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Additional State Boating Regulations

Florida Boater Education Law

Effective October 1, 1996, persons born after September 30, 1980 will be required to either have successfully completed a NASBLA approved boating education course or have passed a course equivalency or temporary certificate examination before operating a vessel with a motor of 10 HP or more in Florida.  On October 1, 2001, all persons 21 years of age and younger will be required to comply with this law.

Photographic identification and a boating education certificate or a boater safety identification card must be carried by persons affected by this law. Identification cards for persons completing the course or the equivalency exam are valid for life and for those passing the temporary certificate exam are valid for 12 months.

The BoatU.S. Foundation's On-line Boating Safety Course is NASBLA approved and therefore qualifies under this provision. (www.boatus.com/onlinecourse)

The law does provide for some exemptions to the boating education requirements. The following are exempted from the requirements of boater education:

  • Persons licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard as a master of a vessel.
  • Persons operating on a private lake or pond.
  • Persons accompanied in a vessel by a person who is exempt or complies with this law, is 18 years of age or older, and is attendant to the vessel operation.
  • Persons who are non-residents and have proof of completion of a NASBLA-approved course from another state.

The department must ensure that boating education courses and examinations are available in each county of the state. To supplement the many courses offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadrons, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the (FWC) will be expanding its use of the How to Boat Smart correspondence course. This course has a test in the back of the book which can be completed and returned to the department to be graded and scored. The test requires a 80% passing score. A certificate and boater safety identification card will be issued to those successfully completing the course. Those people who have previously taken and successfully completed a NASBLA approved course will automatically meet the requirements of this law.

What to do with your NASBLA approved course certificate...
Any of these people who wish to receive a boater safety identification card may mail a copy of their NASBLA approved certification of successful completion for the course to

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Boating Safety Section
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600

Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron course instructors can mail in a certified list of those people successfully completing their course to this same address to have boater safety cards issued to their students. Please ensure that student's name, date of birth, return address, and phone number is clearly included.

Vessel Liveries:
This law requires a person affected by this bill to present a valid boating safety identification card to a livery when renting a vessel with 10HP or more. Liveries must also provide pre-ride boating safety instruction and display boating safety information to all persons renting vessels. The minimum age for renting a PWC in Florida is 18 years old.

Penalties:
This law adds the boating safety education violations as non-criminal infractions ($50.00 fine). The bill also requires mandatory education for violators receiving two boating infractions in a 12 month period.  However, the non-safety related infractions are not included in the requirements for mandatory education. Such violations as numbering, decals, operating without a registration, regattas and races, and marine sanitation are the violations which do not require mandatory education. The bill also exempts those people who already completed a NASBLA approved course from taking a mandatory education for violators course.

Another provision of the law provides that all civil penalties collected for boating violations are to be deposited into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund to be used for boating safety education purposes.

Who is affected by this law?

  • Those born after September 30, 1980
  • Livery requirements for pre-ride instruction and display of boating safety information is for all age groups.
  • Mandatory education for violators requirements apply to boating safety law violators of any age.

Which Courses or tests are approved under this law?
Any National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) approved course, no matter when or where taken. Person must have proof of successful completion of the NASBLA course. This includes:

  • BoatU.S. Foundation On-Line Boating Safety Course (www.boatus.com)
  • US Power Squadron Course
  • US Coast Guard Auxiliary Course
  • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's "How to Boat Smart" Home Study Course
  • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's "How to Boat Smart" Classroom taught course
  • C.E.E.R.I. Boater's Education
  • Chapman School of Seamanship

What will the course cost me?
The On-line Boating Safety Course and the "How to Boat Smart" Courses are FREE!

I am a tourist on vacation in Florida and my 15 year old wants to rent a boat. What will we need to do? What if I bring our boat from Alabama with us?
If your son has a certificate where he has taken and passed a NASBLA approved course, he can operate a boat in Florida using this certificate.

If he has not taken a NASBLA approved course, he can take a course equivalency exam at the livery. Study materials will be provided. If he passes the test the livery operator will issue a temporary boating safety identification card for your son that will be valid for 12 months. For your information, a livery cannot rent a personal watercraft (PWC) to your son. In Florida, you must be 18 years old to rent a PWC.

My child is taking a NASBLA approved course at school. Can my child receive a boating safety identification card if he passes the course?
School districts all over the state are looking into offering NASBLA approved courses. These courses will meet the requirements of the law and will be offered free to the students. The information they learn and the record of having passed the course will be good for a lifetime, but in order to receive the Boating Safety Identification required by law, send proof of completion to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

How do I pay for the Boating Safety Identification Card?
You send us proof of successful completion, the FWC will send you a card for free.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

All vessels operated on the waters of Florida must be registered and/or numbered in Florida except as follows:

  1. vessels used exclusively on private lakes or ponds.
  2. vessels owned by the Federal Government.
  3. vessels used exclusively as life boats.
  4. non-motor-powered vessels.
  5. vessels with a current number from another state or form another country temporarily using Florida waters (less than 90 consecutive days).

In addition, all vessels except those documented vessels and non-motor powered boats less than 16 feet in length must be titled in Florida. 

Apply for your title and registration with the state tax collectors.  You must provide proof of ownership by submitting with the application an executed bill of sale, a builder's contract, a manufacturer's statement of origin, a federal marine document, or other documents acceptable to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Vessel Registration & Titling.  The registration must be renewed in the same manner as cars--according to when it was registered.  The annual fees are as follows:

In addition, there is a service fee of $2.25 per registration or reregistration.   The fee for titling a vessel is $5.25.  To title a vessel, you must show proof of payment of sales tax for the vessel, motor, and trailer.  Properly registered vessels and outboard motors capable of powering such vessels are exempt from personal property tax, with outboards also being exempt from sales tax.  Upon receipt and approval of your registration, you will be issued a certificate of number and a validation decal.  The registration certificate is pocket sized and must be on board whenever the boat is used.  The boat's number must be properly displayed as follows:

  1. The figures are read from left to right.
  2. They must be displayed on the forward half of each side of the boat.
  3. Numbers must be in bold, block letters of good proportion.
  4. Numbers must be not less than three inches high.
  5. They must be of a contrasting color to the boat hull or background.
  6. They must be as high above the waterline as practical.
  7. No number other than the number assigned can be displayed on the forward half of the vessel.
  8. Letters must be separated from numbers by spaces or hyphens.
  9. Validation decals must be displayed within six inches of the number displayed on the port side.

Florida law requires titling of most undocumented motor boats and non-motor powered vessels over 16 feet in length.

DOCUMENTED BOATS:

Owners of larger boats can document their vessels with the U.S. Coast Guard.  A marine document is proof of ownership and is recognized internationally.  If you have a documented boat for use in Florida, you must still register it in Florida.   Documented vessels must display the validation decal on the windshield or the port side window.

HULL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER:

All boats built since 1972 must have a Hull Identification Number (HIN) permanently attached to the transom on the starboard side, above the waterline.  If you have a homemade boat you should contact the Department for a hull identification number.   This number is like the serial number on a car.  A new regulation in 1984 requires this HIN to be permanently attached in a second, unexposed location.  Record your number, and keep it in a safe place away from the boat; it may assist you in identifying your boat should it be stolen.  Also, it will be necessary to have the HIN to your boat in most states.