Keeping Your Workboat Certificate Valid — The WBC3 Examination Cycle

Getting your Workboat Certificate is step one. Keeping it valid requires a rolling cycle of examinations over the 5-year certificate life. Miss one, and your certificate ceases to be valid — meaning your vessel can't legally operate.

Key points:

• Annual examinations required every year (within 3 months of anniversary date)
• Intermediate out-of-water examination required at least once every 3 years
• Renewal examination needed before the 5-year certificate expires
• Missing any examination makes the certificate invalid immediately

The Examination Cycle

Annual Examination — Every Year

Your vessel must be examined annually by an authorised person appointed by your Certifying Authority.

When: Within 3 months either side of your certificate anniversary date, at intervals not exceeding 15 months.

What's checked: The authorised person confirms that the vessel, machinery, fittings, and equipment are maintained in a satisfactory condition and match what's documented in the SWB2 (Documentation of Compliance). They're checking that nothing has changed, deteriorated, or been removed since the last examination.

In practice, the examiner will walk the vessel checking safety equipment is present and in date (fire extinguishers, liferaft service, lifejacket condition), navigation equipment is working, machinery is maintained, and your paperwork is up to date (crew certificates, SMS, logbooks, maintenance records). If something doesn't match the SWB2 — for example, you've swapped a piece of equipment without telling the CA — that's a problem.

What you need to do: Arrange the examination with your CA in good time. Have the SWB2 on board. Make sure your maintenance records, certificates, and safety equipment are up to date.

Intermediate Examination — Midpoint of Certificate

At least once during the 5-year certificate life, your vessel must have an out-of-water examination.

When: The interval between successive out-of-water examinations must not exceed 3 years.

What's checked: Hull condition, underwater fittings, propeller, rudder, anodes, through-hull fittings, shaft seals — everything below the waterline that can't be properly inspected while afloat.

In-water alternative: In exceptional circumstances where the vessel can't be lifted by the due date, the CA may accept a diver or ROV survey instead — but this is at their discretion and a full out-of-water examination will still be required at a later date.

Renewal Examination — Every 5 Years

Before your certificate expires, you need a renewal examination. This is equivalent to the original compliance examination.

When: Before the certificate expiry date. If completed within 3 months before expiry, the new certificate runs from the expiry date (so you don't lose time). If completed more than 3 months early, it runs from the examination date.

What's checked: Everything — in-water and out-of-water. The authorised person verifies that the vessel still meets the full requirements of the Code.

What you get: A new Workboat Certificate, valid for another 5 years.

Emergency Examination

If the vessel is involved in an incident that may affect its seaworthiness — collision, grounding, flooding, structural damage — an emergency examination may be required. Your CA decides what level of examination is needed.

What Happens If You Miss an Examination?

If an examination has been missed by more than one month, you'll need to contact your CA to arrange an appropriate examination — which may be more extensive (and more expensive) than a standard annual check. The CA decides what level of examination is needed based on how long the vessel has been out of compliance and its overall condition.

The bottom line: it's always cheaper and easier to stay on top of the schedule than to catch up after a lapse. Set reminders, book early, and don't let it drift.

What Gets Recorded?

Everything goes on the SWB2. This document is the vessel's permanent compliance record. It's signed by both the authorised person and the vessel owner/operator after each examination and forwarded to the CA.

The SWB2 stays with the vessel for life — even if you change Certifying Authority.

The Annual Disc

After each annual examination, the CA issues an identification disc. This must be displayed prominently and visibly from outside the vessel. It's a quick visual indicator to users and inspectors that the vessel has been examined and holds a valid certificate.

Practical Tips

• Book early. CAs have limited availability, especially for out-of-water examinations in summer. Don't leave it until the last month.
• Keep maintenance records up to date. The examiner will check that servicing has been done on schedule. If your records are patchy, it creates problems.
• Know your SWB2. If anything has changed on the vessel since the last examination — new equipment, modifications, removed items — the CA needs to know before the examination, not during it.
• Don't let certificates expire. Crew medical certificates, fire extinguisher servicing, liferaft servicing, radio licences — if these lapse between examinations, the vessel is technically non-compliant even if the Workboat Certificate is still in date. This is the most common issue operators face — the Workboat Certificate is valid for 5 years, but the things that keep it valid (crew certs, equipment servicing, maintenance records) need attention throughout the year. A valid certificate doesn't mean much if your crew's medical certificates have expired or your fire extinguishers are overdue for servicing.

Read next: What is WBC3 and Does My Vessel Need It? →

Sources: WBC3 Sections 3.8, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.3.4.