — the 235 8XXXXX format (the 8MID structure mentioned in Part 4).
Issued by Ofcom, free, online.

Restrictions on the Ship Portable Radio Licence:

Cannot be used to operate equipment permanently fixed to a vessel.
Cannot send a distress alert from the same MMSI that an installed radio has — your handheld and your fixed set are separately licensed.
A portable MMSI is recognisable to shore stations and SAR — they know they’re dealing with a handheld, possibly without a vessel of origin.

The exam often asks:

“What licence covers a handheld VHF taken kayaking?” → Ship Portable Radio Licence.
“What licence covers the fixed VHF on your yacht?” → Ship Radio Licence.
“Can you transfer the MMSI from your yacht to your handheld?” → No — different licences, different MMSIs.

Keep the licence with the equipment

Both licences require the certificate to be kept with the equipment (or accessible electronically). The exam catches people on this: a vessel surveyor or harbourmaster can ask to see the licence, and an unlicensed station is operating illegally.

Watchkeeping

The CEPT and ITU regulations specify watchkeeping obligations. Different vessels have different requirements.

Small craft (UK)

DSC watch on CH70 — maintained automatically by Class D equipment in the background. You don’t have to do anything; the radio listens.
Listening watch on CH16 — maintained whenever the radio is in operation. Class D sets default to CH16 when idle, so this is also automatic in practice.
VTS watch where required — entering or operating in a Vessel Traffic Service area, you maintain a listening watch on the VTS working channel as well as CH16.
CH13 in some ports — bridge-to-bridge navigational safety listening watch in designated areas.

Small craft are not required to maintain a written radio log under UK regulations. SOLAS vessels do — they keep detailed records of all radio traffic. The SRC exam expects you to know which side of that line you sit on.

What you should record voluntarily

Even without a legal requirement, good practice is to note:

Distress, urgency, safety traffic you transmit or hear (time, position, station, summary).
Any false alerts and their cancellation.
Equipment faults and tests.

A small spiral-bound notebook by the chart table does the job.

Secrecy of correspondence

ITU Article 17 — the secrecy of correspondence provision — is straightforward. Anything you overhear on a radio frequency that is not addressed to you (or to “all stations”) is confidential. You may not:

Repeat it to others.
Use it for any purpose (commercial, personal, journalistic).
Record it for distribution.

Exceptions:

Distress, urgency, and safety transmissions are always public — those are explicitly meant to be heard.
All Stations broadcasts (SECURITE warnings, NAVTEX-style messages) are public.

The exam asks: “If you overhear a routine call between two other vessels discussing fuel prices, can you mention it to a friend?” → No. Secrecy applies.

The flip side is that anything you transmit can be heard by anyone with a receiver. Don’t transmit anything you wouldn’t want a coast station, another vessel, or a recreational scanner enthusiast to know.

Prohibited transmissions

The ITU and Ofcom rules prohibit specific types of transmission. The exam asks you to recognise these.

Profanity and obscene language.
Music. No broadcasting music on a marine VHF channel.
False or deceptive signals. Including pretending to be another station, transmitting false distress, calling stations that don’t exist for entertainment.
Unidentified transmissions. Every transmission must identify the originating station.
Personal correspondence on safety or calling channels.
Transmissions in foreign languages on UK channels (where regulated — typically use English on common channels for clarity, though native-language traffic between vessels of the same flag is acceptable in practice).
Transmissions exceeding the licensed equipment (e.g. using a high-power illegal amplifier).
Interfering with other stations deliberately.

The penalty for serious offences (false distress, deliberate jamming) can be substantial fines and prosecution. Ofcom and the MCA do take action when reports are received.

ITU MARS and the published lists

The ITU MARS database (Maritime mobile Access and Retrieval System) is the public registry of MMSI assignments worldwide. Anyone can search it.

The ITU also publishes:

List IV — List of Coast Stations and Special Service Stations — every coast station and special service station worldwide, with frequencies, watch hours, and contact details.
List V — List of Ship Stations and MMSI Assignments — the published version of the MARS data.

The exam expects you to be aware of these resources rather than fluent in them. Know they exist, know roughly what’s in each.

Bringing it together — what regulations apply when you key the PTT

If you, holder of an SRC, are aboard Northern Star, MMSI 232123456, callsign MJEM4, on the South Coast on a Saturday afternoon, and you press the PTT on a fixed VHF DSC set to call a friend on a working channel:

The radio is licensed under a UK Ship Radio Licence held by the vessel.
You are licensed personally under the SRC.
The frequency, channel allocation, and procedural rules come from the ITU Radio Regulations, harmonised for Europe by CEPT, enforced in the UK by Ofcom and the MCA.
The shore station that might respond is HM Coastguard.
The records the system holds about your vessel are in the Ship Radio Licence database (Ofcom) and the EPIRB Registry (MCA), and your MMSI is searchable in ITU MARS.
The conversation is confidential to the parties involved unless it concerns distress, urgency, or safety.

Every one of those is on the SRC syllabus.

What to take into the next post

You should leave Part 9 able to:

Name the regulator at each level (ITU, CEPT, Ofcom, MCA, HM Coastguard) and what each does.
Distinguish SRC, ROC, LRC, and GOC and what each authorises.
Distinguish the Ship Radio Licence (vessel) from the Ship Portable Radio Licence (person).
State the UK watchkeeping requirement on CH70 and CH16.
State that small craft are not required to keep a formal radio log in the UK.
Explain secrecy of correspondence and what’s exempt (distress, urgency, safety, broadcasts).
List the principal prohibited transmissions.

Part 10 is the meta-post on how to actually pass the exam — eligibility, what to bring, written paper structure, practical assessment, study plan, and the gotchas the examiner watches for.