Indiana boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Indiana 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
- Required (see who)
- Jet ski / PWC minimum age
- 15 …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Indiana
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Indiana
Call 911 for emergencies on all waters; on Lake Michigan you can also call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.
Coast Guard sectors covering Indiana
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 Lake Michigan | (414) 747-7132 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
Indiana life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
There is no statewide child-wear law. On 'Waters of Concurrent Jurisdiction' (Indiana's part of Lake Michigan, the Ohio River, the Great Miami River and the Wabash River where it borders Illinois), children under 13 must wear a life jacket unless below deck in an enclosed cabin or the boat is docked or at anchor.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Every vessel must carry a wearable USCG-approved life jacket for each person on board and being towed. Boats 16 ft and longer (except canoes and kayaks) also need a throwable device. On Waters of Concurrent Jurisdiction, anyone towed on skis, a surfboard, a kite or a similar device (other than behind a PWC) should wear one. There is no seasonal or cold-water 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 “Indiana 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
Indiana ties boating to the driver's license. Anyone operating a motorboat (DNR: over 10 hp) or a PWC must hold a valid driver's license. A 15-year-old, or anyone who has never been licensed by the BMV, may operate only after passing a DNR-approved boater education course and carrying an Indiana BMV ID card. No one under 15 may operate a motorboat over 10 hp or a PWC.
The card
Boater education course certificate plus Indiana BMV ID card (or a valid driver's license)
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Indiana jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
15 (with boater education course and BMV ID); otherwise a valid driver's license is required
Rules on the water
Everyone riding on or towed behind a PWC must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket; the PWC must have a lanyard cut-off (attached to the operator) or a self-circling feature; daylight hours only unless properly lit; all vessels are limited to 10 mph between sunset and sunrise; idle speed within 200 ft of a lake shoreline (some lakes 50 ft); no weaving, following a towing boat, wake-jumping, cutting between a boat and a skier, or riding backward.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Non-motorized canoes, kayaks and paddleboards do not need to be registered. The handbook mentions kite towing only in the life-jacket recommendation above. The DNR offers a free paddle sports safety course.
Boat registration in Indiana
An Indiana registration from the BMV is required for every vessel except non-motorized ones. Boats with electric trolling motors must be registered. Exemptions include boats moored on Indiana's part of Lake Michigan for 180 consecutive days or less, and out-of-state boats used for 60 consecutive days or less (or that have paid the current year's Indiana excise tax). Boats that must be registered must also be titled.
Popular boating waters in Indiana
- Lake Michigan
- Lake Wawasee
- Lake Monroe
- Patoka Lake
- Brookville Lake
- Lake Freeman and Lake Shafer
- Ohio River
- Wabash River
Some of the waters Indiana boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Indiana 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 Indiana life jacket law for kids?
There is no statewide child-wear law. On 'Waters of Concurrent Jurisdiction' (Indiana's part of Lake Michigan, the Ohio River, the Great Miami River and the Wabash River where it borders Illinois), children under 13 must wear a life jacket unless below deck in an enclosed cabin or the boat is docked or at anchor.
Do you need a boating license in Indiana?
Indiana ties boating to the driver's license. Anyone operating a motorboat (DNR: over 10 hp) or a PWC must hold a valid driver's license. A 15-year-old, or anyone who has never been licensed by the BMV, may operate only after passing a DNR-approved boater education course and carrying an Indiana BMV ID card. No one under 15 may operate a motorboat over 10 hp or a PWC.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Indiana?
15 (with boater education course and BMV ID); otherwise a valid driver's license is required.
Do you have to register a boat in Indiana?
An Indiana registration from the BMV is required for every vessel except non-motorized ones. Boats with electric trolling motors must be registered. Exemptions include boats moored on Indiana's part of Lake Michigan for 180 consecutive days or less, and out-of-state boats used for 60 consecutive days or less (or that have paid the current year's Indiana excise tax). Boats that must be registered must also be titled.
Sources
State boating agency: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Law Enforcement
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/indiana-handbook-entire.pdf
- https://www.boat-ed.com/indiana/handbook/
- https://www.in.gov/dnr/law-enforcement/education/boating-education-and-safety/
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Great-Lakes-District/Units/Sector-Lake-Michigan/Units/Michigan-City/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Indiana 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.