Coast Guard required safety equipment, by boat length
Every recreational boat needs a USCG-approved wearable life jacket for each person, a sound signal and navigation lights after dark. From 16 ft add a throwable. Most motorboats need a 5-B fire extinguisher (more as the boat gets longer). Visual distress signals (flares, or a flag plus an electric light) are required on coastal waters and the Great Lakes, but not on inland lakes and rivers. Your state can add more.
The federal list by boat length
Lengths are the USCG classes. “—” means not required by this rule. Swipe sideways on a phone to see every column.
| Equipment | Under 16 ft | 16 to <26 ft | 26 to <40 ft | 40 to 65 ft | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wearable life jacket, one per personUSCG-approved, the right size, in serviceable condition and readily accessible. Racing shells, rowing sculls, racing canoes and kayaks, and sailboards are exempt. | 1 per person | 1 per person | 1 per person | 1 per person | 33 CFR 175.15(a), 175.17 |
| Throwable (ring buoy or cushion)In addition to the wearables, immediately available. Canoes and kayaks are exempt at any length. | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33 CFR 175.15(b), 175.17(a) |
| Children under 13 wear a life jacketWhile underway, unless below decks or in an enclosed cabin. A state child-wear rule replaces this on that state’s waters. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 33 CFR 175.15(c), 175.25 |
| Fire extinguisher, 5-B (no fixed system)Boats with propulsion machinery. One 20-B may replace two 5-B. With a fixed system in the machinery space: 0, 0, 1 and 2. Boats of model year 2018 and newer must carry 5-B or 20-B rated units; disposable extinguishers expire 12 years after the date stamped on the bottle. | 1 × 5-B ¹ | 1 × 5-B ¹ | 2 × 5-B | 3 × 5-B | 33 CFR 175.320 |
| Visual distress signals (coastal waters and the Great Lakes only)For example 3 day and 3 night pyrotechnic signals, or an orange distress flag plus an electric distress light. Pyrotechnics expire 42 months after manufacture. Not federally required on inland lakes and rivers. | Night signals, sunset to sunrise | Day + night | Day + night | Day + night | 33 CFR 175.101–175.130 |
| Sound signalUnder 12 m (39.4 ft): any means of making an efficient sound signal. 12 m and over: a whistle. 20 m (65.6 ft) and over: a bell as well. | Horn or whistle | Horn or whistle | Horn or whistle; whistle from 39.4 ft | Whistle | 33 CFR 83.33 |
| Navigation lightsPower under 12 m: all-round white plus sidelights; 12 to 20 m: masthead, sidelights and sternlight. Sailboats under 20 m may use a tricolor. Under 7 m under sail, and boats under oars: a white light or flashlight ready to show. | Sunset to sunrise | Sunset to sunrise | Sunset to sunrise | Sunset to sunrise | 33 CFR 83.23, 83.25 |
| Ventilation (gasoline engines)Boats built after July 31, 1980 with a gasoline engine need an operable ventilation system; inboard gasoline engine compartments need a powered blower too. | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | 33 CFR 175.201; 33 CFR 183.610/.620 |
| Backfire flame arrestorGasoline inboard and sterndrive engines. Outboards are exempt. | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | If gas inboard | 46 CFR 25.35 |
| Engine cut-off switch (ECOS) linkBoats under 26 ft with 115 lbf static thrust or more (about 3 hp), PWC included: the operator must wear the link when running on plane or above displacement speed. In effect since April 1, 2021. | Wear it | Wear it | — | — | 46 U.S.C. 4312 |
| “Discharge of Oil Prohibited” placardBoats 26 ft and over with a machinery space: a 5 × 8 in placard in the machinery space or at the bilge pump control station. | — | — | 1 | 1 | 33 CFR 155.450 |
¹ Not required on an outboard boat under 26 ft whose construction can’t trap explosive or flammable vapors. You do need one if the boat has closed compartments where portable fuel tanks are stored, double bottoms not sealed or filled with flotation, closed living spaces, closed stowage for flammables, or permanently installed fuel tanks (33 CFR 175.320).
Get the list for your boat
Answer a few questions (length, engine, coastal or inland waters, your state) and the Kit Finder builds your checklist with each rule cited.
Open the Kit Finder →Coastal waters, the Great Lakes and inland waters
Visual distress signal rules apply only on “coastal waters”: the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes, the territorial seas, and bays, sounds, harbors, rivers and inlets connected to them where the entrance is wider than 2 nautical miles, up to the point where they narrow to 2 miles (33 CFR 175.105(b)). On inland lakes and rivers there is no federal flare requirement, though your state may have its own rules.
Jet skis (PWC)
- A USCG-approved life jacket for each rider. Almost every state requires PWC riders to wear it, and some rule out inflatables.
- One 5-B fire extinguisher.
- A sound signal (whistle or horn).
- The engine cut-off lanyard attached to the operator.
- Night visual distress signals on coastal waters between sunset and sunrise, although most states restrict PWC riding after dark.
- No throwable (PWC are under 16 ft).
Kayaks, canoes and paddle boards
- One wearable USCG-approved life jacket per person (racing kayaks and canoes are exempt; sailboards too). No throwable is needed at any length.
- A sound signal: a whistle on your life jacket does the job.
- After dark: a white light or flashlight ready to show, and on coastal waters night visual distress signals between sunset and sunrise.
- Paddle boards: Florida’s FWC explains that paddle boards used outside swimming, surfing or bathing areas are vessels under Coast Guard rules. Several states require paddlers to wear a life jacket, at least in the cold season.
Life jacket labels: Type II, Type III and the new Levels
Since October 22, 2014, new life jacket approvals no longer use the Type I to V codes. New labels show performance Levels: 50, 70, 100, 150 and 275.
State rules on top
States add their own rules on their waters: child life jacket ages, PWC rules, boater education cards and registration. See your state in the life jacket laws table. Life jacket laws by state
Quick answers
Do I need flares on a lake?
Not under federal rules on inland lakes and rivers. Visual distress signals are required on coastal waters, which include the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes (33 CFR 175.101, 175.105). Check your state for its own rules.
Does a kayak need a throwable?
No. Canoes and kayaks are exempt from the throwable requirement at any length (33 CFR 175.17(a)). Each paddler still needs a wearable life jacket.
How many fire extinguishers does a 30 ft boat need?
Two 5-B portable extinguishers (or one 20-B) if there is no fixed system in the machinery space, one 5-B if there is (33 CFR 175.320).
Sources
- eCFR, 33 CFR Part 175 (equipment requirements)
- eCFR, 33 CFR 83.33 (sound signals), 83.23 and 83.25 (lights)
- eCFR, 46 CFR 25.35 (backfire flame arrestors)
- 46 U.S.C. 4312 (engine cut-off switches)
- eCFR, 33 CFR 155.450 (oil discharge placard)
Also summarized in the USCG’s “A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats” (rev. Nov 2023).
Checked October 2026. Rules change; the current eCFR text wins. This is a summary, not legal advice.