RYA Marine Radio SRC (VHF) Course

A radio is an important piece of safety equipment on board and it is vital to understand the correct procedures. This course and exam is for anyone who owns a fixed or handheld marine VHF radio.

The Short Range Certificate is the minimum qualification required by law to control the operation of VHF and VHF Digital Selective Calling (DSC) equipment on any British flagged vessel voluntarily fitted with a fixed or handheld radio.

You will use a specially-adapted training radio for this course (usually these are Icom fixed radios), rather than computer simulator software.

Students will be provided with a copy of the RYA VHF Handbook.

An additional payment of £70 is required for the exam and includes the issue of your VHF/SRC Operator's Licence if successful (mandatory payment online through the RYA website in advance of your course: www.rya.org.uk/exam-payments)

If you would prefer to study at your own pace, then it is possible to take the RYA's Marine Radio SRC (VHF) course online via a commercial centre for a similar price to an in-person course, and then book the final assessment at KYC when you are ready - contact sailing@keyhavenyc.co.uk if this is of interest.

How long does the assessment take?

This depends on how many people are being assessed on a course. The written assessment typically takes about 20-30 minutes and the practical assessment between one and two hours. This means we would expect a group of 4 being assessed to take around 2 hours.

The assessment will take place on the following day (Sunday), to allow time for rest and revision in the evening. Assessment start time TBC.

Last updated 11:12am on 27 July 2024