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Canal Boat Trading - Narrowboat Traders

Trading from a boat on the UK canal system

If you intend to use the boat commercially, you need a business licence. Otherwise a standard licence is sufficient.

There are already hundreds of canal boat traders in the UK, licensed by British Waterways and other waterways authorities.

Historically the UK has traded on the navigable rivers and canals, besides the carrying of goods, where there is a navigable waterway folk have gleaned a living supplying everything from cheese to hand made pagan silver jewellery.

Canal and river boat trading licences are normally available for twelve month periods only. However, where you are introducing a new boat into a canal boat trading or narrowboat traders fleet and wish to synchronise licence start dates across the fleet, the licensing authority will usually issue shorter period licences on a monthly cost pro rata basis.

A British Waterways (BW) Trading Licence is issued for 12 months, on canal and rivers in England and Wales.

These canal boat trading and narrowboat traders licences are for boats used for:

Cargo carrying (other than by freight vessels).

Running a shop, store, workshop or office onboard.

There are different fees depending on which of these two types of activity you intend to be carrying out.

According to the BW licensing rules; you may carry cargo if you have paid the fee for shop, store or workshop, but you may not sell goods or services from a boat for which you have only paid the cargo carrying fee.

There are other provisos for the issue of Leisure Business Licences, Workboat Licences and Freight Licences