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Age and Education Requirements

July 14, 2009--New law affecting teen boaters goes into effect July 31

Effective July 31 (Act 693)

LITTLE ROCK – “Rachel’s Law,” will take effect July 31 instead of July 10 as had been previously thought. The final adjournment of the 2009 session was on May 1. An act without an emergency clause or a specific effective date becomes effective on the 91st day after adjournment of the legislative session in which the act was passed. 

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To operate any motorboat powered by an engine of 10 horsepower or more (including a personal watercraft):   

• A person under 12 years of age:           
  • Must satisfy the boating education requirement, and                
  • If operating a motorboat, must be under the direct visible and audible supervision of a parent, guardian or person over 17 years old.                
  • If operating a PWC, must have a person at least 21 on board and in a position to take immediate control of the PWC. That person must hold a boating education card if he or she was born after 1985.
• A person 12 - 15 years of age:            
  • Must satisfy the boating education requirement, and                
  • If operating a PWC, must have a person at least 18 on board the PWC. That person must hold a boating education card if he or she was born after 1985.
• A person 16 years of age or older must satisfy the boating education requirement if born after 1985..    

Boating Education Requirement

To legally operate any motorboat (including personal watercrafts) on Arkansas waters, a person who is of legal age to operate, whether an Arkansas resident or a non-resident, and who is born on or after January 1, 1986, must carry one of the following:           

• An approved Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) safe boating course certificate            
• A valid boating education certificate issued by another state from a boating education course that is approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA)        

It is illegal for the owner or person in control of a motorboat to allow someone who does not meet the age or boating education requirements to operate the vessel.   

A personal watercraft livery (rental agency) may not lease a personal watercraft to a person under 18 years of age.

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