OPERATOR AGE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Boater Safety Education Requirements
Anyone 21 years of age and under who operates a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must pass an approved boater safety course and have in his/her possession photographic identification and a boater safety identification card issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
NOTE: Proof of completing this approved boater safety course meets the Florida requirements to receive a boater safety ID card issued by FWC. A printable Temporary Certificate is available once you successfully complete the final exam portion of this course.
To receive your Florida Boater Card, submit a letter with your name, date of birth, return address, phone number and proof of completion of your boating certificate to:
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Division of Law Enforcement Boating Safety Section
620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
For more information, contact the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Division of Law Enforcement at (850) 488-5600. There is no cost for the card and it is good for a lifetime.
Remember, if you are required to have a FL Boater Card, you must also carry I.D. with your picture on it.
Exemptions:
The law does provide for some exemptions to the boating education requirements. The following are exempted from the requirements of boater education:
- A person is exempt from the education requirement if there is a person on board who is not affected by this law or is at least 18 years of age and holds a boater education I.D. card. This person must be attendant to and take responsibility for the safe operation of the vessel.
- 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 exempt.
- Persons who are nonresident and have proof of completion of a NASBLA approved course from another state.
Mandatory Violator Education
Florida law requires that anyone convicted of a criminal boating violation, a non-criminal boating infraction which resulted in a boating accident, or two non-criminal boating safety infractions within a 12-month period, must enroll in, attend, and successfully complete a NASBLA/state approved classroom boater education course. Correspondence or on-line course applications do not meet these requirements.
YOUNG OPERATORS
Age Restrictions
- A person must be at least 21 years of age to operate any boat with a 10 hp or greater engine and must have a FL Boater I.D. card and photographic I.D. (see Education section).
- A person must be at least 14 years old to operate a Personal Watercraft.
- A person must be at least 18 years old rent a PWC. All persons who rent a PWC must receive instruction in the safe handling of a PWC. The renter must give the owner a "written statement attesting to same".
|
