Ohio boating laws · checked Oct 2026

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

What Ohio 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 10
Boater education card: Required (see who)
Jet ski / PWC minimum age: 16 to operate alone …
Emergency: 911 · VHF Channel 16

Emergency on the water in Ohio

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 Ohio

The Ohio guide says that if life or property is in immediate danger, call 911, the U.S. Coast Guard (VHF Channel 16 on Lake Erie) or port or marina security. Report suspicious activity to the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.

Coast Guard sectors covering Ohio

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 Detroit	(833) 388-8724 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil
Sector Eastern Great Lakes	(888) 230-4703 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

Ohio life jacket laws (and kids)

Children

Children under 10 must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket on any vessel under 18 ft (ORC 1547.24).

Source: dam.assets.ohio.gov

Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules

Boats under 16 ft, and canoes and kayaks of any length, need one wearable life jacket per person. Boats 16 ft and longer also need a throwable device. There is no seasonal or cold-water rule.

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 “Ohio 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 January 1, 1982, operating a powercraft over 10 hp, or supervising such an operator. A NASBLA-approved course or an ODNR proficiency exam is required. If stopped without proof, you have 72 hours to show it.

The card

Boater education certificate/card (NASBLA course or ODNR proficiency exam)

Source: ohiodnr.gov

Ohio jet ski (PWC) laws

Minimum age

16 to operate alone; 12–15 only with a supervising person 18+ on board (who needs a certificate if born on or after Jan 1, 1982)

Rules on the water

Everyone on board must wear a life jacket; lanyard must be attached to the operator; no riding between sunset and sunrise; no reckless operation, such as jumping a wake within 100 ft of the boat making it, weaving through traffic, or running less than 200 ft directly behind a water skier.

Source: dam.assets.ohio.gov

Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules

Kiteboards, paddleboards and sailboards are exempt from registration and titling. Canoes and kayaks must be registered (the alternative registration is allowed).

Boat registration in Ohio

Every watercraft must be registered, including canoes, kayaks, rowboats and inflatables. Hand-powered craft can use an 'alternative registration' with a rectangular tag instead of OH numbers. Sailboards, kiteboards, paddleboards and belly boats/float tubes are exempt from registration and titling. Canoes and kayaks do not need titles.

Popular boating waters in Ohio

Lake Erie (Lake Erie Islands and Put-in-Bay)
Sandusky Bay
Ohio River
Muskingum River
Grand Lake St. Marys
Indian Lake
Buckeye Lake
Alum Creek Lake

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

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Ohio 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 Ohio life jacket law for kids?