Guam boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Guam 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
- No state rule (see below)
- Boater education card
- Not required
- Jet ski / PWC minimum age
- Under 16 may operate only if visually supervised by someone 18 or older …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Guam
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Guam
911 for police, fire and ambulance. U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam Joint Rescue Sub-Center (24/7 search and rescue): 1-671-355-4824; VHF Channel 16. GPD Recreational Boating Safety Section (registration, not emergencies): (671) 475-8447/8449 or 475-8461.
Coast Guard sectors covering Guam
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 Guam | (877) 418-0168 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · pacificarea.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
Guam life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
No Guam-specific child life-jacket law was found; the federal rule therefore applies: children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on a recreational vessel underway unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin. Guam law requires one USCG-approved life jacket per person aboard every vessel (10 GCA § 69113(h)).
Source: col.guamcourts.gov
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
One USCG-approved life jacket per person on every vessel; motorboats carrying passengers for hire must carry one per person. No seasonal 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 “Guam 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 mandatory boater education in Guam law (10 GCA Ch. 69 only authorizes GPD to run voluntary boating safety courses and issue safety certificates).
Source: col.guamcourts.gov
Guam jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
Under 16 may operate only if visually supervised by someone 18 or older (10 GAR § 6104(c))
Rules on the water
Jet skis and other 'motorized water recreational craft' (MWRC) may run only in daylight: no operation from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise (10 GCA § 69119, applied by 10 GAR § 6104). Inside Recreational Water-Use Management Plan (RWUMP) areas, MWRC may operate only on DPR-designated MWRC courses, entering and leaving through marked corridors at slow-no-wake (max 5 mph); speed limit 5 mph on all rivers and lakes. No jet ski or MWRC within the reef or channel from Mannel Channel to Patti Point, Yigo (DPR key map). Leave the reef by the most direct route from a designated launch area or ramp at no more than 5 mph. Commercial jet ski rentals need a DPR Recreation Vendor Permit, $100,000 liability insurance per craft and an on-course Water Safety Coordinator. Federal law requires a USCG-approved life jacket for everyone on a PWC.
Source: col.guamcourts.gov
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Windsurfing (10 GAR § 6106): no windsurfing within 100 ft of shore except in designated supervised instruction areas or when launching/landing; enter and leave by the most direct route; follow sailing-vessel rules of the road; stay at least 100 ft from a dive flag. Manually propelled craft must carry a flashlight or lantern with a white light at night (10 GCA § 69113(c)). No kiteboarding- or SUP-specific rule was found. Whether GPD exempts kayaks and paddleboards from numbering could not be confirmed.
Boat registration in Guam
Guam law says every vessel using Guam waters must be numbered, with the certificate of number aboard and the number on each side of the bow (10 GCA § 69102). Exempt: vessels with a federal or other state number used in Guam no more than 60 consecutive days, foreign vessels (60 days), government vessels, lifeboats, USCG-documented vessels and any class GPD exempts. Registration is with GPD, renewed annually ($45 per GPD FAQ).
Popular boating waters in Guam
- Apra Harbor
- Tumon Bay
- Hagatna (Agana) Boat Basin
- Agat Marina and the west coast
- Cocos Lagoon (Merizo)
- Pago Bay
Some of the waters Guam boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Guam 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 Guam life jacket law for kids?
No Guam-specific child life-jacket law was found; the federal rule therefore applies: children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on a recreational vessel underway unless below deck or in an enclosed cabin. Guam law requires one USCG-approved life jacket per person aboard every vessel (10 GCA § 69113(h)).
Do you need a boating license in Guam?
No mandatory boater education in Guam law (10 GCA Ch. 69 only authorizes GPD to run voluntary boating safety courses and issue safety certificates).
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Guam?
Under 16 may operate only if visually supervised by someone 18 or older (10 GAR § 6104(c))
Do you have to register a boat in Guam?
Guam law says every vessel using Guam waters must be numbered, with the certificate of number aboard and the number on each side of the bow (10 GCA § 69102). Exempt: vessels with a federal or other state number used in Guam no more than 60 consecutive days, foreign vessels (60 days), government vessels, lifeboats, USCG-documented vessels and any class GPD exempts. Registration is with GPD, renewed annually ($45 per GPD FAQ).
Sources
State boating agency: Guam Police Department (GPD), Recreational Boating Safety Section; Guam Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) administers the Recreational Water-Use Management Plan areas
- https://col.guamcourts.gov/sites/default/files/10gc069.pdf
- https://col.guamcourts.gov/sites/default/files/10GAR001-6.pdf
- https://gpd.guam.gov/faqs/
- https://www.uscgboating.org/regulations/state-boating-laws-details.php?id=63&state=Guam
- https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Oceania-District/Oceania-District-Units/US-Coast-Guard-Forces-Micronesia-Sector-Guam/Sector-Guam-Contact-Information/
- https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Oceania-District/Oceania-District-Units/US-Coast-Guard-Forces-Micronesia-Sector-Guam/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with GPD 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.