Massachusetts boating laws · checked Oct 2026

Massachusetts boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis

What Massachusetts 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 12
Boater education card: Required (see who)
Jet ski / PWC minimum age: 16 to operate, and PWC operators must hold a boater safety certificate …
Emergency: 911 · VHF Channel 16

Emergency on the water in Massachusetts

911

Life in danger, on any water: call 911 from a cell phone.

VHF 16

Channel 16 is the primary VHF-FM marine radio calling and distress channel. Carry a VHF radio on the coast and the Great Lakes.

Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Massachusetts

911 for emergencies; on the water, call the U.S. Coast Guard or Massachusetts Environmental Police on VHF Channel 16. MEP Radio Communication Center (24/7): 1-800-632-8075.

Coast Guard sectors covering Massachusetts

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 Boston	(833) 449-0539 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil
Sector Southeastern New England	(866) 819-9128 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

Massachusetts life jacket laws (and kids)

Children

Children under 12 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket whenever above deck on any vessel underway.

Source: boat-ed.com

Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules

Everyone in a canoe or kayak must wear a USCG-approved life jacket from Sep 15 to May 15. Anyone water-skiing or towed must wear one.

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 “Massachusetts 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

Hanson-Milone Boater Safety Act: anyone born after Jan 1, 1989 must hold a boater safety certificate to operate any motorboat (including PWC, sailboats with a motor and motorized canoes) from Apr 1, 2026; everyone born on or before Jan 1, 1989 must have one by Apr 1, 2028. MEP will not issue certificate penalties before Sep 1, 2026. Non-residents with a certificate from another US state/territory or Transport Canada are exempt. Separate youth rules: under 12 only with direct supervision by someone 18+; ages 12-15 need a course or 18+ supervision.

The card

Massachusetts Boating Safety Certificate (valid for life)

Source: mass.gov

Massachusetts jet ski (PWC) laws

Minimum age

16 to operate, and PWC operators must hold a boater safety certificate (rentals to under-16s are illegal)

Rules on the water

Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved life jacket; lanyard must be attached to the operator; sunrise to sunset only; headway speed within 150 ft of swimmers or moored vessels; no operation within 150 ft of a shoreline used for swimming; banned on waters under 75 acres; no towing skiers or tubes with a PWC; no wake-jumping, weaving, or following within 150 ft of a water-skier. Owners are liable if they let others break PWC law.

Source: boat-ed.com

Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules

SUPs used beyond swimming, bathing or surfing areas must carry a wearable USCG-approved life jacket. No kiteboarding-specific state rule found.

Boat registration in Massachusetts

Any vessel with a motor of any kind (including PWC and sailboats or canoes with a motor) needs a Massachusetts Certificate of Number. Exempt: unpowered canoes, kayaks, sailboats and dinghies; boats registered in another state for 60 or fewer consecutive days; USCG-documented vessels.

Popular boating waters in Massachusetts

Cape Cod Bay
Buzzards Bay
Boston Harbor
Nantucket Sound and Martha's Vineyard
Quabbin Reservoir
Webster Lake
Connecticut River
Merrimack River

Some of the waters Massachusetts boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts life jacket law for kids?