How to call the Coast Guard in an emergency: VHF 16 or 911

VHF Channel 16 and DSC: the primary distress system

“Channel 16 is the primary VHF-FM marine radio calling and distress channel.”

USCG, “A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats” (rev. Nov 2023)

A MAYDAY on Channel 16 is heard by the Coast Guard and by the boats around you. A phone call reaches one dispatcher.

DSC: if your radio has DSC, is connected to a GPS receiver and has a registered MMSI, press the red DSC Emergency Call Button for 5 seconds. Your boat’s information and position go out automatically. If nobody acknowledges, switch to Channel 16 and make a voice MAYDAY.

Use MAYDAY only when life or the boat is in grave and imminent danger. For an urgent problem that isn’t life-threatening, the urgency call is PAN-PAN. Channel 16 isn’t for general conversation or radio checks.

What to say on the radio

The Coast Guard’s VHF MAYDAY procedure, step by step:

1. Make sure the radio is on and tuned to Channel 16.
2. Say “MAYDAY” three times.
3. Say “THIS IS” once.
4. Say your boat’s name three times, and the call sign or boat registration number once.
5. Repeat “MAYDAY” and your boat’s name once.
6. Give your position: latitude and longitude, or bearing and distance from a well-known landmark such as a navigational aid or small island. Add course, speed and destination if you’re moving.
7. Say how many people are on board.
8. Say what’s wrong (sinking, fire…).
9. Say what help you need.
10. Add anything that helps rescuers find you: boat length, hull color, number of people needing medical attention.
11. Say “OVER”, release the mic and listen.

Steps from the USCG Boater’s Guide, “VHF MAYDAY”.

Full MAYDAY guide with a fill-in script

Calling from a cell phone: 911

“The Coast Guard does not advocate cellular phones as substitute for the regular maritime radio distress and safety systems ... particularly VHF maritime radio. However, cellular phones can have a place on board as an added measure of safety.”

USCG, “A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats” (rev. Nov 2023)

So carry a VHF if you boat on the coast or the Great Lakes, and treat the phone as your backup. Keep it charged, in a floating waterproof pouch, on you rather than in the console.

Say where you are clearly, even if your phone shares location. A Coast Guard-sponsored GMDSS Task Force bulletin warns that “calls to 911 sometimes lose the position information when forwarded to the Coast Guard.”

The FCC’s advice: “Always contact 911 by making a voice call, if you can.” Text-to-911 is only available in certain locations.

Cell coverage isn’t guaranteed on the water, especially far from shore, so don’t make the phone your only plan.

Inland lakes and rivers: 911 is the call

Most American boating happens on inland lakes, reservoirs and rivers. There, 911 dispatches the agencies that respond on the water: county sheriff’s marine units, state conservation officers and game wardens, and local fire and rescue. In Minnesota, for example, every county sheriff must run a program of search, rescue and patrol on the water (Minn. Stat. 86B.105).

The National Search and Rescue Plan says state, tribal and territorial authorities “should normally retain SAR responsibilities within their jurisdictions for incidents primarily local or intrastate in character.” In practice, that means 911.

Some big inland waters are Coast Guard waters too. On Lake Champlain, for example, the Coast Guard also responds via VHF Channel 16. If you have a VHF, use it there as well.

Your state page lists who enforces the rules and the non-emergency lines that agency publishes.

Find your state

What to say when you call 911

Our checklist, built from what any dispatcher needs first:

1. Start with: “Boat emergency, I’m on the water,” and the name of the lake, river or bay.
2. Where exactly: GPS coordinates if you have them, otherwise the nearest ramp, marina, bridge, island or shoreline landmark.
3. What’s wrong: someone in the water, injury, taking on water, fire, aground, drifting toward danger.
4. How many people, and whether they’re wearing life jackets.
5. Your boat: length, type and color.
6. Your phone number. Then stay on the line and keep the phone dry.

Not an emergency? Breakdowns and running out of gas

A dead battery or an empty tank with nobody in danger is a tow, not a 911 call. TowBoatUS and Sea Tow both answer on VHF Channel 16 and run 24-hour dispatch lines:

• TowBoatUS dispatch: 800-391-4869
• Sea Tow dispatch: 800-4-SEATOW (800-473-2869)

Sea Tow vs TowBoatUS compared · Boat broke down? Who to call

Coast Guard phone numbers

Every Coast Guard sector runs a 24-hour command center with its own phone line, and some sector pages label it for emergencies. It’s a good second number to have, for example to report an overdue boat. The Coast Guard’s own guidance still puts Channel 16 and 911 first. Coast Guard phone numbers by region

Carry more than a phone

A VHF radio (with DSC), and offshore an EPIRB or a PLB, reach rescuers where a phone can’t. A phone app is an extra layer, not a replacement.

Quick answers

Sources

• U.S. Coast Guard, Contact Us (uscg.mil/contact)
• USCG, “A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats” (rev. Nov 2023): Channel 16, cellular phones, DSC and VHF MAYDAY
• GMDSS Task Force, Use of Cell Phones for Alerting (navcen.uscg.gov)
• FCC, What you need to know about text-to-911
• U.S. National Search and Rescue Plan (2016)
• Minnesota Statutes 86B.105, Sheriff’s safety program
• BoatUS towing FAQ (dispatch line, VHF 16)
• Sea Tow FAQ (dispatch line, VHF 16)

Checked October 2026.