What type of mandatory education is
required?
There are two types of education courses that may be
required.
The first type of course includes any NASBLA/State of Florida
approved boating safety education course. This course must be
completed following the date of the violation which triggered the
education requirement. Proof of completion must be filed with
the FWC's Records Section.
The second type is the course for violators. This is a
four-hour course that is available online. Unlike the boating
safety education course requirement, there is only one approved
violator course and it is available at: www.boat-ed.com/FloridaViolator.
(A fee is required to take this course.)
What determines which course or courses
I have to take?
The type of violation you have been convicted of
determines which course(s) you must complete.
If you have been convicted of any criminal
boating violation, you must comply with the mandatory
education requirements # 1 and # 2 as described in the answer to
the next frequently asked question.
Criminal boating violations include, but are not
limited to, the following:
- Failure to report a boating accident or render aid
- Unlawfully leaving the scene of a boating accident
- Violation of the navigation rules resulting in an accident
- Reckless operation of a vessel
- Boating under the influence of alcohol or other drugs
- Refusal to submit to a chemical test (2nd or
subsequent refusals)
- Operating a vessel while privilege to operate is suspended
- Skiing while impaired/under the influence
- Reckless operation of a personal watercraft
- Allowing a person under 14 to operate a personal
watercraft
- Mooring to or damaging a navigation marker, regulatory sign, or
buoy
- Violation of a safety/security zone
- Holding a marine event without permit or notification of
authorities
- Violation of regulations pertaining to rental vessels
- Vessel title/registration fraud
- Crimes relating to altering/removing a hull identification
number
If you have been convicted of an infraction that
resulted in a reportable boating accident, you must comply
with the mandatory education requirements # 1 and # 2 as described
in the answer to the next frequently asked question.
A reportable boating accident occurs when the operator of a
vessel is in any manner involved in an accident resulting in:
- personal injury requiring medical treatment beyond first
aid,
- death of a person,
- disappearance of a person under circumstances which indicate
the possibility of death or injury, or
- damage to a vessel or other property which totals $2,000 or
more.
If you have been convicted of two non-criminal
infractions in the list below, within a 12 month period,
you must comply with the mandatory education requirement # 1 as
described in the answer to the next frequently asked question.
h. Section 327.33(2), relating to careless operation
i. Section 327.37, relating to water skiing, aquaplaning,
parasailing, and similar activities
j. Section 327.44, relating to interference with navigation
k. Violations relating to restricted areas and speed limits:
- Established by the commission pursuant to s. 327.46
- Established by local governmental authorities pursuant to s.
327.22 or s. 327.60
- Speed limits established pursuant to s. 370.12(2)
l. Section 327.50(1) and (2), relating to required safety
equipment, lights, and shapes
m. Section 327.33(3)(b), relating to navigation rules
n. Section 327.39(1), (2), (3), and (5), relating to personal
watercraft
o. Section 327.395, relating to safety education
p. Section 327.52(3), relating to operation of overloaded or
overpowered vessels
q. Section 327.52(3), relating to divers-down flags, except for
violations meeting the requirements of s. 327.33
r. Section 327.391(1), relating to the requirement for an adequate
muffler on an airboat
s. Section 327.391(3), relating to the display of a flag on an
airboat
Depending on my violations, what are the specific requirements
that I must complete?
Requirement # 1: You must enroll in, attend,
and successfully complete at your own expense, an approved boating
safety course. "Attend" means you must attend a classroom
course. Upon completion of this course, a certification of
successful completion, using form FWC/DLE-238 (available through
course instructor), must be submitted within 90 days to:
Florida Fish & Wildlife
Conservation Commission
Division of Law Enforcement
Records Section
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600
Requirement # 2: You must enroll
in, attend, and successfully complete at your own expense, an
approved safe boating course for violators.
This course is in addition requirement #1 above. The course
is only available online. Please go to: www.boat-ed.com/FloridaViolator.
Remember, two-non-criminal infractions within 12
months = Requirement # 1 above.
Any criminal boating violation or any infraction
resulting in a boating accident = Requirements # 1 and # 2
above.
What can I do if I think there has been
an error and don't think I should have to take either of these
courses?
The information the FWC receives regarding the
qualifying events (boating safety infractions/criminal boating
violations) and the disposition of the cases comes from the local
offices of the county clerks. Even if an FWC law enforcement
officer issued the citations in a case, the FWC does not send out a
notice of the requirement to take the course for violators until we
receive notice from a clerk's office that an individual has been
convicted of the violation(s). Individuals should contact the
clerk's office in the county where the violation(s) occurred in
order to discuss or correct the records. A list of the Clerks
of the Court can be found at http://www.flclerks.com/.
If after contacting the Clerk's office, you determine that the
notice may have been sent in error, please contact the FWC via
e-mail through MEV@MyFWC.com.
Can I still operate a boat if I have
not successfully completed the mandatory education for violators
requirements?
No. For those persons subject to these
mandatory education requirements, their privilege to operate a boat
in Florida is suspended until proof of course completion is filed
with the FWC.
How do I file proof of completion for
either mandatory education course with the FWC so I can get back
out on the water?
Upon completion of the NASBLA/State of Florida
approved boating safety education course (8-hour course), a
certification of successful completion, using form FWC/DLE-238
(available through course instructor), must be submitted within 90
days to:
Florida Fish &
Wildlife Conservation Commission
Division of Law Enforcement
Records Section
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
Upon successful completion of the 4-hour online
violators course, the course provider will automatically send proof
of completion to the FWC electronically. You should receive a
certificate of completion from the course provider and should
retain a copy of this certificate.
Note: The 4-hour online violator course is
the only course where certification of completion is sent to the
FWC electronically.
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