• 90 questions

Illinois Boating License Practice Test

Practice for the Illinois boating license test on state law only, with the 625 ILCS 45 section under every answer.

Illinois asks for a Boating Safety Certificate from a motorboat operator born on or after which date?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 25 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 25 questions, no time limit.

More options

Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Bank checked October 13, 2026.

Next step Another state's boating law bank

All 90 questions

Boating Safety Certificate 13

  • A renter with no certificate takes an Illinois boat livery's abbreviated safety instruction. How long may the renter run that livery's motorboats on it? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(f)
  • A visitor who meets the home state's boating education rule uses Illinois waters for a short stay. For how long is the visitor excused from the Illinois certificate? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(i)(3)
  • An officer asks an Illinois operator who needs a Boating Safety Certificate to show it. What does the law require? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(g)(1)
  • Illinois asks for a Boating Safety Certificate from a motorboat operator born on or after which date? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(a)
  • The Illinois certificate rule applies to a motorboat with how much power? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(a)
  • Is an Illinois Boating Safety Certificate an operator's license? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(i)(11)
  • May an Illinois boater lend a Boating Safety Certificate to a friend to use? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(g)(3)
  • The operator falls ill and a passenger with no certificate takes over. When does Illinois allow that? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(i)(5)
  • Under the Illinois Act, how long is the boating safety program a student completes to receive the certificate? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(h)
  • Which agency issues the Illinois Boating Safety Certificate? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(a)
  • Which document excuses its holder from the Illinois Boating Safety Certificate? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(i)(1)
  • Which of these people needs no Illinois Boating Safety Certificate? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(i)(10)
  • Who, besides the operator, breaks Illinois law when an uncertified person runs a motorboat over 10 horsepower? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(e)
Show all 90 questions (77 more)

Operator ages and supervision 6

  • A 15-year-old holds a valid Boating Safety Certificate. May she run a motorboat over 10 horsepower alone in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(d)
  • A 16-year-old in Illinois has no certificate. How may he lawfully operate a motorboat over 10 horsepower? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(d)
  • An 11-year-old in Illinois wants to run a motorboat with over 10 horsepower. What does the law ask for? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(c)
  • An Illinois owner knows a person's physical or mental disability makes that person unable to handle the motorboat in the conditions at hand. What must the owner do? 625 ILCS 45/5-5
  • How old must a supervisor be whom a parent designates under Illinois's supervision rule? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(c)
  • Who may not operate a motorboat at all in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-18(b)

Personal flotation devices 7

  • A 12-year-old rides a tube behind a boat in Illinois. What does section 4-1 say about a life jacket? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(H-5)
  • An Illinois boat tows one skier who wears no life jacket. What must the boat have? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(E)
  • Below what age must a child on the deck of a boat underway, or in an open boat, wear a life jacket in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(I)
  • From what length must an Illinois watercraft, canoes and kayaks aside, also carry a throwable flotation device? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(C)
  • How many wearable life jackets must an Illinois watercraft carry? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(A)
  • Which child is outside Illinois's wear rule while the boat is underway? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(I)
  • Which way of keeping a required life jacket breaks the Illinois rule? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(F)

Personal watercraft 5

  • During which hours may no one operate a personal watercraft in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-20
  • What does the Illinois Act call a craft that looks and handles like a personal watercraft but runs on an outboard or propeller driven motor? 625 ILCS 45/1-2
  • What makes a vessel a personal watercraft under the Illinois Act? 625 ILCS 45/1-2
  • Which life jacket may not be used to meet the rule on a personal watercraft in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(B)
  • Who must wear a life jacket on a personal watercraft in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-1(B)

Towing skiers and tubers 7

  • A motorboat towing a water skier in Illinois must have a capacity of at least how many persons? 625 ILCS 45/5-14(A)
  • Do skiers and tubers in tow count toward an Illinois motorboat's capacity? 625 ILCS 45/5-4(A)
  • During which hours is towing a person on water skis prohibited in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-14(B)
  • For how long must the Illinois tow flag stay up? 625 ILCS 45/5-14(E)
  • How many competent persons must be in a motorboat that tows a skier in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-14(A)
  • What does 'competent' mean for a person aboard an Illinois tow boat? 625 ILCS 45/1-2
  • What flag must an Illinois boat show while it tows a person? 625 ILCS 45/5-14(E)

Wakes, restricted areas and careless operation 13

  • An emergency watercraft with flashing lights comes up on an Illinois boater. What must the boater do? 625 ILCS 45/5-22(b)
  • Careless operation in Illinois includes going faster than what? 625 ILCS 45/5-1
  • Except in an emergency, how far from the dive flag may a scuba diver surface in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-19(A)
  • How close to a public launching ramp does Illinois hold a boat to no-wake speed, even with no sign posted? 625 ILCS 45/5-7
  • How does an Illinois boater pass a stopped emergency watercraft that is showing its flashing lights? 625 ILCS 45/5-22(c)
  • How does the Illinois Act define a wake? 625 ILCS 45/5-12
  • How far must an Illinois watercraft stay from a diving flag, unless it is part of that dive? 625 ILCS 45/5-19(C)
  • What is the fastest a boat may ever go in a posted No Wake area in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-12
  • What limits how much an Illinois motorboat may carry? 625 ILCS 45/5-4(A)
  • What must be removed from a boat's exterior before it is placed in Illinois waters or taken on a highway? 625 ILCS 45/5-23
  • Where may a passenger not ride while an Illinois motorboat is underway, unless inboard of guards or rails? 625 ILCS 45/5-21
  • Which act does Illinois name as reckless operation? 625 ILCS 45/5-2(a)
  • Which craft may enter a buoyed swimming area in Illinois against the buoys? 625 ILCS 45/5-7

Alcohol and drugs 9

  • An arrested Illinois operator refuses the chemical test. What suspension does the officer have to warn of? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(B)
  • An Illinois operator is charged with operating under the influence of a drug she may legally use. Is that a defense? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(A)
  • An operator in a fatal boating accident is cited for careless operation in Illinois. What follows under section 5-16c? 625 ILCS 45/5-16c(a)
  • Can a refusal to take the chemical test be used in court in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(D)
  • For how long does the Department suspend watercraft privileges after a felony conviction under Illinois's operating-under-the-influence section? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(A)
  • May an Illinois boat owner knowingly let a person who is under the influence operate the boat? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(E)
  • What alcohol concentration does Illinois forbid for operating a watercraft? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(A)
  • What does a person consent to, by operating a watercraft on Illinois waters, if arrested for operating under the influence? 625 ILCS 45/5-16(B)
  • What may an Illinois officer with reasonable suspicion ask for before any arrest? 625 ILCS 45/5-16b

Accidents and reports 8

  • A boat sinks and is a total loss, with no one hurt. Is a report owed in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(B)
  • How far does an Illinois operator's duty to help after an accident go? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(A)
  • How soon is the Illinois report due for an injury that needs medical attention beyond first aid? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(C)
  • How soon must a boating accident with loss of life be reported to the Illinois Department? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(C)
  • May an accident report filed with the Illinois Department be used as evidence at a trial over the accident? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(D)
  • Property damage above what amount makes an Illinois boating accident reportable to the Department? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(B)
  • What does 'personal injury' mean in the Illinois Act? 625 ILCS 45/1-2
  • What must an Illinois operator in a collision give to an injured person and to the owner of damaged property? 625 ILCS 45/6-1(A)

Lights and equipment 13

  • A motorboat 20 feet long falls in which Illinois class? 625 ILCS 45/4-2(A)
  • An Illinois motorboat under 26 feet has a factory engine cut-off switch. When must the switch be in use? 625 ILCS 45/4-11(b)
  • An Illinois motorboat's whistle or horn must be able to sound a blast of what length? 625 ILCS 45/4-4
  • Illinois calls a muffler effective when the motorboat stays at or under what level in the stationary sound test? 625 ILCS 45/4-3(A)
  • Measured from the shoreline, what noise level may an Illinois motorboat not exceed in operation? 625 ILCS 45/4-3(B)
  • On which Illinois waters must a watercraft carry visual distress signals? 625 ILCS 45/4-12
  • What does a watercraft anchored at night outside a special anchorage area display in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-2(E)
  • What does Illinois forbid a marine toilet to do? 625 ILCS 45/4-9
  • What must a canoe or other nonpowered watercraft have ready at hand after dark in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-2(C)
  • When must an Illinois motorboat show its navigation lights? 625 ILCS 45/4-2(B)
  • Which Illinois motorboat engine needs no backfire arrestor on its carburetor? 625 ILCS 45/4-6
  • Which Illinois motorboat must carry at least one approved fire extinguisher? 625 ILCS 45/4-5
  • Which watercraft may use blue flashing lights in Illinois? 625 ILCS 45/4-8(c)

Numbering and registration 9

  • A boat validly numbered in another state visits Illinois. After how long does it need Illinois numbering? 625 ILCS 45/3-12(B)
  • About how long does an Illinois certificate of number stay in force? 625 ILCS 45/3-9
  • An Illinois certificate holder moves. How soon must the Department be told the new address? 625 ILCS 45/3-1
  • How soon after buying a numbered watercraft must the purchaser apply to transfer the Illinois certificate of number? 625 ILCS 45/3-5
  • How tall must the block characters of an Illinois watercraft number be? 625 ILCS 45/3-3(A)
  • On what date do new Illinois certificates of number expire, in the third year after issue? 625 ILCS 45/3-9
  • Where does the identification number go on an Illinois watercraft? 625 ILCS 45/3-3(A)
  • Where must the certificate of number be while an Illinois watercraft is in operation? 625 ILCS 45/3-1
  • Which watercraft need no Illinois number? 625 ILCS 45/3-1

How this list was compiled: Written only from the Boat Registration and Safety Act, 625 ILCS 45 (definitions, Article I; numbering, Article III; equipment, Article IV; operation, the Boating Safety Certificate and operating under the influence, Article V; accidents, Article VI), read in the full text of the Act on the Illinois General Assembly's site, https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=1826&ChapterID=49, on 2026-10-13. Each question names its section and links to that section's page on the same site. That a certificate, a course and a test exist is section 5-18(a) and (h). The Act gives no number of questions and no pass mark. The Department of Natural Resources' boating safety education page, https://dnr.illinois.gov/safety/boatingsafety.html, read the same day, says the instructor-led course ends in a 60-question multiple choice test with an 80% passing score and that certificates are valid for life; those figures are the Department's, not the Act's. The Department's administrative rules (17 Ill. Adm. Code) were not read and nothing is asked from them. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute text; nothing is copied from a boater handbook, a boating course, a course provider's study guide or another practice test.

How it works

This unofficial Illinois boating license practice test asks state law only: every question comes from the Boat Registration and Safety Act, 625 ILCS 45, and names its section. Navigation rules, lights and buoys have their own bank here. Read October 2026.

Read the full guide

An orange flag, 150 feet and sunset

A boat towing a water skier has room for at least three and carries two competent persons, and any boat with a person in tow flies an orange flag at least 12 inches per side (5-14). No-wake speed holds within 150 feet of a public launching ramp, posted or not (5-7). Personal watercraft stop at sunset, and no rider's life jacket may be an inflatable one (5-20, 4-1).

Questions and answers

Who needs a boating license in Illinois?

Illinois issues no boating license. Section 5-18 asks for a Boating Safety Certificate from anyone born on or after January 1, 1998 who operates a motorboat with over 10 horsepower, and says the certificate is not an operator's license.

How many questions are on the Illinois boating safety test, and what score passes?

The Act gives neither number. The Department of Natural Resources' page says its instructor-led course ends in a 60-question multiple choice test with an 80% passing score. The 25-question practice exam on this page is this site's own length and shows no pass line.

How old do you have to be to drive a boat in Illinois?

Ten. No one under 10 may operate a motorboat. Above 10 horsepower, a 10- or 11-year-old needs a parent, guardian or designated adult supervising on board. From 12 through 17, a Boating Safety Certificate or that supervision is needed (section 5-18).

When do children have to wear a life jacket on a boat in Illinois?

Under 13, on the deck of a boat underway or in an open boat (section 4-1). A child in a cabin or below the top deck is excepted. On a personal watercraft everyone wears one.

Is this the official Illinois boat license test?

No. This page is independent practice, not a government website, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has no part in it. Each answer cites a section you can open. The real course also covers navigation rules and boat handling.

More tests

Show 7 more

Browse Safety and Trades