Boater Card Rules

All states

Boating license rules in South Carolina

Anyone born after July 1, 2007 operating a vessel of ten horsepower or greater, a personal watercraft or specialty propcraft needs a boating safety certificate.1

The details

Engine size covered
Ten horsepower or greater1
Personal watercraft (jet skis)
Personal watercraft operators born after July 1, 2007 need a certificate or other listed credential.1
Cards from other states
A nonresident with a boating safety certificate, or an equivalency, issued by another state is exempt.1
Exemptions
Exempt: USCG license or merchant mariner credential holders, renters with a boat rental safety certificate, those accompanied by a qualifying person at least 18.1

The official pages we read do not say: minimum age to operate, card and course cost. Ask the agency.

The rules are set by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Sources

  1. S. 96 (Act No. 74 of 2023), Boating safety, South Carolina General Assembly, checked 1 November 2026

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