Maine boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Maine 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 …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Maine
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Maine
911 for emergencies; on the ocean, call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16 (distress and safety). To reach a game warden: Augusta 1-800-452-4664, Houlton 1-800-924-2261, Bangor 1-800-432-7381. Accidents with injury, death or a missing person must be reported to the nearest law enforcement officer by the quickest means.
Coast Guard sectors covering Maine
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 Northern New England | (833) 449-2407 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
Maine life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children 12 years of age or younger (including a child operator) must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any watercraft underway for recreation, unless below deck, in an enclosed cabin, or on a vessel with a USCG certificate of inspection (raised from age 10 effective Jan 1, 2026).
Source: maine.gov
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Must wear a life jacket: canoes/kayaks on the Saco River from Hiram Dam to the ocean, Jan 1 to Jun 1; anyone aboard on the Penobscot River between the gorge and the head of Big Eddy; anyone aboard on the Kennebec River between Harris Station and Turtle Island (foot of Black Brook Rapids). Anyone towed (water ski, tube) must wear a non-inflatable life jacket. All watercraft, including canoes, kayaks and SUPs, must carry one wearable life jacket per person.
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 “Maine 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 Jan 1, 1999 who operates a motorboat over 25 hp (must be 12+), or any personal watercraft (must be 16+), or who supervises a youth operator. Under 12: up to 10 hp alone; over 10 hp only with a supervising adult (16+, course-certified if born on/after Jan 1, 1999).
The card
Boating Safety Education Certificate (boater education card)
Source: maine.gov
Maine jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
16 to operate (no one under 16 may operate a PWC)
Rules on the water
Course required if born after Jan 1, 1999 (no horsepower minimum); everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved non-inflatable life jacket; no operation between sunset and sunrise, even with lights; parent or guardian is responsible for operators under 18; headway speed within 200 ft of any shoreline (including islands); many waters have local PWC bans; Lake and River Protection Sticker required on inland waters.
Source: maine.gov
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
SUPs are watercraft: each needs a wearable life jacket per person, a sound-producing device (whistle), a white light (flashlight or headlamp) between sunset and sunrise, and visual distress signals on territorial (ocean) waters between sunset and sunrise. Anyone hired to guide paddleboarders must be a licensed Maine guide (inland) or sea kayak guide (coast). No kiteboarding-specific state rule found.
Boat registration in Maine
All motorboats of any size, including personal watercraft, must be registered with MDIFW (exceptions: USCG-documented, government, racing boats; out-of-state boats for under 60 consecutive days). Unpowered canoes, kayaks, sailboats and SUPs are not registered. All motorized watercraft on inland waters also need a Lake and River Protection Sticker.
Popular boating waters in Maine
- Moosehead Lake
- Sebago Lake
- Casco Bay
- Penobscot Bay
- Rangeley Lake
- Belgrade Lakes
- Kennebec River
- Frenchman Bay (Mount Desert Island)
Some of the waters Maine boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Maine 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 Maine life jacket law for kids?
Children 12 years of age or younger (including a child operator) must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any watercraft underway for recreation, unless below deck, in an enclosed cabin, or on a vessel with a USCG certificate of inspection (raised from age 10 effective Jan 1, 2026).
Do you need a boating license in Maine?
Anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1999 who operates a motorboat over 25 hp (must be 12+), or any personal watercraft (must be 16+), or who supervises a youth operator. Under 12: up to 10 hp alone; over 10 hp only with a supervising adult (16+, course-certified if born on/after Jan 1, 1999).
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Maine?
16 to operate (no one under 16 may operate a PWC)
Do you have to register a boat in Maine?
All motorboats of any size, including personal watercraft, must be registered with MDIFW (exceptions: USCG-documented, government, racing boats; out-of-state boats for under 60 consecutive days). Unpowered canoes, kayaks, sailboats and SUPs are not registered. All motorized watercraft on inland waters also need a Lake and River Protection Sticker.
Sources
State boating agency: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW)
- https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing-boating/boating/index.html
- https://www.maine.gov/ifw/programs-resources/educational-programs/safety-courses/boating-safety.html
- https://www.maine.gov/ifw/programs-resources/outdoor-safety/boating-safety-tips.html
- https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/maine-boating-laws.pdf
- https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/StandUpPaddleboards.pdf
- https://www.boat-ed.com/maine/studyGuide/Specific-PFD-Requirements/10102201_137640/
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northeast-District/Units/Sector-Northern-New-England/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with MDIFW 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.