Boater Card Rules

All states

Boating license rules in Maine

Persons born on or after January 1, 1999 may not operate a personal watercraft unless 16 or older and having completed a boater safety and education course.1

The details

Personal watercraft (jet skis)
A person under 16 years of age may not operate a personal watercraft. Those born on or after January 1, 1999 also need a boater safety course.1

The official pages we read do not say: engine size covered, minimum age to operate, card and course cost, cards from other states, exemptions. Ask the agency.

The rules are set by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Sources

  1. 12 M.R.S. 13071-A. Operating personal watercraft, Maine Legislature, checked 1 November 2026

Checked 1 November 2026. "Secondary" marks a source we used only because the official page could not be read.