What is a Nautical Medical Certificate?

Do you want to know what is the Nautical Medical CertificateWhat is it for and where can you get it? Then you cannot stop reading this article, because we have valuable information that will be absolutely useful to you.

What is a Nautical Medical Certificate?

A Nautical Medical Certificate is a document that legitimizes the good physical and mental condition of a sailor both to be able to apply for a nautical title and to be able to perform the functions of the position for which you are applying. 

This certificate is issued by a designated doctor and is valid for a specified period of time. In this sense, it is valid for 3 months from its date of issue until it is presented to the administration of the corresponding nautical school and after this process, it has a validity of 2 years.

It is vitally important that all the crew of the boats or recreational boats have this document.

Why do I need a Nautical Medical Certificate?

The Nautical Medical Certificate is a mandatory requirement to be able to obtain a new qualification or to maintain the validity of a current nautical qualification. On the other hand, as it is a basic document, it serves to guarantee both the maritime safety of sailors and passengers on board a vessel.

Well, this type of certificationshows that the person is medically fit to perform his or her duties and that you are of sound mind, so you do not pose any potential security risk.

How to obtain a Nautical Medical Certificate?

First of all, you must go to a medical center that is approved by the General Directorate of Traffic, where a designated doctor will be in charge of carrying out the corresponding medical examination.

The latter consists of carrying out several studies such as electrocardiogram, spirometry, audiometry and visual examination, as well as asking a series of questions in which the aim is to investigate the medical history of the interested party.

Once all the tests are completed and passed, your Nautical Medical Certificate will be prepared and issued immediately. Only medical centers approved by the General Directorate of Traffic They are authorized to carry out medical examinations for nautical purposes and to issue Nautical Medical Certificates.

The Nautical Medical Certificate itself is a mandatory requirement to navigate and to obtain it you only have to present a official identification (DNI, NIE or valid Passport) and a recent passport-sized photo.

What types of Nautical Titles require a Nautical Medical Certificate?

The Nautical Medical Certificate is a mandatory requirement for navigation and is also required in different certification processes for sailing and boat training. In the same order, these are the nautical licenses and qualifications for which you must present this document:

• Basic Navigation Pattern (PNB): Handling of boats (motor, sailing or recreational) up to 8 meters in length, up to a distance from the coast of 5 nautical miles.
• Recreational Boat Skipper (PER): Handling of boats (motor, sailing or recreational) up to 15 meters in length, up to a distance from the coast of 12 nautical miles.
• Yacht Skipper (PY): Handling of vessels (motor, sailing or recreational) up to 24 meters in length, up to a distance of 150 nautical miles between the coast and the parallel line.
• Yacht Captain (CY): Handling of boats with no length limit and no distance limit from the coast.