Arkansas boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Arkansas 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 13
- Boater education card
- Required (see who)
- Jet ski / PWC minimum age
- 16 to operate alone …
- Emergency
- 911
Emergency on the water in Arkansas
On inland lakes and rivers, 911 reaches the people who respond there: county sheriff marine units, state conservation officers and local fire and rescue.
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Arkansas
911 for emergencies on all waters.
How to call the Coast Guard: VHF 16 or 911 · Coast Guard phone numbers by region
Arkansas life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children 12 and younger must wear a securely fastened USCG-approved life jacket at all times on any vessel. Only exception: inside the enclosed area of a houseboat or cruiser, or within the railings of a party barge, cruiser or houseboat, when not underway.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Anyone towed behind a motorized vessel on skis or other devices must wear a USCG-approved life jacket. All vessels must carry a wearable life jacket per person; boats 16 ft and over also need a throwable device.
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 “Arkansas 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
Anyone born on or after 1 Jan 1986 (resident or non-resident) operating any motorboat, including a PWC and even a boat with only a trolling motor. A NASBLA-approved certificate from another state is accepted. Proof must be carried on board.
The card
AGFC Boating Education Certificate
Source: agfc.com
Arkansas jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
16 to operate alone (with education certificate if born on/after 1 Jan 1986); 12-15 only with a person 18+ on board; under 12 only with a person 21+ on board; under 16 may not operate a PWC rated for fewer than 2 people; no rentals to anyone under 18
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved life jacket (inflatables not allowed); attach the engine cut-off lanyard; operate only from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset; no getting airborne crossing a wake within 100 ft of the boat that made it; slow no-wake within 100 ft of anchored boats, shoreline, docks, swimmers, anglers or paddlecraft; no weaving or following too closely.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Boat registration in Arkansas
Motorboats (any boat with a motor, including PWC) need an Arkansas Certificate of Number and validation decals. Exempt: vessels propelled solely by sails, boats registered in another state using Arkansas waters 90 days or less, and USCG-documented vessels. Non-motorized paddlecraft are not registered.
Popular boating waters in Arkansas
- Lake Ouachita
- Bull Shoals Lake
- Greers Ferry Lake
- Beaver Lake
- Lake Hamilton
- Norfork Lake
- DeGray Lake
- Arkansas River
Some of the waters Arkansas boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Arkansas 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.
- 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 Arkansas life jacket law for kids?
Children 12 and younger must wear a securely fastened USCG-approved life jacket at all times on any vessel. Only exception: inside the enclosed area of a houseboat or cruiser, or within the railings of a party barge, cruiser or houseboat, when not underway.
Do you need a boating license in Arkansas?
Anyone born on or after 1 Jan 1986 (resident or non-resident) operating any motorboat, including a PWC and even a boat with only a trolling motor. A NASBLA-approved certificate from another state is accepted. Proof must be carried on board.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Arkansas?
16 to operate alone (with education certificate if born on/after 1 Jan 1986); 12-15 only with a person 18+ on board; under 12 only with a person 21+ on board; under 16 may not operate a PWC rated for fewer than 2 people; no rentals to anyone under 18.
Do you have to register a boat in Arkansas?
Motorboats (any boat with a motor, including PWC) need an Arkansas Certificate of Number and validation decals. Exempt: vessels propelled solely by sails, boats registered in another state using Arkansas waters 90 days or less, and USCG-documented vessels. Non-motorized paddlecraft are not registered.
Sources
State boating agency: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)
- https://www.agfc.com/education/boater-education/
- https://www.agfc.com/things-to-do/boating/
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/arkansas-handbook-entire.pdf
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with AGFC before you go.
This page summarizes the law for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.