Georgia boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Georgia 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
- 12 …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Georgia
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Georgia
911 for emergencies; VHF channel 16 on coastal waters. Georgia DNR Ranger Hotline 1-800-241-4113 (24/7, or *DNR for AT&T customers) to report boating, game and fish or environmental violations.
Coast Guard sectors covering Georgia
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 Charleston | (833) 453-1261 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil |
|---|---|
| Sector Jacksonville (southernmost Georgia coast, south of 30 deg 50 min N) | (833) 453-1268 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
Georgia life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any moving vessel, unless inside a fully enclosed cabin.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
All passengers must wear a properly fastened USCG-approved life jacket in marked "hazardous areas". People being towed must wear a ski belt, ski jacket or Type I-III life jacket.
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 “Georgia 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, 1998 operating any motorized vessel (including PWC) on Georgia waters; also ages 12-15 operating a PWC or a boat under 16 ft without a competent adult (18+) aboard.
The card
Georgia DNR-approved boater education card (carry with proper ID)
Source: georgiawildlife.com
Georgia jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
12 (under 12 may not operate a PWC); 12-15 only with a DNR-approved course or a competent adult 18+; 16 to rent
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard wears a USCG-approved life jacket (no inflatables); self-circling device or lanyard cut-off attached to operator; no operation between sunset and sunrise; no wake-jumping or riding within 100 ft of another moving vessel; idle speed within 100 ft of moored/adrift vessels, docks, piers, bridges, people in the water, shorelines next to residences, parks, beaches, swim areas and marinas.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Boat registration in Georgia
All vessels on public waters need a Georgia Certificate of Boat Registration and decals except sailboats under 12 ft; canoes, kayaks, rowboats and rafts with no mechanical propulsion; boats used only on private ponds/lakes; and boats registered in another state using Georgia waters 60 days or less.
Popular boating waters in Georgia
- Lake Lanier
- Lake Allatoona
- Lake Hartwell
- Clarks Hill Lake (J. Strom Thurmond)
- West Point Lake
- Lake Oconee
- Lake Sinclair
- Savannah River and the Golden Isles coast
Some of the waters Georgia boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Georgia 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 Georgia life jacket law for kids?
Children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on any moving vessel, unless inside a fully enclosed cabin.
Do you need a boating license in Georgia?
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1998 operating any motorized vessel (including PWC) on Georgia waters; also ages 12-15 operating a PWC or a boat under 16 ft without a competent adult (18+) aboard.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Georgia?
12 (under 12 may not operate a PWC); 12-15 only with a DNR-approved course or a competent adult 18+; 16 to rent.
Do you have to register a boat in Georgia?
All vessels on public waters need a Georgia Certificate of Boat Registration and decals except sailboats under 12 ft; canoes, kayaks, rowboats and rafts with no mechanical propulsion; boats used only on private ponds/lakes; and boats registered in another state using Georgia waters 60 days or less.
Sources
State boating agency: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Law Enforcement Division
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/georgia-handbook-entire.pdf
- https://georgiawildlife.com/mandatory-boater-education
- https://georgiawildlife.com/boat-operation
- https://georgiawildlife.com/pwc-requirements
- https://gadnrle.org/ranger-hotline
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Southeast-District/Units/Sector-Charleston/
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Southeast-District/Units/Sector-Jacksonville/Sector-Jacksonville-Command-Center/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Georgia DNR 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.