Official state-approved boating safety course
Get your Florida boating license online
State-approved and online, at your own pace. Pass the temporary certificate exam and download your proof of passing straight away.
Boating in Florida for good? Take the lifetime course for $49.95, with the permanent card included.
Free exam retakesRefund if you have not startedSee how it works
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Who needs a license
Do you need a Florida boating license?
You need the card if you were born on or after January 1, 1988 and you operate a boat of 10 horsepower or more.
Check in two questions
Answer both questions and we will tell you where you stand.
How it works
Get your Florida boating card in four steps
Take the course, pass the exam, and be certified for life. Nothing to mail, nothing to book, nobody to meet.
- 1est. 2–3 minsSign upCreate your BoaterReady account, choose your course, and get started. It takes a few minutes.
- 2est. 3–4 hrsStudy and pass the courseTake the course on desktop, tablet or mobile. We save your progress automatically, so you can learn at your own pace.
- 3est. 1–5 minsPrint your certificatePass the final exam and print your course completion certificate straight away. With photo ID, it covers you while the state makes your card.
- 4est. 0 minsGo boatingHit the water. You are set to legally operate a boat, and your permanent card follows by mail.
Most people finish in an evening or two. Stop and come back as often as you like.
See the course
Built for a phone on marina wifi
Short chapters, a quick quiz after each one, and a final exam. Everything saves as you go.
- Progress saves after every questionLose signal, close the app, come back tomorrow — you pick up where you stopped.
- One column, big tap targetsMade for a thumb, not a mouse. Nothing needs a desktop.
- A quiz after every chapterA short quiz at the end of each chapter, with the right answer shown after.
What you walk away with
The Boating Safety Education ID Card
This is the card Florida law asks you to carry when you operate. Complete the course and the state issues it to you — no separate application, no extra fee, and it never expires.
- Certificate straight awayDownloadable the moment you pass. Carry it while you wait.
- Card by mailThe state mails the permanent card to you, usually within two to three weeks.
- Card fee includedOne payment covers the course and the state card fee.
- Keep it on boardCarry it whenever you operate, with your photo ID.
Pricing
Two ways to meet the requirement
The temporary certificate covers you in Florida for a short time, such as a rental or a visit. The lifetime course ends in the permanent card.
Temporary license
A short course and the state's temporary certificate exam, for a short stay in Florida.
$19once
Short-term and Florida only. For the permanent card, take the lifetime course.
What's included
- A Florida study course to prepare you
- The state's temporary certificate exam
- Free exam retakes
- Proof of passing the moment you pass
- The state's temporary certificate, Florida only
Lifetime license
The full course and final exam, ending in the permanent state card.
$49.95once
State card fee included. Nothing to renew.
What's included
- The full state-approved course
- The final exam
- Free exam retakes
- Printable certificate the moment you pass
- The permanent state card, fee included
- Completion reported to the FWC for you
What other approved providers charge
- BoaterReady$49.95
- Provider 1$39.95
- Provider 2$44.95
- Provider 3$49.99
Prices read from each provider's own Florida course page on August 24, 2026. Prices change — if that date looks old, check before relying on it.
Official course
Approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
This is not a study guide or a practice test. It is the approved course itself — the one that produces a Boating Safety Education ID Card at the end. It is built to the national education standard set by NASBLA.
Florida FWCThe agency that approves the course and issues your card.
NASBLA standardThe national education standard the course is built against.
Agency marks identify the approving bodies. They do not imply endorsement of any other product or service.
The course
What is in the Florida boating course?
Florida law and the national standard, written for Florida water rather than adapted from another state. Ten chapters, each lesson short enough to finish between interruptions.
Ten chapters, about three to four hours
Every topic ends with questions that check you actually got it. Nothing is timed and nothing is locked behind a video you cannot skip back through.
- 3–4 hours
- 10 chapters
- Any device
Before you leave the dock
Weather, float plans, fueling, launching and the checks that prevent most bad days before the engine starts.
Your boat and required equipment
The parts of a boat, capacity and registration, plus the safety gear Florida requires on board: life jackets, signals, extinguishers, lights.
Rules of the road
Lookout, safe speed, meeting, crossing and overtaking, sound signals, fog, and reading other boats' lights at night.
Navigation aids and the Intracoastal
Channel markers, regulatory signs, charts and tides, and the rules for paddlers in the Intracoastal Waterway.
Florida law on the water
Who must carry the card, the exemptions, boating under the influence, and your duties after an accident.
Manatee zones and protected waters
Idle speed and slow speed zones, emergency and construction vessels, manatees, sea turtles and seagrass.
When things go wrong
Cold water, someone overboard, capsizing, fire, running aground, anchoring, and calling for help.
Jet skis, towing and divers
Florida's personal watercraft rules, towing skiers and tubes legally, and boating safely near divers.
FAQs
Florida boating course questions
The questions people ask before they pay, grouped so you can find yours. If it is not here, write to us and we will answer it.
Who needs a card
Who needs a boating safety card in Florida?
I am visiting Florida. Does this apply to me?
Is there a minimum age to take the course?
Is anyone exempt from the requirement?
Taking the course
How long does the Florida boating course take?
Can I take the course on my phone?
What happens if my connection drops mid-course?
What if I do not pass the exam?
Your card
Is this course accepted by the state of Florida?
When does my physical card arrive?
Will my Florida card work in other states?
Price and refunds
How much does the Florida boating course cost?
Can I get a refund?
Are there any extra fees?
Boating in Florida
More coastline than any state but one. Get out on it.
From the Intracoastal to the flats to a rented pontoon on a Saturday — Florida is a boating state, and the card is your ticket to all of it. The course takes about three to four hours.
Card fee included on the lifetime license. Full refund if you have not started.