There is no national US boating licence. Boater education is set state by state, and the rules genuinely differ. Across the 15 states covered here the birth-date cutoff runs from 1982 to 2007, the engine size that triggers the requirement runs from 6 hp to 15 hp, and California and New York require every operator regardless of age.
| State | Who needs a card | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | every operator aged 12 or over | more than 15 hp |
| California | every operator, at any age | any motorized vessel |
| Florida | born on or after 1 January 1988 | 10 hp or more |
| Michigan | born on or after 1 July 1996 | more than 6 hp |
| Minnesota | phasing in by age since 1 July 2025 -- adults born after 30 June 2004 first | motorboats including PWC |
| Missouri | born after 1 January 1984 and before 1 January 2006 | motorized vessels over 12 feet |
| Nebraska | born after 31 December 1985 | any motorboat or PWC |
| New York | every operator, at any age | any motorized vessel |
| North Carolina | born on or after 1 January 1988 | 10 hp or more |
| North Dakota | born on or after 1 January 1988 | 10 hp or more |
| Ohio | born on or after 1 January 1982 | more than 10 hp |
| South Carolina | born after 1 July 2007 | 10 hp or more |
| Tennessee | born after 1 January 1989 | more than 8.5 hp |
| Texas | born on or after 1 September 1993 | more than 15 hp |
| Wisconsin | born on or after 1 January 1989 | any motorboat or PWC |
A licence makes you legal to operate. It tells you nothing about the boat itself. Run the hull number free — it decodes the builder and model year, and flags any US Coast Guard recall campaign on record for that manufacturer.