Rhode Island boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Rhode Island 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 fixed minimum: under 16 may operate only if they have passed an approved safety course or are accompanied by an adult …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Rhode Island
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Rhode Island
911 for emergencies; on the water, call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16 (distress and safety). DEM Environmental Police: 401-222-2284. Local harbormasters also patrol.
Coast Guard sectors covering Rhode Island
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 Southeastern New England | (866) 819-9128 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
Rhode Island life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while underway on a recreational vessel under 65 ft, unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin.
Source: boat-ed.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Everyone on any paddlecraft (canoes, kayaks, sailboards, kiteboards and paddleboards) must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times while underway, regardless of age. Anyone towed must wear a life jacket suited to towing.
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 “Rhode Island 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, 1986 operating a vessel with a motor over 10 hp, and every PWC operator regardless of age. Non-PWC exemptions: supervised on board by a certified person 18+, commercial license holders, non-residents meeting their home-state rules, new residents (60 days or less), and renters who watch the required video and pass a written test.
The card
Rhode Island DEM boating safety certificate of completion (carry on board)
Source: boat-ed.com
Rhode Island jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
No fixed minimum: under 16 may operate only if they have passed an approved safety course or are accompanied by an adult (RIGL 46-27-2); the official handbook adds that every PWC operator must have passed a course, with no exemptions
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved life jacket; lanyard must be attached to the operator; no operation from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise; headway speed within 200 ft of swimmers, divers, shoreline or moored vessels; leave and return to shore at headway speed, as near perpendicular as possible; no reckless wake-jumping or weaving; local PWC bans on some waters.
Source: boat-ed.com
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Kiteboards, sailboards and paddleboards count as paddlecraft: every rider must wear a USCG-approved life jacket at all times while underway, regardless of age.
Boat registration in Rhode Island
Vessels on RI public waters need a Certificate of Number and decals (valid two years). Exempt: canoes and kayaks unless motorized, rowboats under 12 ft unless motorized, racing-only boats, ship's lifeboats, and out-of-state boats for 90 days or less. Outboard engines also need a one-time registration; vessels over 14 ft must be titled (with exceptions).
Popular boating waters in Rhode Island
- Narragansett Bay
- Newport Harbor
- Block Island (Great Salt Pond)
- Point Judith Pond and Galilee
- Watch Hill and Little Narragansett Bay
- Sakonnet River
- Ninigret Pond
- Worden Pond
Some of the waters Rhode Island boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island life jacket law for kids?
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while underway on a recreational vessel under 65 ft, unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin.
Do you need a boating license in Rhode Island?
Anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1986 operating a vessel with a motor over 10 hp, and every PWC operator regardless of age. Non-PWC exemptions: supervised on board by a certified person 18+, commercial license holders, non-residents meeting their home-state rules, new residents (60 days or less), and renters who watch the required video and pass a written test.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Rhode Island?
No fixed minimum: under 16 may operate only if they have passed an approved safety course or are accompanied by an adult (RIGL 46-27-2); the official handbook adds that every PWC operator must have passed a course, with no exemptions.
Do you have to register a boat in Rhode Island?
Vessels on RI public waters need a Certificate of Number and decals (valid two years). Exempt: canoes and kayaks unless motorized, rowboats under 12 ft unless motorized, racing-only boats, ship's lifeboats, and out-of-state boats for 90 days or less. Outboard engines also need a one-time registration; vessels over 14 ft must be titled (with exceptions).
Sources
State boating agency: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Division of Law Enforcement (Environmental Police)
- https://www.boat-ed.com/rhodeisland/handbook/
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/rhodeisland-handbook-entire.pdf
- https://dem.ri.gov/natural-resources-bureau/law-enforcement/boating-safety-certification
- https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE46/46-27/46-27-2.htm
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northeast-District/Units/Sector-Southeastern-New-England/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Rhode Island DEM 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.