Connecticut boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Connecticut 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
- Under 16 only with a CPWO …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Connecticut
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Connecticut
911 for emergencies; on the water, call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. DEEP Law Enforcement Division Emergency Communications (24 hours): 860-424-3333.
Coast Guard sectors covering Connecticut
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 Long Island Sound | (866) 299-8031 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
Connecticut life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any vessel underway unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin, and at all times while underway on a manually propelled vessel.
Source: portal.ct.gov
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Cold-water season: from October 1 to May 31 everyone on a manually propelled vessel (kayak, canoe, SUP, rowboat) must wear a USCG-approved life jacket ($75 infraction). Inflatable life jackets may not be used by anyone under 16 or under 90 lb, or for PWC riding or water skiing.
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 “Connecticut 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
No birth-year cutoff: Connecticut residents, CT property owners, and anyone operating a CT-registered vessel need a DEEP certificate to operate any boat with a motor or a sailboat 19.5 ft or longer. Every PWC operator needs a Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation (CPWO) or a reciprocal-state equivalent (MA, NH, NY, RI). Non-residents with a certificate from MA, NH, NY or RI are accepted. Under 16 may operate a non-PWC boat without a certificate only with direct onboard supervision by someone 18+ who has held a certificate for at least two years; under 12 may not operate over 10 hp unless certified and accompanied by a certified person 18+.
The card
Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation (CPWO); older Safe Boating Certificates (SBC) remain valid but are no longer issued
Source: portal.ct.gov
Connecticut jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
Under 16 only with a CPWO (or reciprocal-state equivalent) and onboard supervision by a CPWO holder 18 or older; 16+ with a CPWO
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved non-inflatable life jacket; lanyard attached to the operator if equipped; no operation between sunset and sunrise or in reduced visibility; slow-no-wake within 200 ft of shore, docks, piers, floats or anchored/moored vessels; no wake-jumping within 100 ft of the vessel making the wake; no passenger in front of the operator; towing a skier requires a Safe Water Skiing Endorsement and a PWC rated for three with an observer 12+.
Source: portal.ct.gov
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
SUPs, kayaks and canoes: life jacket must be worn Oct 1 to May 31 (all ages) and always by children under 13; owner contact info must be attached (Public Act 26-60). Kite-skiing (kiteboarding) and parasailing are banned wherever water skiing is banned or restricted, and kites may not fly over or under utility lines, bridges, dams, locks, docks, ramps, swim areas, marinas or congested areas. Jet packs and flyboards need a CPWO and operator age 16+.
Boat registration in Connecticut
All boats with a motor of any size (including PWC) and sailboats 19.5 ft or longer must be registered with CT DMV before launching. Since May 20, 2026 (Public Act 26-60), every unregistered vessel used on CT waters, including paddleboards, canoes, kayaks, small sailboats and rowboats, must carry the owner's current contact information (name and phone number), firmly attached, legible and waterproof.
Popular boating waters in Connecticut
- Long Island Sound
- Candlewood Lake
- Lake Lillinonah
- Connecticut River
- Thames River
- Mystic and Stonington harbors
- Bantam Lake
- Norwalk Islands
Some of the waters Connecticut boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Connecticut 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 Connecticut life jacket law for kids?
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any vessel underway unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin, and at all times while underway on a manually propelled vessel.
Do you need a boating license in Connecticut?
No birth-year cutoff: Connecticut residents, CT property owners, and anyone operating a CT-registered vessel need a DEEP certificate to operate any boat with a motor or a sailboat 19.5 ft or longer. Every PWC operator needs a Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation (CPWO) or a reciprocal-state equivalent (MA, NH, NY, RI). Non-residents with a certificate from MA, NH, NY or RI are accepted. Under 16 may operate a non-PWC boat without a certificate only with direct onboard supervision by someone 18+ who has held a certificate for at least two years; under 12 may not operate over 10 hp unless certified and accompanied by a certified person 18+.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Connecticut?
Under 16 only with a CPWO (or reciprocal-state equivalent) and onboard supervision by a CPWO holder 18 or older; 16+ with a CPWO.
Do you have to register a boat in Connecticut?
All boats with a motor of any size (including PWC) and sailboats 19.5 ft or longer must be registered with CT DMV before launching. Since May 20, 2026 (Public Act 26-60), every unregistered vessel used on CT waters, including paddleboards, canoes, kayaks, small sailboats and rowboats, must carry the owner's current contact information (name and phone number), firmly attached, legible and waterproof.
Sources
State boating agency: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), Boating Division
- https://portal.ct.gov/deep/boating/boating-and-paddling
- https://portal.ct.gov/deep/boating/connecticut-boaters-guide
- https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/deep/boating/boating_guide/ct-boaters-guide-english.pdf
- https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/deep/boating/public-act-26-60-fact-sheet.pdf
- https://portal.ct.gov/deep/news-releases/news-releases---2026/deep-announces-start-of-cold-water-boating-season
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northeast-District/Units/Sector-Long-Island-Sound/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Connecticut DEEP 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.