THIS IS FLORIDA · Laws

Florida boating laws

What renters, parents, and new residents need to know. The safety card, the age rule, and the speed zone are three different checks.

November 6, 2026 · THIS IS FLORIDA · General information, not legal advice or permission for a particular trip. Check the signs on the water. This Is Florida does not rent the boat.

The short version

Florida does not have a boating license. It has a Boating Safety Education ID Card. The card shows that you finished an approved course. It is good for life. For more state rules, see the Florida laws page.

  • Who needs the card. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, needs the card to run a boat with a motor of 10 horsepower or more. You must also carry a photo ID. The statute uses “on or after.” One FWC rental page says “born after Jan. 1, 1988.” This guide follows the statute, and FWC’s own card page uses the same “on or after” wording.
  • These also count, with a photo ID. A temporary certificate approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). An International Certificate of Competency. A boating safety card from another state or U.S. territory. A Canadian Pleasure Craft Operator Card.
  • Who is exempt. A person who holds, or used to hold, a U.S. Coast Guard master license and provides proof. A person running a boat only on a private lake or pond. A person with an adult on board who is 18 or older, who has the card or is exempt, and who is responsible for the boat. A visitor with proof of an out-of-state course. A person within 90 days of buying that boat, with a qualifying bill of sale on board. A person within 90 days of finishing an approved course, with a photo ID and the course certificate.

The shop may not knowingly rent to a person who must have the card unless that person shows the required documents, or is within 90 days of finishing an approved course and has the course certificate and a photo ID. FWC-authorized vendors offer a temporary certificate for rentals. It is good for 90 days.

The online temporary exam has 25 questions, and you must get at least 19 right. It is not valid outside Florida, and you cannot use it to get the permanent card. The card law itself has no rental exemption. The rental rule is a separate section, and it names only that 90-day course exception.

Age rules for a boat and for a personal watercraft

A personal watercraft is the small jet-powered craft you ride on top of. State law defines it as a vessel under 16 feet that uses a water jet pump and is ridden sitting, standing, or kneeling on it, rather than inside it.

Boats

  • FWC says there is no minimum age to operate a boat.
  • That does not end the card rule. A child born on or after January 1, 1988, with a motor of 10 horsepower or more, needs the card or a qualifying adult on board.
  • The qualifying adult must be 18 or older, must have the card or be exempt, and is responsible for the safe operation of the boat and for any violation.
  • A motor under 10 horsepower is outside the card rule.

Personal watercraft

  • You must be at least 14 to operate a personal watercraft in Florida.
  • If the child is under 14, the answer is no. An adult on board does not change this.
  • An owner or person in charge may not let a child under 14 operate it. Breaking that part of the rule is a second-degree misdemeanor.
  • A person 14 or older must still meet the card rule if the motor is 10 horsepower or more.

Renting

You must be at least 18 to rent a personal watercraft in Florida. The same age rule covers other rental vessels that are not human-powered. A shop may not knowingly rent one of those to a person under 18.

Life jackets

A boat must have a wearable, Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board. Each one must fit the person it is for, be in good condition, and be within easy access. FWC urges everyone on a boat to wear one.

What “readily accessible” means: the Coast Guard boating guide says you should be able to put the life jacket on in a reasonable amount of time in an emergency. It says life jackets should not be stored in plastic bags or in locked or closed compartments, and other gear should not be stored on top of them.

Every child under 6 must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while a boat under 26 feet is underway. FWC names Type I, II, or III. “Underway” means any time except when the boat is anchored, moored, tied to shore, or aground.

A boat 16 feet or longer must also carry a throwable Type IV device. It must be immediately available.

On a personal watercraft, the rule is stricter. Everyone riding on it or being towed behind it must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket. An inflatable life jacket does not count. If the craft has a lanyard engine cutoff switch, the operator must attach the lanyard to their body, clothing, or life jacket.

A person who is water skiing, parasailing, or doing a similar activity must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket that is not inflatable.

Boating under the influence

It is a crime to run a boat in Florida while impaired. The limit is a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08. You can also be charged when alcohol or drugs have impaired your normal abilities.

If you are under 21, the limit is 0.02 on a breath test. It applies when you operate or are in physical control of a boat. A conviction means at least 50 hours of public service and a boating safety course at your own expense. You also may not operate a boat until those hours are done.

Penalties in section 327.35 include:

  • First conviction: a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.
  • First conviction with a level of 0.15 or higher, or with a person under 18 on board: a fine of $1,000 to $2,000 and up to 9 months in jail.
  • Crash with property damage or injury: a first-degree misdemeanor.
  • Crash with serious bodily injury: a third-degree felony.
  • Crash with a death: boating under the influence manslaughter. The base offense is a second-degree felony, with at least 4 years in prison. The statute also raises some death cases to a first-degree felony. Read section 327.35 for when that applies.

Repeat convictions carry higher penalties.

By running a boat in Florida, you agree to a lawful breath, urine, or blood test. Refusing a lawful test carries a $500 civil penalty. A court can hear that you refused. A later refusal can be a crime. Read section 327.352.

Speed, idle speed, no-wake, and manatee zones

You must run the boat in a reasonable and prudent way. That means paying attention to other boats, posted speed and wake limits, and what is around you.

  • Idle Speed, No Wake. Go only as fast as you need to keep moving and steer.
  • Slow Speed, Minimum Wake. The boat must be fully off plane and settled in the water.

A local zone can be slower than the general rule. FWC can set zones by rule. A county or city can set some zones by ordinance. FWC also sets manatee protection zones. Some zones change with the season. Federal zones exist too. FWC warns that its maps may not show every local, state, or federal zone. Obey the signs on the water, and check the map for your county before you go.

Zones confirmed on official pages

  • Broward County, Intracoastal Waterway. FWC approved a year-round Slow Speed, Minimum Wake zone between the Oakland Park Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard bridges. The FWC release did not print the date the rule took effect, so look for the posted signs.
  • Miami-Dade County. The county’s 2025 manatee plan lists Idle Speed, No Wake zones in Biscayne Creek and Bakers Haulover Inlet. It also lists zones around the Broad Causeway, 79th Street Causeway, and Rickenbacker Causeway bridges.
  • Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Boats may not go faster than Slow Speed, Minimum Wake in Haulover Canal, or faster than Idle Speed in Bairs Cove and KARS Marina. Personal watercraft may not be used in refuge waters. Motorized boats are not allowed in the posted No-Motor Zone of the Banana River. Mosquito Lagoon has two Pole and Troll Zones, where gas engines must be shut off outside posted channels.
  • Kings Bay, Crystal River. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service map shows idle, slow, and 25 mph areas. Some change by date. Use the map itself for the exact spots. The refuge also has manatee sanctuaries, which the agency calls closed waters.

Not confirmed on an official page we could read: Haulover Sandbar, Crab Island, Blue Spring, Rainbow River, Weeki Wachee River, and the Florida Keys. That does not mean these places have no rules. Check FWC’s maps and the local signs.

FWC’s Volusia map shows why the signs matter. Some stretches change speed by season. That map says it was accurate as of March 2013, so trust the posted signs first.

Rentals

The shop hands you the keys. You still have to follow the law. This Is Florida does not rent the boat.

Before you leave, the shop must:

  • Give pre-rental instruction on running the boat, right-of-way, your duties as the operator, local hazards, and emergencies.
  • Have a written agreement with your name, address, date of birth, the number of people on board, your return time, and an emergency contact.
  • Provide the required safety equipment and a boat in safe condition.
  • Carry insurance, and either insure you or offer you coverage. If you turn down the coverage, you sign a form saying so.

The shop may not knowingly rent to a person who must have the card unless that person shows the required documents, or is within 90 days of finishing an approved course and has the course certificate and a photo ID. FWC-authorized vendors offer a temporary certificate for rentals. It is good for 90 days.

After you leave, you must still:

  • Keep the card or certificate and a photo ID with you.
  • Stay within the boat’s listed number of people.
  • Follow the life jacket, alcohol, age, night, and speed zone rules in this guide.
  • Come back on time. If a rental is unnecessarily more than 4 hours overdue, the shop must notify law enforcement.

Personal watercraft renters must also get the safe-handling instruction and give the owner a signed statement that they received it. You must be at least 18 to rent a personal watercraft in Florida.

Night, lights, and reckless operation

You may not operate a personal watercraft from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise. A firefighter or rescue worker on duty is the stated exception.

Water skiing, parasailing, and similar activities are not allowed in those same hours. A boat towing a skier needs a second person watching or a wide-angle rear-view mirror. Parasailing needs a person watching. A mirror does not count for parasailing.

Boats must have working navigation lights. FWC says recreational boats must show them between sunset and sunrise, and when fog or rain cuts visibility.

Reckless operation means running a boat in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. On a personal watercraft, this includes dangerous moves such as weaving through crowded traffic or jumping another boat’s wake too close to it.

The penalty in the statute depends on what happens:

  • No accident: a second-degree misdemeanor.
  • Accident with damage or injury: a first-degree misdemeanor.
  • Accident with serious bodily injury: a third-degree felony.

Two official sources differ here. FWC’s regulations page calls reckless operation a first-degree misdemeanor. Section 327.33 sets the three levels above. This guide follows the statute.

Careless operation means not running the boat in a reasonable and prudent way. It is a noncriminal violation.

Florida places that need extra care

Springs. Some springs draw manatees. At Three Sisters Springs, the federal refuge lists manatee season as November 15 to March 31. Go slowly, and look for sanctuary markers and zone signs. In Kings Bay, federal rules ban chasing a manatee or separating a mother and calf.

Intracoastal Waterway. Speed zones can change from one stretch to the next, and bridges can have their own zones. Check the map for the county you are in.

Beaches where boats come close to swimmers. Local governments can set vessel-exclusion zones at public bathing areas. Miami-Dade’s plan lists exclusion zones in the Atlantic at Haulover and Sunny Isles Beach and at Crandon Park. Check the rules and flags on the beaches page before you boat near one.

Divers. In open water, make a reasonable effort to stay at least 300 feet from a divers-down flag. In a river, inlet, or navigation channel, the distance is 100 feet. If you go closer, go no faster than you need to keep moving and steer.

Wildlife. FWC advises staying at least 50 feet from a manatee in a powerboat. It also advises staying in deep-water channels, avoiding seagrass beds, and wearing polarized sunglasses. Report accidents and wildlife violations to the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Related guides: heading into fresh water, read the alligators guide. Staying near the water, read camping in Florida. Bad weather on the way, read hurricane prep. Going out to fish, read Florida fishing.

What to check before leaving the dock

  • Card. Do you have the card, certificate, or exemption, plus a photo ID?
  • Life jackets. Is there one that fits each person? Are children under 6 wearing theirs? Is everyone on a personal watercraft wearing a non-inflatable one?
  • Weather. Check the forecast. Do not count on getting back before a storm.
  • Local zone. Have you checked the map for your county? Do you know the signs on your route?
  • A sober driver. Who is running the boat? That person must stay sober.

Questions people ask

Do I need a license to drive a boat in Florida?

Florida does not have a boating license. It has a Boating Safety Education ID Card. Anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, needs the card to run a boat with a motor of 10 horsepower or more.

How old do you have to be to drive a personal watercraft in Florida?

You must be at least 14 to operate a personal watercraft in Florida. You must be at least 18 to rent a personal watercraft in Florida.

Can I rent a boat without the card?

The shop may not knowingly rent to a person who must have the card unless that person shows the required documents, or is within 90 days of finishing an approved course and has the course certificate and a photo ID. FWC-authorized vendors offer a temporary certificate for rentals. It is good for 90 days.

Does my child have to wear a life jacket?

Every child under 6 must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while a boat under 26 feet is underway. On a personal watercraft, the rule is stricter. Everyone riding on it or being towed behind it must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

What is the alcohol limit on a boat?

The limit is a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08. If you are under 21, the limit is 0.02 on a breath test.

Sources

Checked November 6, 2026. Laws and local zones change. Obey the signs on the water.

Related on this site: Florida laws, beaches, camping in Florida, alligators, hurricane prep, and Florida fishing.