Indiana’s boating laws cover titling and registration, operator age and education, required safety equipment, on-water operating rules, alcohol limits, and accident reporting. The Department of Natural Resources enforces safety on the water under Title 14 of the Indiana Code, while the Bureau of Motor Vehicles handles the paperwork side. If you plan to launch on Lake Michigan, an inland reservoir, or the Ohio River, the same core rules follow you.
Registering and Titling Your Boat
A motorboat needs both a certificate of title and current registration before it touches public water. The title is your proof of ownership; without it, a buyer has no legal claim to the vessel. The title application must describe the boat and include its hull identification number and the date of purchase.1Indiana Code. Indiana Code 9-31-2 – Watercraft Certificates of Title Non-motorized boats and smaller vessels below a set excise value are exempt unless the owner chooses to opt in.
Registration fees combine two pieces: a length-based charge and an excise class charge tied to the boat’s value. Length runs from $15 for boats under 12 feet up to $24 for boats 40 feet and longer. The excise portion adds $5 to $25. That puts an initial registration in the $20 to $49 range. Renewals are simpler, from $15 for lower-value boats up to $60 for vessels worth $75,000 or more.2Indiana State Government. Watercraft Fees and Taxes
Once registered, you get a unique number and two validation decals. The number goes on both sides of the forward half of the hull in block letters at least three inches tall, contrasting with the hull color, with spaces or hyphens between letter-number groups. Decals go within three inches of the number.
Who Can Legally Operate a Motorboat
Anyone operating a motorboat over 10 horsepower on public waters must carry a valid driver’s license. Someone at least 15 years old without a driver’s license can still operate the boat, but only after completing a DNR-approved boater safety course and while carrying a BMV-issued ID card plus the course completion certificate.3Indiana State Government. At What Age May a Person Operate a Motorboat Personal watercraft operators face the same rules.
No one under 15 may operate a motorboat over 10 horsepower or any personal watercraft, even with an adult on board.3Indiana State Government. At What Age May a Person Operate a Motorboat A child under 15 can ride as a passenger or run a small electric trolling motor under 10 horsepower, and that’s the limit.
The safety course itself typically runs two to four hours online, covers navigation rules and Indiana-specific requirements, and ends with an exam. The BoatUS Foundation offers a free DNR-approved version. Completing the course once satisfies the requirement for good.
Safety Equipment You Must Carry
Conservation officers check for required gear during routine stops, and a missing item can draw a citation on its own. Run through the list before every trip.
Life Jackets and Throwable Devices
Every boat must carry one U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket for each person on board, sized to fit the wearer. Boats 16 feet or longer, other than canoes and kayaks, must also carry a throwable flotation device such as a ring buoy or seat cushion, kept where someone can reach it quickly.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-15-2-6 – Personal Flotation Devices Windsurfers and competitive racing shells are exempt. A jacket wedged under a seat isn’t accessible, and officers know the difference.
Fire Extinguishers
Boats with enclosed fuel compartments, enclosed living spaces, or permanently installed fuel tanks must carry portable fire extinguishers, and how many depends on length:
- Under 26 feet: one B-I extinguisher.
- 26 to under 40 feet: two B-I extinguishers, or one B-II.
- 40 to under 65 feet: three B-I extinguishers, or one B-II plus one B-I.
Every extinguisher must be Coast Guard-approved or carry an Underwriters Laboratory marine listing. Units without a gauge need inspection every six months, and pressure-filled units need hydrostatic testing every five years.5Cornell Law Institute. 312 IAC 5-14-17 – Fire Extinguishers
Navigation Lights and Sound Signals
Between sunset and sunrise, every vessel must display the correct combination of red, green, and white navigation lights. Motorboats show red on the port side, green on the starboard side, and a white stern light visible from behind. Sailboats running under power follow the same pattern.
Vessels under 39.4 feet must have some way to make an efficient sound signal, such as a handheld air horn or an athletic whistle. Your voice does not qualify. Boats 39.4 feet and longer need a sound device audible for at least half a mile that can sustain a blast of four to six seconds. Motorboats also need an effective muffler; running with a muffler cutout or bypass is illegal.
Visual Distress Signals
On Lake Michigan or any waterway more than two miles wide from shore to shore, your vessel must carry Coast Guard-approved visual distress signals. All vessels on those waters need night signals when operating between sunset and sunrise. Most also need day signals, though recreational boats under 16 feet, non-motorized open sailboats under 26 feet, and manually propelled vessels are exempt from the daytime requirement. Displaying a distress signal when you don’t actually need help is prohibited.
Marine Sanitation
Discharging untreated sewage into any Indiana waterway is illegal. If your boat has an installed toilet, it must include a Coast Guard-certified marine sanitation device. Type I and Type II systems with a Y-valve capable of overboard discharge must have that valve locked, sealed with a non-reusable tie, or have the handle removed so it cannot be opened on the water. Type III systems (holding tanks or portable toilets) require pump-out at a shore station.
How You Have to Operate on the Water
Open water does not mean open throttle. Indiana’s operating rules are specific about where and how fast you can go.
Speed Zones
On lakes, motorboats must travel at idle speed within 200 feet of the shoreline or any lake channel. Idle speed means the slowest speed that still lets you steer, producing no visible wake.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-15-3-17 – Motorboat Speed Regulations A few lakes formed by hydroelectric dams use a tighter 50-foot idle-speed zone instead.
After dark, every boat on Indiana waters faces a blanket cap of 10 miles per hour between sunset and sunrise.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-15-3-8 – Night Speed Limit The rule applies whether you’re on a large reservoir or the Ohio River.
Right of Way
When two motorboats approach head-on, both should steer to starboard and pass on the left. On crossing paths, the vessel to the right has the right of way and the other should slow down or alter course. Sailboats under sail generally have the right of way over motorboats. Weaving through congested traffic or jumping another vessel’s wake at close range are separate violations that can draw immediate citations.
Personal Watercraft
Jet skis and other personal watercraft face tighter limits. PWC cannot be operated between sunset and sunrise. Every PWC must have a lanyard-style engine cutoff switch attached to the operator at all times while in motion, so the engine kills automatically if the rider falls off. All the same speed and proximity rules apply, including the 200-foot idle-speed zone near shore.
Water Skiing, Tubing, and Towing
On most Indiana waters, a boat towing a skier, tuber, or wakeboarder must carry an observer in addition to the operator. The observer watches the person being towed and relays hand signals. The Ohio River offers one alternative: a wide-angle rearview mirror with at least 160 degrees of visibility can substitute for a human observer when towing skiers or wakeboarders, though towing airborne devices like kites still requires an observer at least 12 years old.8Cornell Law Institute. 312 IAC 5-13-5 – Water Skiing on the Ohio River
On the Ohio River, towing is prohibited from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. Combined with the statewide 10 mph nighttime cap, towing after dark is effectively impossible on any Indiana water.
Boating Under the Influence
Indiana treats drunk boating seriously, and enforcement resembles what happens on the highway. Under IC 14-15-8, an operator is legally intoxicated at a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher. Officers can also arrest an operator with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 percent if other signs of impairment are present.9Justia. Indiana Code 14-15-8 – Operating a Motorboat While Intoxicated
Operating a vessel on Indiana waters gives implied consent to a chemical test if an officer has probable cause to suspect impairment. Refusal triggers an automatic one-year suspension of your driver’s license, or two years with a prior intoxication conviction. That suspension hits your regular driving privileges, not just boating access.
A first-offense boating while intoxicated conviction is a Class C misdemeanor, carrying up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. The court must also prohibit the offender from operating any motorboat for at least one year.9Justia. Indiana Code 14-15-8 – Operating a Motorboat While Intoxicated A BUI causing serious bodily injury can be elevated to a felony, and a BUI resulting in death carries steeper felony penalties and a minimum two-year boating prohibition. The conviction can also affect auto insurance rates, since it involves alcohol and appears on your record.
Reporting an Accident
If you’re involved in a boating accident, the law demands prompt action. When an accident causes death, injury, or property damage of at least $750, the operator must immediately notify the county sheriff’s office, the nearest state police post, or the DNR’s law enforcement division. A written report must follow within 24 hours.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 14-15-4-2 – Notice and Reports
The $750 threshold covers the total across all boats, docks, and personal property involved. People routinely underestimate collision damage, so when in doubt, report. Failing to file a required report is a separate violation on top of whatever caused the accident, and it can complicate insurance claims significantly.