The Texas Water Safety Act, found in Chapter 31 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, is the state law that governs recreational boating on public waters. It sets the rules for registering your vessel, the safety gear you must carry, who is allowed to operate what, how you must behave on the water, and what happens when things go wrong. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) enforces it, and penalties range from a small equipment fine to felony prison time for the most serious offenses.
Registering Your Boat
Every motorized vessel used on Texas public waters has to be registered with TPWD. The registration number goes on the hull along with current validation stickers, and the fee depends on the boat’s length:
- Under 16 feet (Class A): $32
- 16 to under 26 feet (Class 1): $53
- 26 to under 40 feet (Class 2): $110
- 40 feet or more (Class 3): $150
The same fees apply whether you are registering for the first time or renewing.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fee Chart for Boats and Outboard Motors Vessels documented by the U.S. Coast Guard don’t need a state number but still need Texas validation stickers. Every manufactured boat also carries a Hull Identification Number permanently attached by the builder, which is what registration, titling, and theft recovery all key off of.2eCFR. 33 CFR 181.23 – Hull Identification Numbers Required
Safety Equipment You Must Carry
Operating without the required gear is a citable offense, and equipment checks are the most common reason a game warden pulls alongside a recreational boat.3Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Required Safety Equipment
Life Jackets
You need one U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for every person on board. Children under 13 must actually wear theirs whenever the boat is underway, not just have one available; the fine for a child not wearing a life jacket can reach $350.4Texas Parks & Wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife Fine Schedule Water Violations Boats 16 feet or longer also need a Type IV throwable device (a ring buoy or throwable cushion) kept immediately accessible.
Fire Extinguishers
Boats with enclosed engine compartments, permanently installed fuel tanks, or closed living spaces have to carry fire extinguishers. Disposable extinguishers expire 12 years after the manufacture date stamped on the bottle. Rechargeable ones don’t expire on a fixed schedule but must be professionally serviced every year.5United States Coast Guard. Fire Extinguishers Requirements for the Recreational Boater FAQ
Lights, Sound, and Ventilation
Motorized boats operating between sunset and sunrise must show red and green sidelights and a white stern light. Kayaks, canoes, and other non-motorized craft need at least a white light such as a flashlight to signal their presence. Boats 39.4 feet (12 meters) or longer must carry a whistle or horn under federal rules. Motorboats need an exhaust water manifold or factory-type muffler.6Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Powerboats 16 Feet but Less Than 26 Feet in Length Enclosed engine compartments need ventilation to keep gasoline fumes from building up, and gasoline inboards need a Coast Guard-approved flame arrestor on the carburetor. On federally managed waters, such as lakes run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, you may also need visual distress signals like flares at night.
Boater Education
Anyone born on or after September 1, 1993, has to complete a TPWD-approved boater education course before operating a motorboat over 15 horsepower, a personal watercraft, or a wind-powered vessel over 14 feet.7Texas Parks & Wildlife. Boater Ed Now Required for Operators Born After Sept. 1, 1993 Boaters born before that date are exempt.
The course covers navigation rules, buoy markings, emergency and man-overboard procedures, and environmental duties like preventing the spread of invasive species. It’s available in person or online and ends with a final exam. The certificate never expires, but you have to carry it on board; a game warden can ask for it, and not having it can bring a citation. Texas accepts certificates from other states as long as the course was approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.8U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Resource Center. State Boating Laws – Education Reciprocity
How You Have to Operate the Boat
Texas doesn’t set a statewide numerical speed limit. You have to run at a safe speed for the conditions: weather, visibility, traffic, swimmers, and nearby structures. Local authorities can set specific limits on particular waterways, and no-wake zones near marinas, docks, ramps, and swimming areas require idle speed.
Right-of-Way
Vessels meeting head-on each steer to the right. Motorboats yield to sailboats under sail. If you’re overtaking another boat, you carry the burden of staying clear and avoiding a hazardous wake. In narrow channels, smaller boats keep right so larger vessels can pass.
Diver Down Flags
A red flag with a white diagonal stripe marks a diver in the water. Texas law prohibits operating within 50 feet of it, and between 50 and 150 feet you must slow to idle or headway speed.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Operation of Your Boat
Personal Watercraft
Jet skis and other PWCs follow the same general rules as motorized boats, plus a few added restrictions. Operating a PWC between sunset and sunrise is illegal. Children under 13 cannot operate one unless an adult at least 18 years old is physically on board with them.10Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Operation of Personal Watercraft Every rider must wear a life jacket, and the operator must attach the engine cut-off lanyard to their person so the motor stops if they fall off.
Federal law reinforces the lanyard rule. Since April 2021, operators of recreational vessels under 26 feet with engines producing roughly 3 horsepower or more must use an engine cut-off switch link while running above idle.11USCGBOATING.ORG. New Law Requiring Use of Engine Cut-Off Switches
Water Skiing and Towing
To tow a skier, tuber, or wakeboarder in Texas you need either a wide-angle rearview mirror or a second person on board acting as observer.12U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety. State Boating Laws – Water Skiing The observer’s only job is to watch the person being towed and relay signals to the driver. Towing is prohibited from a half hour after sunset until a half hour before sunrise. Anyone being towed should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket rated for skiing or towing, and children under 13 must wear a life jacket while the boat is underway regardless.
Alcohol and Boating While Intoxicated
Operating any watercraft with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher is a criminal offense under Texas Penal Code Section 49.06. You can also be charged if alcohol or drugs impair your normal physical or mental abilities, even below 0.08.13Texas Department of Transportation. Impaired Driving and Penalties – DUI/DWI There is no open container law for boats: passengers, and even the operator, can legally have open alcohol aboard. The intoxication rules still apply to whoever is at the helm.
Game wardens actively patrol for impaired operators, especially on holidays. Because standard field sobriety tests are impractical on a rocking boat, officers often use seated balance tests or bring the operator to shore for testing. Penalties escalate sharply:
- First offense: Class B misdemeanor. Fine up to $2,000, up to 180 days in jail, with a 72-hour minimum.
- Second offense: Fine up to $4,000, up to one year in jail.
- Third offense: Third-degree felony. Fine up to $10,000, two to ten years in state prison.
A third BWI conviction moves you from county jail to the state prison system.13Texas Department of Transportation. Impaired Driving and Penalties – DUI/DWI
After an Accident
If a boating accident causes a death, a missing person, an injury needing more than first aid, or property damage over $2,000, the operator must file a report with TPWD within 30 days.14Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Boating Accidents The report should cover the time and location, who was involved and how to reach them, and the injuries or damage.
You also have to stop and render aid to anyone injured, to the extent you can without putting yourself in serious danger. Leaving the scene of an accident that caused injury or death exposes you to additional criminal liability, and law enforcement may investigate further if negligence or intoxication is suspected.15Cornell Law Institute. 31 Texas Admin Code 55.850 – Mandatory Boating Incident Report
Enforcement and Penalties
Texas game wardens, county sheriffs, and local law enforcement all have authority to enforce the Act. One difference from a traffic stop matters: officers do not need probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop and board your boat. Safety inspections on the water are treated as regulatory checks. An officer can pull alongside, board, check your equipment, ask for your boater education certificate, and assess whether the operator is impaired.
Common violation ranges look like this:
- Missing safety equipment (not enough life jackets, no fire extinguisher, no sound device): typically $185 to $350 per violation.4Texas Parks & Wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife Fine Schedule Water Violations
- Class C misdemeanors (minor operational violations): $25 to $500.16Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Laws, Penalties and Restitution
- Class B misdemeanors (including first-offense BWI): $200 to $2,000 and up to six months in jail.
- Class A misdemeanors: $500 to $4,000 and up to one year in jail.
- Felony charges (third BWI, reckless operation causing death): up to $10,000 in fines and state prison time.
Reckless operation resulting in serious injury or death can bring felony charges and civil liability well beyond what any fine schedule shows. Most boaters never see anything worse than an equipment citation, but the top of the scale exists to make the stakes clear.