What do the surcharges add?
The Trust's calculator gives you this year's figure. It does not show you that the surcharges are still being phased in — so the number you are looking at is not the number you will be paying in two years.
| Year | Surcharge | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | +15% | £1,614.60 |
| 2027/28 | +20% | £1,684.80 |
| 2028/29 | +25% | £1,755.00 |
By 2028/29 that is £140.4 a year more than 2026/27 in surcharges alone — before the annual increase, which was 4.85% this year and is applied on top.
Surcharges as published by the Canal & River Trust. The intermediate beam figure for 2027/28 has not been published, so it is not shown rather than guessed. This applies percentages to a base fee you provide — for the base itself, use the Trust's own calculator.
Track your renewal date — freeWhy there are two of them
The no-home-mooring surcharge was introduced in 2024 and is being phased in over several years, reaching 25% by April 2028. The Trust's argument is that boats without a home mooring use the towpath network more intensively. Boaters' organisations argue it falls hardest on people who live afloat precisely because they cannot afford a mooring, and there have been protests about it in London.
The wide beam surcharge works the same way, on the basis that a wider boat takes up more of a lock and more of a mooring.
They stack, and they compound
A wide beam without a home mooring pays both. And the annual inflation rise — 4.85% for 2026/27 — applies to the base fee before the surcharges are added, so the two increases multiply rather than simply adding.
Whatever it costs, missing the renewal date is worse — an expired licence is an unlicensed boat.
Read the full breakdown of 2026/27 licence costs →