Louisiana life jacket laws require every vessel to carry one Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket for each person on board, and vessels 16 feet or longer must also carry a throwable device. Anyone 16 or younger has to wear a life jacket while a boat under 26 feet is underway. Everyone on a personal watercraft wears one at all times, and so does anyone being towed on skis, a wakeboard, or a tube. Inflatable jackets don’t satisfy any of these rules. Violations are criminal and can bring fines up to $500 and jail time.
What Must Be on Board
The operator of every vessel must keep at least one readily accessible Type I, II, or III wearable life jacket on board for each person. Vessels 16 feet or longer also need at least one Type IV throwable device, such as a ring buoy or a cushion designed for throwing.1Cornell Law Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 76 XI-103 – Flotation Devices The state statute mirrors the carriage rule and requires each life preserver to be placed so it can be reached quickly.2Justia. Louisiana Code 34-851.24 – Classification and Required Equipment
“Readily accessible” means you can get to the jacket without unlocking a compartment or digging through a pile of gear. Each jacket has to be in serviceable condition and sized for the person who would use it. A child-sized jacket doesn’t count for an adult, and a jacket with broken buckles, rips, or missing straps doesn’t count for anyone.
Who Has to Wear One
Carrying is not the same as wearing. Every person 16 years old or younger on board a vessel under 26 feet must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while the vessel is underway.2Justia. Louisiana Code 34-851.24 – Classification and Required Equipment The statute uses vessel-class labels — Class A for boats under 16 feet and Class 1 for those from 16 up to 26 feet — but the practical rule is one line: if the boat is shorter than 26 feet and anyone 16 or younger is aboard, that person needs the jacket on.
“Underway” means any time the vessel is not anchored, moored, or aground. A boat moving only under an electric trolling motor is not considered underway, so the wearing requirement doesn’t apply in that narrow situation.3Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 34-851.19 Once the main engine is running or the sail is up, the rule applies.
Personal Watercraft
On personal watercraft such as jet skis, every person aboard must wear a Type I, II, III, or V life jacket at all times, regardless of age or vessel length.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 34-851.24 – Personal Watercraft This is the strictest wearing rule in Louisiana boating law.
Towed Water Sports
Anyone being towed behind a vessel on water skis, a wakeboard, a tube, or any similar device must wear a Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket. Inflatables do not qualify. A narrow exception exists for participants in permitted marine events, such as sanctioned barefoot or trick skiing competitions, where the jacket must be on the towing vessel but doesn’t have to be worn. That exemption applies only when the event has a marine event permit; it does not cover informal races or casual group outings.
Approved Types and the Inflatable Ban
Louisiana does not accept inflatable life jackets for any of its legal requirements. The administrative code states directly that no person may use an inflatable PFD to satisfy the carriage or wearing rules.1Cornell Law Institute. Louisiana Admin Code Title 76 XI-103 – Flotation Devices You can bring one along as extra gear, but it won’t count toward your required inventory. This catches boaters coming from states where inflatables are legal for adults.
The types that do count are the traditional foam-filled designs:
- Type I, the bulky offshore jacket, designed to turn an unconscious wearer face-up in open water.
- Type II, a horseshoe-style near-shore jacket with some turning ability, suited to calmer waters.
- Type III, a flotation aid that is comfortable enough for continuous wear and common in water sports.
- Type IV, the throwable ring buoys and cushions that satisfy the throwable-device rule on boats 16 feet and over but do not count as a wearable.
- Type V, special-use jackets accepted on personal watercraft and in specific activities listed on the jacket’s label.
Every jacket needs a Coast Guard approval label. Jackets with faded, torn, or missing labels should be replaced. The newer Coast Guard system labels performance in Newtons of buoyancy at levels 70, 100, and 150; jackets rated below Level 70 are not Coast Guard-approved.
Penalties for Violations
Life jacket violations fall under Louisiana’s general boating-equipment penalty rule. A violation of the equipment requirements in RS 34:851.24, which covers both the carriage rule and the wearing rules, is a class one violation under Louisiana’s wildlife and fisheries penalty structure.5Justia. Louisiana Code 34-851.31 – Penalties
Some related offenses carry heavier penalties. Operating a vessel while intoxicated under RS 34:851.10 is a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine, imprisonment of at least six months, or both. Violations in the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway prohibited zone under RS 34:851.24(J) carry fines between $250 and $500, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both, and the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission can add civil penalties of up to $1,000 per vessel per violation.5Justia. Louisiana Code 34-851.31 – Penalties
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforces these rules on state waters. Agents can stop and inspect vessels to verify the correct number and type of life jackets, and to check that children and personal watercraft operators are wearing them.
How Louisiana Differs From Federal Rules
Federal regulations set the floor on all navigable U.S. waters. Under 33 CFR Part 175, every recreational vessel must carry one wearable PFD per person, vessels 16 feet and longer need a throwable, and children under 13 must wear a jacket on a moving vessel unless they’re below decks or in an enclosed cabin.6eCFR. 33 CFR Part 175 – Equipment Requirements
Louisiana goes further in two ways. The state wearing requirement covers children up to age 16, not just under 13, and the state does not accept inflatables at all. Where a state’s rule is stricter, the state rule controls on state waters, and the federal regulations defer to state children’s PFD laws where a state has its own age threshold.6eCFR. 33 CFR Part 175 – Equipment Requirements Commercial vessels follow separate federal equipment standards under 46 CFR and are outside the recreational rules described here.
Why Compliance Matters Beyond the Fine
The fine is the smallest reason to comply. U.S. Coast Guard data from 2024 found that 87% of boating fatality victims where life jacket use was known were not wearing one. In Louisiana that year, all nine recreational boating deaths were drownings, and seven of the nine victims were confirmed not wearing a life jacket.7U.S. Coast Guard. 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics A jacket stowed in a compartment when the boat capsizes might as well be on shore.