Michigan boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Michigan 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 6
- Boater education card
- Required (see who)
- Jet ski / PWC minimum age
- 14 …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Michigan
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Michigan
Call 911 for emergencies on all waters; on the Great Lakes you can also call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. The DNR Report All Poaching line, 1-800-292-7800 (call or text), is for reporting boating violations, not for emergencies. If someone dies or goes missing from a vessel, the law says to report it right away to the nearest peace officer, county sheriff or state police post.
Coast Guard sectors covering Michigan
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 Detroit | (833) 388-8724 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil |
|---|---|
| Sector Lake Michigan | (414) 747-7132 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil |
| Sector Northern Great Lakes | (906) 635-3319 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
Michigan life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children under 6 must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket when riding on the open deck of any vessel that is underway.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
State law lets boats under 16 ft, and canoes and kayaks, carry either a wearable or a throwable device for each person. Federal rules still require a wearable life jacket for each person on federally controlled waters such as the Great Lakes. Everyone towed on skis or similar devices must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket (no inflatables). 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 “Michigan 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 July 1, 1996, operating a motorboat with more than 6 hp total; anyone born after December 31, 1978, operating a PWC. Under 12: no limits up to 6 hp; over 6 hp up to 35 hp only with a certificate and direct supervision on board by someone 16 or older who has a certificate; never over 35 hp.
The card
Boating Safety Certificate (may be shown electronically)
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Michigan jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
14 (ages 14–15 need a boating safety certificate and must have a parent, guardian or designated adult 21+ on board, or stay within 100 ft of them)
Rules on the water
Everyone on board or being towed must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket (no inflatables); lanyard must be attached to the operator; no riding from sunset to 8:00 a.m.; slow, no-wake speed within 200 ft of a Great Lakes shoreline (except heading straight out or in) and when crossing within 150 ft behind another vessel (other than a PWC); slow, no-wake speed in water less than 2 ft deep; no children under 7 on board unless with a parent, guardian or their designee; PWC are banned in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park.
Source: assets.kalkomey.com
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Non-motorized canoes and kayaks do not need to be registered. The handbook has no specific rules for SUP or kiteboarding.
Boat registration in Michigan
Every motorized vessel must be registered (including electric and inflatable boats), and so must non-powered vessels such as sailboats. The only exceptions are privately owned rowboats 16 ft or shorter, privately owned non-motorized canoes and kayaks, and boats registered in another state that use Michigan waters for 60 days or less. Titling and registration are done through the Michigan Secretary of State.
Popular boating waters in Michigan
- Lake Michigan
- Lake Huron
- Lake Superior
- Lake Erie
- Lake St. Clair
- Grand Traverse Bay
- Houghton Lake
- Detroit and St. Clair Rivers
Some of the waters Michigan boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Michigan 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 Michigan life jacket law for kids?
Children under 6 must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket when riding on the open deck of any vessel that is underway.
Do you need a boating license in Michigan?
Anyone born on or after July 1, 1996, operating a motorboat with more than 6 hp total; anyone born after December 31, 1978, operating a PWC. Under 12: no limits up to 6 hp; over 6 hp up to 35 hp only with a certificate and direct supervision on board by someone 16 or older who has a certificate; never over 35 hp.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Michigan?
14 (ages 14–15 need a boating safety certificate and must have a parent, guardian or designated adult 21+ on board, or stay within 100 ft of them)
Do you have to register a boat in Michigan?
Every motorized vessel must be registered (including electric and inflatable boats), and so must non-powered vessels such as sailboats. The only exceptions are privately owned rowboats 16 ft or shorter, privately owned non-motorized canoes and kayaks, and boats registered in another state that use Michigan waters for 60 days or less. Titling and registration are done through the Michigan Secretary of State.
Sources
State boating agency: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/michigan-handbook-entire.pdf
- https://www.boat-ed.com/michigan/handbook/
- https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/boating/safety-certificate
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Great-Lakes-District/Units/Sector-Northern-Great-Lakes/History/
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Great-Lakes-District/Units/Sector-Detroit/
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Great-Lakes-District/Units/Sector-Lake-Michigan/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Michigan 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.