What is the 24-meter rule for yachts?

The 24-meter rule for yachts is a hard regulatory line drawn in the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Large Commercial Yacht Code. Yachts at or under 24 meters of load line length follow a lighter set of safety, manning, and survey requirements. Cross that threshold and the yacht jumps into the Large Yacht Code (currently LY3, with LY4 phased in), which mandates SOLAS-aligned construction, larger crew certifications, and stricter operational limits. For a charter customer, the 24m line shows up in two places: insurance pricing, and which flag states permit commercial charter. A 23.99m yacht is materially cheaper to operate than a 24.5m one. Ask a broker whether a specific yacht falls inside the line.