Louisiana boating laws · checked Oct 2026

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

What Louisiana 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 17
Boater education card: Required (see who)
Jet ski / PWC minimum age: 16 to operate or rent
Emergency: 911 · VHF Channel 16

Emergency on the water in Louisiana

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 Louisiana

911 for emergencies; VHF channel 16 on coastal waters. LDWF Operation Game Thief 24-hour line 1-800-442-2511 (or text LADWF to 847411) to report violations.

Coast Guard sectors covering Louisiana

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 New Orleans	(800) 874-2153 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil
Sector Houston-Galveston (southwest Louisiana via MSU Lake Charles)	(206) 815-7738 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.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

Louisiana life jacket laws (and kids)

Children

Children 16 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while underway on a vessel under 26 ft.

Source: assets.kalkomey.com

Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules

Everyone aboard a motorboat under 16 ft with a hand-tiller outboard must wear a life jacket while underway (not electric trolling motors). Anyone being towed must wear a non-inflatable life jacket.

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 “Louisiana 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 after January 1, 1984 operating a motorboat over 10 hp or a PWC; motorboat (not PWC) operators may instead be accompanied by someone over 18 who has completed the course. USCG-licensed captains exempt.

The card

LDWF-approved boater education certificate of completion (carry on board)

Source: wlf.louisiana.gov

Louisiana jet ski (PWC) laws

Minimum age

16 to operate or rent

Rules on the water

Everyone aboard wears a USCG-approved life jacket; attach the cut-off lanyard; no operation between sunset and sunrise without USCG navigation lights; no weaving through traffic, wake-jumping with obstructed view, last-second swerving, or chasing wildlife.

Source: wlf.louisiana.gov

Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules

Sailboards are exempt from registration. No Louisiana-specific SUP or kiteboarding rule found.

Boat registration in Louisiana

Motorboats (any vessel with machinery, even if not the main propulsion) and sailboats need a Louisiana Certificate of Number and decals. Exempt: sailboats 12 ft or less, sailboards, USCG-documented non-recreational boats, and boats registered elsewhere in Louisiana 90 days or less.

Popular boating waters in Louisiana

Lake Pontchartrain
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Atchafalaya Basin
Mississippi River
Barataria Bay
Calcasieu Lake
Caddo Lake
Lake D'Arbonne

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

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Louisiana 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 Louisiana life jacket law for kids?

Children 16 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while underway on a vessel under 26 ft.

Do you need a boating license in Louisiana?

How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Louisiana?

16 to operate or rent.

Do you have to register a boat in Louisiana?

Sources

State boating agency: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF)

CHECKED OCT 2026

Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with LDWF 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.