Oregon boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Oregon 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
- 16 to operate alone …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Oregon
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Oregon
911 for emergencies on all waters; on the coast, coastal bars and the lower Columbia River, also call the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF-FM Channel 16. (The Marine Board's 503-378-8587 is an office line, not an emergency number.)
Coast Guard sectors covering Oregon
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 Columbia River | (833) 769-8724 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
Oregon life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
All children 12 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while on an open deck or cockpit when a boat is underway or being towed.
Source: oregon.gov
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Everyone in Class III or higher whitewater rapids must wear a USCG-approved life jacket. Paddlecraft and sailboats under 16 ft must carry a wearable life jacket for each person.
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 “Oregon 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 operating a motorboat over 10 hp, and anyone aged 12-15 operating a motorboat. Must be 12+ to get a card; under 12 may not operate a motorboat. Ages 12-15 may run a boat over 10 hp only with a card-holding person 16+ (18+ on a PWC). Exempt include USCG-licensed operators and renters who complete a rental safety checklist.
The card
Oregon Boating Safety Education Card
Source: oregon.gov
Oregon jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
16 to operate alone (with boater education card); 12-15 only with a card-holding adult 18+; no PWC rentals to anyone under 18
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard must wear an inherently buoyant USCG-approved life jacket (no inflatables); attach the engine shut-off lanyard; lights required if operating sunset to sunrise; stay 100 ft from boats underway; slow no-wake within 100 ft of anchored boats; stay 200 ft from shore except to land; no operating within 200 ft behind a water skier; jumping wakes close to the boat that made them is reckless operation.
Source: oregon.gov
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Stand-up paddleboards are boats under Oregon law: carry a wearable life jacket and a whistle, and the operator must carry a Waterway Access Permit (since 2025 no length minimum; under-14s exempt). No statewide kiteboarding rule found.
Boat registration in Oregon
All motorboats of any length, and sailboats 12 ft and longer, must be titled and registered with the Marine Board. Non-motorized boats (kayaks, canoes, rafts, SUPs, including inflatables) of any length need a Waterway Access Permit instead; children 13 and younger are exempt. Out-of-state motorboats need an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Permit.
Popular boating waters in Oregon
- Columbia River (incl. the Gorge)
- Willamette River
- Pacific coast and bays (Coos Bay, Tillamook Bay, Yaquina Bay)
- Lake Billy Chinook
- Detroit Lake
- Lake Owyhee
- Rogue River
- Wallowa Lake
Some of the waters Oregon boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Oregon 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 Oregon life jacket law for kids?
All children 12 and younger must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while on an open deck or cockpit when a boat is underway or being towed.
Do you need a boating license in Oregon?
Anyone operating a motorboat over 10 hp, and anyone aged 12-15 operating a motorboat. Must be 12+ to get a card; under 12 may not operate a motorboat. Ages 12-15 may run a boat over 10 hp only with a card-holding person 16+ (18+ on a PWC). Exempt include USCG-licensed operators and renters who complete a rental safety checklist.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Oregon?
16 to operate alone (with boater education card); 12-15 only with a card-holding adult 18+; no PWC rentals to anyone under 18.
Do you have to register a boat in Oregon?
All motorboats of any length, and sailboats 12 ft and longer, must be titled and registered with the Marine Board. Non-motorized boats (kayaks, canoes, rafts, SUPs, including inflatables) of any length need a Waterway Access Permit instead; children 13 and younger are exempt. Out-of-state motorboats need an Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Permit.
Sources
State boating agency: Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB)
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/boater-info/pages/boater-education-cards.aspx
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/boater-info/Pages/Equipment-and-Regulations.aspx
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/boater-info/pages/pwc.aspx
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/boater-info/pages/ais-faqs.aspx
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/pages/propulsion-landing-pages/go-paddling.aspx
- https://www.oregon.gov/osmb/title-registration/pages/title-registration-home.aspx
- https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northwest-District/Units/Sector-Columbia-River/
- https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northwest-District/Units/Sector-North-Bend/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with OSMB 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.