Who May Operate a Boat in Oklahoma
A child under 12 years of age may NOT operate or be permitted to operate a boat or a personal watercraft with more than 10 horsepower, or sailing vessel 16 feet or greater in length.
Persons ages 12, 13, 14, and 15 years of age must successfully complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators approved boating safety course before operating any vessel or PWC powered by a motor or combination of motors in excess of 10 horsepower or sailing vessel 16 feet or greater in length. If the vessel being operated is other than a personal watercraft, there must be a competent person at least 18 years of age on board the vessel in a position to take immediate control of the vessel if necessary. If the vessel being operated is a personal watercraft, there must be a competent person visually supervising the operator within 500 yards of the PWC.
Every vessel operator must carry either their original boating safety education certification card as proof they have completed the required course or photo identification as proof they are exempt from the education requirement. Failure to carry the boater education card or proper identification is a violation of state law.
Safety requirements for all boats:
Personal flotation device or PFD (life jacket):
- All boats must carry one wearable USCG-approved PFD for each person on board.
- All passengers 12 years and younger on boats less than 26 feet in length must wear a United States Coast Guard-approved PFD whenever the vessel is underway.
- Life jackets must:
- be United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved
- be in good and serviceable condition, and
- must be of suitable size for the intended person, and approved for the activity.
Each person on a personal watercraft, or PWC, or being towed on water skis or other devices, must wear a USCG-approved PFD at all times. Ski belts are not approved PFDs.
In addition to the wearable life jacket requirement, all boats 16 feet or greater in length shall also have on board at leats one USCG approved Type IV Throwable device.
Fire Extinguishers
All vessels using flammable liquid as fuel are required to have the proper type, size and number of fire extinguishers on board.
Fire Extinguisher Requirements:
| Length of Vessel | Without Fixed System | With Fixed System |
| Less than 26 ft. | One B-I | None |
| 26 ft. to less than 40 ft. | Two B-I or One B-II | One B-I |
| 40 ft. to less than 65 ft. | One B-I and One B-II | Two B-I or One B-II |
Oklahoma Boat Equipment Requirements
- All boats must be titled and registered through the Oklahoma Tax Commission within 30 days of purchase. Outboard motors over 10 horsepower must also be titled and registered within 30 days of purchase. You may operate your boat within the first 30 days of ownership, prior to applying for your title and registration, if you carry on board the original bill of sale. Once the boat has been titled and registered, a copy of the current vessel registration (and outboard motor registration if applicable) must be available for inspection at all times.
- Boats currently registered in another state may use Oklahoma waters, so long as they do not exceed 60 calendar days. Boats remaining in Oklahoma for more than 60 days must be titled and registered in Oklahoma.
- All boats must properly display the registration numbers and a current registration decal.
- Registration numbers shall be displayed as follows:
- Must be painted, applied as a decal, or otherwise affixed to both sides of the bow as high above the water line as possible
- Must read from left to right on both sides of the bow.
- Must be in bold BLOCK characters that are at least three inches in height and one-half inch in stroke width.
- Characters must be in a color that contrasts sharply with the background color of the hull.
- Letters must be separated from the numbers by a space or hyphen.
- Example: OK 3456 AB or OK-3456-AB
- No other numbers may be displayed on either side of the bow.
- Registration decals must be affixed on both sides of the bow, behind (towards the stern) and in line with and within six inches of the registration number.
- All boats must carry one wearable United States Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (life jacket) for each person on board. In addition to wearable life jackets, boats 16 feet or greater in length must also carry a USCG approved Type IV Throwable device.
- All PFDs must bear a USCG-approved label, must be in good and serviceable condition, must be of suitable size for the intended person, and approved for the activity.
- All boats using flammable liquid as fuel are required to have the proper type, size and number of fire extinguishers on board.
- All boats are required to carry on board a whistle or horn or other legal mechanical sound producing device.
- All powerboats (except outboards) must be equipped with a USCG approved backfire flame arrestor on each carburetor.
- All gasoline powered boats, constructed in a way that would entrap fumes must be equipped with a proper and efficient ventilation system in order to remove flammable gases and reduce the chance of an explosion. Power ventilation systems should be turned on for at least four minutes both after fueling and before starting your engine.
- All powerboats must have a factory-installed muffler or exhaust water manifold for noise reduction or another effective muffling system. Mufflers may not be altered or modified in a way that increases noise. Use of cutouts, removing or altering baffles or cutting or punching holes in mufflers is prohibited.
- Every boat must display lights between the hours of sunset and sunrise, and must display required lights during times of restricted visibility (fog, heavy rain, mist, etc.).
Oklahoma Boat Lighting Requirements
Every boat, when underway
Every boat, when underway, must display required lights between the hours of sunset and sunrise and during times of restricted visibility (fog, heavy rain, mist, etc.). All lights must be visible from at least two miles on a clear dark night, unless otherwise indicated.
Required navigation lights differ according to type and size of the boat.
Power-driven boats less than 65.6 feet in length
Power-driven boats less than 65.6 feet in length (including sailboats operating under engine power) must have:
- Red and green sidelights:
- The red light indicating the port (left) side, and the green light indicating the starboard (right) side of the boat.
- Lights must be visible to another boat approaching from the side or head-on.
- For boats less than 39.4 feet in length, light must be visible from at least one mile on a clear dark night.
- And either:
- An all-around white light which must be at least 3.3 feet higher than the sidelights
- Or, both:
- A masthead light (white light) that shines forward (located on the mast of a sailboat). Must be used by all boats when operating under engine power.
- A stern light (white light) visible from the rear of the boat.
Unpowered boats less than 65.6 feet long
Unpowered boats less than 65.6 feet long (including sailboats and boats that are rowed, paddled or poled), must have:
- Red and green sidelights:
- The red light indicating the port (left) side, and the green light indicating the starboard (right) side of the boat.
- Visible to another boat approaching from the side or head-on.
- Visible from at least two miles (for boats less than 39.4 feet in length, visible from at least one mile).
Unpowered boats less than 23 feet long
Unpowered boats less than 23 feet long, must:
- If practical, exhibit the same lights as listed above.
- If not practical, have on board at least one lantern or flashlight, shining a white light, which shall be exhibited in sufficient time to avoid or prevent a collision.
All boats, when not underway
All boats, when not underway, are required to display an all-around white light when moored or anchored away from a dock between sunset and sunrise.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Marine Enforcement Section
OHP – Troop W
The marine law enforcement branch of the department provides service to 38 state lakes and recreation areas consisting of 4,385 miles of shoreline and 490,215 surface acres of water. In addition to regular water patrol duties, troopers are called upon to conduct search and rescue missions, investigate boating accidents and drowning incidents and assist state and local authorities in natural disaster situations where their expertise is needed.
Patrol Operations
Patrol operations are carried out by troopers who are assigned to 5 geographical districts around the state. Each district is managed by a supervisor and the patrol commander works out of headquarters located in Oklahoma City. Patrol equipment includes 4×4 patrol vehicles, patrol boats, search and rescue boats and related equipment.
Special Operations
Special operations, including marine theft investigations, training and safety education and boating law administration is administered out of the Oklahoma City area office.
Boating Safety Education
Troop W offers a six (6) hour “Boat Oklahoma” course along with short water and boating safety seminars and programs to both schools and civic groups. The six-hour course is available for both schools and other groups. Both the U.S. Power Squadron and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offer boating and water safety courses throughout the year.
Marine Theft Prevention and Investigation
The Marine Theft Unit of Troop W consists of full-time investigators who investigate boat theft and titling and registration fraud. In addition to those investigations, boats and outboard motors without hull identification numbers (HIN) and those coming into the state from another state or country are inspected and issued serial numbers or hull identification numbers (HIN), if necessary, before they are titled and registered.
For additional information about Marine Theft Prevention and Investigation, Vessel Hull Identification or HIN verification and assignment, call 405-522-1875
Boating Law Administration
The Boating Law Administrator is responsible for ensuring state boating and water safety laws are current and in compliance with federal regulations and other standards.
Courtesy Vessel Safety Inspection
Troop W Troopers conduct free vessel safety inspections to help ensure your vessel is properly equipped and safe. Contact a Trooper in the lake area to check you boat before you launch or on the water after you have launched and ask, for the inspection.
For any information regarding the OHP Marine Enforcement Section, please contact:
- Mailing address
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Marine Enforcement Section
220 NE 38th Terrace
Oklahoma City, OK 73105