New Boating Education Law In New England

It took more than a dozen years of legislative wrangling, but Massachusetts finally has a mandatory boater education requirement on the books. “We were the last state in New England to implement a law,” says Randall Lyons, executive director of the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association, “and I think that helped push the bill over the ­finish line.”

The Hanson-Milone Act, signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey in January, will require anyone who operates a boat in the Bay State to first pass a boater safety test, then be issued a boating safety certificate, which must be on the boat while it’s being operated. Boaters who have already earned a NASBLA-approved safety certificate are exempt, including visiting boaters under a reciprocity provision.

The implementation of the Hanson-Milone Act will unfold as follows:

• Guidance on how the law will be enforced will be published by the state Office of Law Enforcement no later than October 1, 2025.
• Anyone born after January 1, 1989, has until April 1, 2026, to obtain their certificate, provided that no operator shall be assessed a penalty until September 1, 2026.
• Anyone born on or before January 1, 1989, must obtain their certificate before April 1, 2028.

The bill is named after David Hanson, a 20-year-old man who died in a boating accident in 2010, and Paul Milone, the late harbormaster from Weymouth who was a major proponent of boat safety and advocated for this legislation. “Safe boating is no accident,” was a favorite saying of Milone.

“[T]oo often, a day of fun on the water ends in tragedy because someone operates a boat without proper safety training,” says Massachusetts State Rep. Kathleen LaNatra, who co-sponsored the bill. “This legislation establishes a straightforward program to ensure anyone operating a boat in the commonwealth has the necessary safety knowledge to keep themselves and others safe.

Education Matters

In 2023 (the most recent data available at press time), the U.S. Coast Guard counted 3,844 accidents that involved 564 deaths, 2,126 injuries, and approximately $63 million dollars of damage to property because of recreational boating accidents. According to the “2023 Recreational Boating Statistics” report, where instruction was known, more than 77% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction. Comparatively, only 15% of boating-related deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received a nationally approved boating safety education certificate.

“BoatU.S. applauds the Massa­chusetts legislature for passing legislation that will make state waters safer for all boaters,” says David Kennedy, manager BoatU.S. Government Affairs. “This is an important step to improving boating safety in the Bay State. BoatU.S. supports boater education, and we work to ensure it is easy for everyone to meet the requirements. We’ll be actively engaged with state officials as this law is ­implemented.”

There’s currently no state-approved BoatU.S. Foundation Online Safety Course for Massachusetts, however, a study course is available. The Foundation has started the course approval process and hopes to have a course available before the April 2026 deadline.

Empire State

As Massachusetts readies its legislative rollout, nearby New York’s boating safety law came into full effect the first day of this year. As of January 1, all New York powerboat operators – regardless of age – must have a boating safety certificate. Passed into law in 2019, Brianna’s Law was named after Brianna Lieneck, an 11-year-old girl killed in a 2005 boating accident off Long Island. A five-year phase-in led up to 2025’s requirement that everyone who operates a motorboat must complete a safety course. This also includes canoes and small jon boats that have electric motors and are considered motorized crafts.

“Compliance has been going well. Since the amendment and inception of Brianna’s Law in 2020, we’ve seen about a doubling of New York residents and visitors taking safe boating courses – with a massive increase in online course participants,” says Oliver Robinson Jr., a representative with the New York State Office of Parks marine division. “Since 2020, we’ve seen an average 34,621 students per year, compared to an average of 13,442 per year from 2015 to 2020.”

Approved courses include those offered by New York State Parks, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Power Squadrons, and the free online boating safety course from the BoatU.S. Foundation at BoatUS.org/Free that is approved by NASBLA.

Only a handful of states still have no boating education requirement on the books: Alaska, Arizona, South Dakota, and Wyoming (along with U.S. territories Guam and the North Mariana Islands).