Croatia's harbour master's offices — where you book and sit the exam

What a lučka kapetanija is

A lučka kapetanija (harbour master's office) is the regional maritime authority on the Croatian coast. Its work is mostly about the safety of navigation: supervising traffic in Croatian internal and territorial waters, coordinating search and rescue, inspecting vessels, keeping vessel registers, and issuing maritime documents. For a recreational skipper, one of those duties is the one that matters to you — it runs the category B exam and issues the resulting certificate of competency (uvjerenje o osposobljenosti).

In practice this is the office you deal with from start to finish: you register with it, you sit the oral exam in front of a commission there, and you collect your certificate from it. The exam itself is the same nationwide — a Croatian state qualification — so the office you choose is a matter of convenience, not of a different test. For the full path from studying to the certificate, see our guide on how to get the Croatian boat licence.

The eight main offices

There are eight main harbour master's offices spaced along the Adriatic, each covering a stretch of coast. From north to south:

Each main office also runs branch offices (ispostave) in smaller ports along its part of the coast, so the network reaches well beyond these eight towns. On top of that, the exam can be arranged through the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure itself, which means it can also be sat inland — including in Zagreb. Pick the office nearest to where you will be: most charterers choose the kapetanija in or near their base, such as Split, Zadar, Šibenik, Pula or Dubrovnik.

How to register and book

You do not turn up unannounced — you arrange a place in advance. There are a few routes, and any one of them works:

• Contact a harbour master's office directly. Phone or email the office (or branch) you want to sit at, using the details from the Ministry list above. Ask to register for the voditelj brodice kategorije B exam and which dates are open.
• Go through the Ministry. The Ministry of the Sea handles category A and B exam enquiries centrally by email at voditelj.brodice@pomorstvo.hr. This is also the route if you want to sit the exam in Zagreb, or are unsure which office to approach.
• Use the e-Pomorac portal. The Ministry runs an online maritime-administration portal (e-Pomorac) as a digital channel for seafarers' paperwork. Availability of online exam booking through it can vary, so if in doubt fall back on phone or email — those are the routes most candidates use.

Whichever route you take, the pattern is the same: you submit your application and documents, and the office or Ministry confirms a date, replying with a notice telling you the time and place of your sitting. A preparation school, if you use one, will normally handle this registration for you. The fee and the documents are nationwide and don't depend on the office — for those, see our guide on what the licence costs.

Practical tips before you book

A short exam in a quiet office is the easy part. The part that catches visitors out is timing, so plan the booking before the holiday rather than during it.

• Book the slot ahead. Exam dates are scheduled periodically and each sitting takes a limited number of candidates, so places fill up — in peak summer the next free date can be weeks away. Reserve as early as you can rather than assuming "this week".
• Ask which dates are open — and where. If your first-choice office is full, a nearby office or branch, or the Ministry route, may have an earlier slot. It is worth asking more than one.
• Ask about language. The official syllabus and exam are in Croatian. Some offices may be able to accommodate another language depending on the examiners available, but this is not guaranteed — confirm it when you register, not on the day.
• Attend in person. The exam is taken face-to-face before the commission at the office; there is no remote or online sitting. Allow for the travel to and from whichever kapetanija you book.
• Have your documents ready first. Registration goes faster when your application form, photos, ID copy, first-aid proof and proof of the paid fee are in hand. If you are still deciding whether you even need the licence, start with whether you need a licence to charter in Croatia.

Common questions