Alabama boating laws · checked Oct 2026

Alabama boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis

What Alabama law requires on the water, pulled from official sources and linked line by line: life jackets, boater education, jet skis, paddle craft and registration.

Kids must wear a life jacket: Under 8
Boater education card: Required (see who)
Jet ski / PWC minimum age: 12 with certification and a certified adult 21+ aboard …
Emergency: 911 · VHF Channel 16

Emergency on the water in Alabama

911

Life in danger, on any water: call 911 from a cell phone.

VHF 16

Channel 16 is the primary VHF-FM marine radio calling and distress channel. Carry a VHF radio on the coast and the Great Lakes.

Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Alabama

911 for emergencies; VHF channel 16 on Mobile Bay and the Gulf. ALEA Marine Patrol headquarters 334-676-6005 or 800-272-7930 for non-emergency boating matters.

Coast Guard sectors covering Alabama

Each sector runs a 24-hour command center. Its line is useful for reporting an overdue boat or reaching the Coast Guard by phone, but in a distress use VHF Channel 16 or call 911 first.

Sector Mobile	(855) 485-3727 No verified sector line found; this is JRCC New Orleans, the Coast Guard rescue coordination center for the area (24 hours) · checked Oct 2026 · dco.uscg.mil

Toll-free 8xx numbers may not connect from a foreign SIM or a satellite phone.

How to call the Coast Guard: VHF 16 or 911 · Coast Guard phone numbers by region

Alabama life jacket laws (and kids)

Children

All persons under 8 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times on any vessel, except inside an enclosed cabin or sleeping space.

Source: alea.gov

Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules

Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved life jacket within 800 ft below a hydroelectric dam or navigational lock and dam. People being towed must wear one. Inflatables only for ages 16+.

The federal baseline

Federal default: children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on a recreational vessel that is underway, unless they’re below decks or in an enclosed cabin. Where a state has its own child-wear rule, the state rule applies on its waters (33 CFR 175.15(c), 175.25). Coast Guard required safety equipment →

Boater education card (the “Alabama boating license”)

Most states don’t issue a boating license. What they require is a boater education card: proof you passed an approved boating safety course.

Who needs it

Every operator of a motorized vessel (including PWC) must hold Alabama boater safety certification (a "V" vessel endorsement on the driver license or a vessel-only license); not required for sailboats, rowboats or canoes. Minimum age 12; 12-13 only with a certified adult 21+ aboard; 14+ may operate alone. Non-residents need their home-state card (since Oct 1, 2024). Born before April 28, 1954: exempt from the exam.

The card

Alabama Boater Safety Certification / vessel operator license ("V" endorsement)

Source: alea.gov

Alabama jet ski (PWC) laws

Minimum age

12 with certification and a certified adult 21+ aboard; 14 to operate alone (same rules as all motorized vessels)

Rules on the water

Everyone aboard or towed wears a USCG-approved life jacket; cut-off switch (lanyard attached) or self-circling feature required; daylight operation strongly recommended and nav lights required at night; no weaving at speed, following a skier closely, cutting between a boat and its skier, wake-jumping too close, buzzing, or chasing wildlife.

Source: assets.kalkomey.com

Boat registration in Alabama

Vessels must be currently registered and numbered with ALEA Marine Patrol (applications through the county license office); this covers motorized vessels including PWC. Titling via the Dept. of Revenue applies to vessels built after Dec 31, 2023 or principally used in Alabama from Jan 1, 2024 (boats under 18 ft only if 75 hp+).

Popular boating waters in Alabama

Mobile Bay
Orange Beach and Perdido Bay
Lake Martin
Lake Guntersville
Wheeler Lake
Lewis Smith Lake
Lake Eufaula
Wilson Lake

Some of the waters Alabama boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Alabama waters

Life in danger? One tap dials 911. The screen shows your GPS position and a word-for-word script: say “Boat emergency, I’m on the water” and the name of the lake, river or bay you’re on.
On the coast and the Great Lakes it also shows which Coast Guard sector covers your position, with that sector’s 24-hour line as a second Call button, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY script filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
A live link for family ashore (Plus, free during the beta): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.
Not an emergency? The tow screen has Call buttons for the TowBoatUS and Sea Tow 24-hour dispatch lines, or your own member number.

What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t call the Coast Guard for you and isn’t connected to 911 or any rescue system. Nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late. The return-time check only asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone. It doesn’t replace a VHF radio, a PLB or EPIRB, or the life jackets the law requires.

iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. US support (911 routing, American English) is in beta version 1.4 and later.

Quick answers

What is the Alabama life jacket law for kids?