Mississippi boating laws · checked Oct 2026

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

What Mississippi 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: No PWC-specific minimum found …
Emergency: 911 · VHF Channel 16

Emergency on the water in Mississippi

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 Mississippi

911 for emergencies; VHF channel 16 on the Mississippi Sound and Gulf. MDWFP hotline 1-800-BE-SMART (237-6278) to report wildlife violations.

Coast Guard sectors covering Mississippi

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

Mississippi life jacket laws (and kids)

Children

Anyone 12 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times while the vessel is underway (handbook: on vessels under 26 ft).

Source: mdwfp.com

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 “Mississippi 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 June 30, 1980 must complete a boater education course to operate a boat or PWC and carry proof; operators under 12 must have a person 21+ aboard.

The card

Mississippi boater education card (Mississippi Boating Basics or MDWFP-approved online course)

Source: mdwfp.com

Mississippi jet ski (PWC) laws

Minimum age

No PWC-specific minimum found; under 12 may operate only with a person 21+ aboard, and those born after June 30, 1980 need the boater education card

Rules on the water

Everyone aboard or towed wears a USCG-approved life jacket; no last-second swerving or reckless wake-jumping. South of I-10 (marine waters): lanyard cut-off or self-circling device required, no excessive speed within 100 ft of an occupied vessel, no wake-jumping within 100 ft, no following within 100 ft of a skier. Lanyard use and daylight-only riding strongly recommended elsewhere.

Source: assets.kalkomey.com

Boat registration in Mississippi

All sailboats and every undocumented vessel with propulsion machinery (even if not the main propulsion) must be registered and numbered; register within 10 days of acquisition. Registration runs 3 years. Titling is optional.

Popular boating waters in Mississippi

Mississippi Sound and the Gulf Coast
Ross Barnett Reservoir
Grenada Lake
Sardis Lake
Pickwick Lake
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Mississippi River
Arkabutla Lake

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

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Mississippi 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 Mississippi life jacket law for kids?

Anyone 12 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times while the vessel is underway (handbook: on vessels under 26 ft).

Do you need a boating license in Mississippi?

Anyone born after June 30, 1980 must complete a boater education course to operate a boat or PWC and carry proof; operators under 12 must have a person 21+ aboard.

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

No PWC-specific minimum found; under 12 may operate only with a person 21+ aboard, and those born after June 30, 1980 need the boater education card.

Do you have to register a boat in Mississippi?

Sources

State boating agency: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP)

CHECKED OCT 2026

Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with MDWFP 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.