Federal law requires every child under 13 on a recreational boat to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket whenever the boat is underway, unless the child is below decks or inside an enclosed cabin. States can set a different age cutoff on their own waters, so the child life jacket laws on boats you’re actually subject to depend on where you launch. In the most recent year of federal data, 87 percent of boating drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket, and children accounted for 13 of those drownings.1U.S. Coast Guard. 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics
The Federal Under-13 Rule
Under 33 CFR 175.15(c), no one may operate a recreational vessel underway with a child under 13 on board unless the child is wearing a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, or is below decks, or is inside an enclosed cabin.2eCFR. 33 CFR 175.15 – Personal Flotation Devices Required “Underway,” under the federal Navigation Rules, means the vessel is not anchored, not tied to shore, and not aground.3U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center. Navigation Rules So the rule still applies when you’ve cut the engine and are simply drifting.
The regulation covers recreational vessels: boats manufactured or operated primarily for pleasure, or leased or chartered for someone else’s pleasure. It excludes vessels carrying passengers for hire.4eCFR. 33 CFR 175.3 – Definitions Ferries, tour boats, and other commercial passenger vessels follow a different set of lifesaving rules.5eCFR. 46 CFR Part 180 – Lifesaving Equipment and Arrangements
A jacket that meets the approval standard on paper but doesn’t fit the child on the water doesn’t satisfy the law. Approval, fit, and serviceable condition all have to be there together.
How State Laws Change the Age Threshold
Under 33 CFR 175.25, when a state enacts its own statute requiring children of a certain age to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket, that state requirement replaces the federal under-13 rule on waters subject to the state’s jurisdiction.6eCFR. 33 CFR 175.25 – Enforcement of State Requirements for Children To Wear Personal Flotation Devices State age thresholds run from under 6 to under 13. If a state has no wear law for minors, the federal under-13 rule controls by default.
Check the specific state’s boating regulations before you head out. If your trip crosses from one state’s waters into another, the age cutoff can change at the state line.
When a Child Can Take the Jacket Off
The federal regulation recognizes two situations where the jacket isn’t required: the child is below decks, or the child is inside an enclosed cabin.2eCFR. 33 CFR 175.15 – Personal Flotation Devices Required An enclosed cabin has walls and a roof that physically separate the child from the water. An open cockpit, a bimini-shaded seating area, or a sun deck with railings does not qualify. Anywhere else on the boat while it’s underway, the jacket stays on.
Choosing a Life Jacket That Counts
Coast Guard-approved wearable life jackets come in four weight-based categories:
- Infant: 33 pounds or less
- Child: over 33 pounds up to 55 pounds
- Youth: over 55 pounds up to 88 pounds
- Adult: over 88 pounds
Every approved jacket carries a label with both a weight range and a chest size range.7United States Coast Guard Boating Safety. Life Jacket Wear / Wearing Your Life Jacket A jacket that lands in the right weight range but sits loose around the chest can ride up over a child’s face in the water.
How To Test the Fit
The Coast Guard recommends a simple check before every trip:
- Read the manufacturer’s label and confirm the child’s weight and chest size fall within the range.
- Fasten all straps, zippers, and buckles.
- Have the child raise both arms straight overhead.
- Gently pull up on the tops of the arm openings.
- If the jacket rides up over the child’s chin or face, it’s too large.
If you can, try the jacket in shallow water under supervised conditions before an actual trip.8U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety. How to Choose the Right Life Jacket A jacket that fit last season may not pass this year.
Condition Matters
The jacket has to be serviceable. Straps, zippers, and buckles must work. Fabric can’t be torn, waterlogged, or heavily faded. Inflatable jackets need a full cylinder, with all inflator status indicators showing green.7United States Coast Guard Boating Safety. Life Jacket Wear / Wearing Your Life Jacket A jacket that fails a visual inspection won’t satisfy the law regardless of what the label says.
No Inflatables for Kids
Inflatable life jackets are appealing because they’re compact, but they’re not an option for a child under 13. Federal approval standards require inflatable jackets to fit wearers over 90 pounds with a chest size of at least 30 inches, and every approved inflatable must carry the label “ADULT—For a person weighing more than 90 pounds.”9eCFR. 46 CFR Part 160 Subpart 160.176 – Inflatable Lifejackets The Coast Guard also notes that inflatables are not appropriate for weak or non-swimmers.7United States Coast Guard Boating Safety. Life Jacket Wear / Wearing Your Life Jacket For a child, you need an inherently buoyant (foam) jacket in the correct weight category.
What Else Has To Be on Board
Separate from the wear requirement for children, a recreational vessel must carry at least one wearable Coast Guard-approved life jacket for every person on board, whatever their age. Boats 16 feet or longer also need one throwable flotation device in addition to the wearable jackets.2eCFR. 33 CFR 175.15 – Personal Flotation Devices Required Adults aren’t required to wear a jacket under federal law, but one has to be available for each of them.
Each jacket has to match the person it’s intended for. Stocking adult jackets for a trip with a 40-pound child and a 70-pound child won’t do; you need a child-sized jacket and a youth-sized jacket.
Who Gets the Ticket and What It Costs
The regulation prohibits the operator from running the vessel underway with an unjacketed child on board.2eCFR. 33 CFR 175.15 – Personal Flotation Devices Required The citation goes to the person driving the boat, not to the child’s parent, unless the parent is also the operator. If you take a friend’s kids out on your boat, you’re the one on the hook.
Under federal law, violating recreational vessel safety regulations can result in a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, though inflation adjustments have pushed the current maximum above $3,000.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 46 USC 4311 – Penalties and Injunctions First-time life jacket violations rarely draw the statutory maximum. Boarding officers have discretion, and many first offenses end in a warning or a modest fine.
State penalties vary. Fines for a first-time child life jacket violation typically fall between $25 and $1,000 depending on the state. Some states treat it as a fixed-fine infraction; others allow higher penalties for repeat offenders or for violations paired with other safety infractions. Enforcement on federal waters comes from the Coast Guard; on state waters it falls to marine patrol officers, game wardens, or natural resource officers. A boat with visible children on deck is exactly what draws attention during a routine safety check.