The current boater-education / boating-license requirement for all 51 U.S. jurisdictions — who needs a card, the minimum age and the accepted course. Compiled from official state sources. Informational only, not legal advice.
Photo: Aaron Burden / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Pick your state to see whether you need a boater-education card, who it applies to and the minimum operating age — then confirm on the official state page. Open the finder →
19 states require a card for covered operators, 27 require it only for some, and 5 require none. See every state grouped by tier →
Boating license requirements, by the numbers — our 51-jurisdiction study →
Informational only, not legal advice. Boating law changes and several states are mid-rollout — always confirm the current rule on your state's official boating-law agency page.
Every state's boater-education rule — who needs a card, the minimum age and the accepted course — on one page. Free.