A person is convicted of one of the boating offenses listed in RSMo 306.128. What must the person do before operating a vessel again?RSMo 306.128
A visitor from another state holds that state's boating certificate. When does Missouri's card section not apply to the visitor?RSMo 306.127.5
Beginning January 1, 2027, which group does RSMo 306.127.2 add to Missouri's boating safety identification card requirement?RSMo 306.127.2
For how long is a permanent Missouri boating safety identification card valid?RSMo 306.127.3
For how long may a Missouri temporary boating safety identification card issued by a rental business last?RSMo 306.127.8
How hard must Missouri's equivalency examination be, by statute?RSMo 306.127.1
How many temporary boating safety identification cards may one individual receive in Missouri?RSMo 306.127.8
May a Missouri boater be stopped only to check for a boating safety identification card?RSMo 306.127.7
Under RSMo 306.127.1, a person born after which date must carry a boating safety identification card to operate a vessel on Missouri's lakes?RSMo 306.127.1
What must an applicant for a Missouri temporary boating safety identification card provide and sign?RSMo 306.127.8
Where must a Missouri boater who needs a boating safety identification card keep it while operating?RSMo 306.127.1
Which boater is exempt from Missouri's boating safety identification card section?RSMo 306.127.5
Which family member of a person now serving in the United States Armed Forces is also exempt from Missouri's card section?RSMo 306.127.5
Which of these earns a Missouri boating safety identification card without taking a boating safety course?RSMo 306.127.1
Which organization must approve a boating safety course before it counts toward the Missouri card?RSMo 306.127.1
Show all 74 questions (59 more)
Operators under 14 4
A 12-year-old wants to steer a motorboat on a Missouri lake. How old must the person supervising on board be?RSMo 306.122
Below what age may a person not operate a motorboat on Missouri waters without on-board supervision?RSMo 306.122
What does RSMo 306.122 say to the owner of a motorboat about operators under 14?RSMo 306.122
When may a Missouri child under 14 be at the controls of a motorboat with no supervisor aboard?RSMo 306.122
Personal watercraft 7
A 13-year-old wants to operate a personal watercraft in Missouri. When is that allowed?RSMo 306.142.3
A Missouri personal watercraft is towing a skier. What must it have besides the operator?RSMo 306.142.4
A Missouri personal watercraft leaves the water while crossing another vessel's wake. Within what distance of that vessel is this reckless operation?RSMo 306.142.4
May a Missouri city adopt its own rules restricting personal watercraft on waters of the state?RSMo 306.190.4
Which craft is a "personal watercraft" as RSMo 306.010 defines it?RSMo 306.010(6)
Who aboard a Missouri personal watercraft must wear a personal flotation device?RSMo 306.142.1
Within what distance of any vessel or person in the water must a Missouri personal watercraft keep to slow-no wake speed?RSMo 306.142.4
Life jackets and vessel classes 7
A Missouri vessel is 30 feet long. Which class is it under RSMo 306.100?RSMo 306.100.1
Below what age must a person on board any watercraft on Missouri waters wear a personal flotation device?RSMo 306.220
For whom must a Missouri vessel carry a personal flotation device besides the people on board?RSMo 306.100.7
How must the lifesaving devices required on a Missouri watercraft be kept?RSMo 306.100.9
What must every Missouri vessel outside Class A carry besides a wearable device for each person?RSMo 306.100.7
When does Missouri's life jacket rule for children under seven not apply?RSMo 306.220
Which Missouri vessel is a "Class A" vessel under RSMo 306.100?RSMo 306.100.1
Speed, wakes, flags and docks 16
A swimmer leaves a boat on a Missouri lake at 2 p.m. and the boat is not moored or anchored. What must the operator display?RSMo 306.126.2
An emergency watercraft on Missouri waters sounds its siren or shows a red or blue light. What must other operators do?RSMo 306.132.2
How close may a Missouri boat operator knowingly come to a scuba diver's flag?RSMo 306.217
How close may a Missouri operator knowingly come to a displayed person-in-the-water flag before slowing to slow-no wake speed?RSMo 306.126.3
How near a permitted boat dock may a Missouri vessel not be anchored in a way that blocks boats going in or out, unless the permit holder allows it?RSMo 306.221.2
How tall must "adequate guards or railing" be on a Missouri motorboat under RSMo 306.126?RSMo 306.126.1
May a Missouri boater moor a watercraft to an aid to navigation or a regulatory marker?RSMo 306.124.6
On which Missouri watercraft is the person-in-the-water flag of RSMo 306.126 not required?RSMo 306.126.2
What degree of care does RSMo 306.125 ask of every person operating a vessel in Missouri?RSMo 306.125.1
What does a scuba diver's marker look like under Missouri's statute?RSMo 306.217.1
What does operating a watercraft inside a marked prohibited area count as under RSMo 306.124?RSMo 306.124.4
What is the top speed for a vessel on Missouri waters from a half-hour after sunset until an hour before sunrise?RSMo 306.125.2
When may a Missouri boater tie up to a private permitted boat dock without the permit holder's say-so?RSMo 306.221.3
While a Missouri motorboat is under way, when may a passenger sit on the decking over the bow?RSMo 306.126.1
Within what distance of a dock, pier or occupied anchored boat on a Missouri lake must a vessel keep to slow-no wake speed?RSMo 306.125.3
Within what distance of an emergency vessel showing red or blue lighting must a Missouri vessel hold slow no-wake speed?RSMo 306.132.3
Towing skiers and parasailing 5
A Missouri vessel is towing a person on water skis. What must be in the vessel besides the operator, if there is no approved ski mirror?RSMo 306.120.1
During which hours is towing a person on water skis prohibited on Missouri waters?RSMo 306.120.2
How old must the observer be in a Missouri watercraft that is towing a parasail?RSMo 306.115.1
When is parasailing prohibited on Missouri waters?RSMo 306.115.2
Which activities count as "skiing" under Missouri's definitions?RSMo 306.010(7)
Accidents and water patrol stops 6
A boating accident in Missouri injures a person but damages nothing. Must the operator file a description with the water patrol division?RSMo 306.140.2
A member of the water patrol division signals a Missouri watercraft. What must its operator do?RSMo 306.132.1
A Missouri watercraft is in a collision. What must its operator do for the people affected, so far as it can be done without serious danger?RSMo 306.140.1
A water patrol officer finds a Missouri watercraft without enough personal flotation devices. What may the officer direct the operator to do?RSMo 306.100.14
Above what amount of property damage must a Missouri operator file a description of an accident with the water patrol division?RSMo 306.140.2
What must a Missouri operator give, in writing, to a person injured in a boating accident?RSMo 306.140.1
Lights, mufflers and marine toilets 4
A sport fisher's boat in Missouri shows no lights after sunset. Which set of conditions makes that lawful under RSMo 306.100.6?RSMo 306.100.6
What light must a canoe or other watercraft that is not a "vessel" have ready at hand on Missouri waters from sunset to sunrise?RSMo 306.100.3
What may the marine toilet of a boat on Missouri's waters of the state not do?RSMo 306.260
What may the owner of a Missouri motorboat not do to its muffler?RSMo 306.147.3
Numbering, definitions and rentals 10
A vessel numbered in another state is brought to Missouri. After how many consecutive days in the state does its exemption from Missouri numbering end?RSMo 306.080
Before a rented watercraft leaves a Missouri livery, what must be true of it?RSMo 306.150.2
For how long does a Missouri temporary certificate of number let the purchaser operate the vessel?RSMo 306.060.2
The holder of a Missouri certificate of number moves to a new address. Within how many days must the department of revenue be notified?RSMo 306.050
May another number be displayed on either side of the bow of a Missouri motorboat beside its awarded number?RSMo 306.040
To which waters does Missouri's watercraft chapter not apply under RSMo 306.190?RSMo 306.190.3
Where must a Missouri vessel's certificate of number be whenever the vessel is in operation?RSMo 306.030.1
Where must the identifying number be displayed on a numbered Missouri vessel?RSMo 306.020
Which craft is a "vessel" under Missouri's definition in RSMo 306.010?RSMo 306.010(8)
Which of these is a "motorboat" under RSMo 306.010?RSMo 306.010(1)
How this list was compiled: Written from the Revised Statutes of Missouri, chapter 306 (Watercraft Regulation and Licensing, Water Patrol Division), sections 306.010, 306.020, 306.030, 306.040, 306.050, 306.060, 306.080, 306.100, 306.115, 306.120, 306.122, 306.124, 306.125, 306.126, 306.127, 306.128, 306.132, 306.140, 306.142, 306.147, 306.150, 306.190, 306.217, 306.220, 306.221 and 306.260, each read on the Missouri Revisor of Statutes site, https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneChapter.aspx?chapter=306, on 2026-09-30. Each question names its section and links to it. That an examination exists is RSMo 306.127: the boating safety identification card is earned through an approved boating safety course or an equivalency examination prepared by the water patrol division. The Missouri State Highway Patrol page https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/WP02Web/app/safetyEdClasses, read on 2026-09-30, lists the classes and quotes section 306.127; it prints no question count or pass mark, so none is stored here. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute text; nothing is copied from the handbook of Missouri boating laws and responsibilities, a course provider's material or another practice test.
How it works
This unofficial Missouri boating license practice test asks only chapter 306 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, with the section under each question. Navigation rules and boating while intoxicated are not here. Read September 2026.
Read the full guide
The card by birth date, age 14 and the 100-foot rules
RSMo 306.127 asks anyone born after January 1, 1984, and before January 1, 2006, for a boating safety identification card on the state's lakes. From January 1, 2027, it reaches later-born operators on all state waters. Under 14, a person of 16 or older supervises on board (306.122). On lakes, slow-no wake applies within 100 feet of docks and occupied anchored boats (306.125).
What the statute says about the course and examination
The card comes from an approved boating safety course or an equivalency examination prepared by the water patrol division, which must be at least as hard as a course examination. The statute gives no question count or pass mark, so this page shows no pass line. A permanent card is valid for life.
The person-in-the-water flag runs from 11:00 a.m. to sunset; stay 50 yards from it or drop to slow-no wake.
Two ages to keep apart: a life jacket is worn under seven, and operating alone starts at fourteen.
Questions and answers
Who has to take the Missouri boating license test?
The boating safety identification card, from an approved course or the equivalency examination, is required on the lakes of anyone born after January 1, 1984, and before January 1, 2006. From January 1, 2027, later-born operators need it on all state waters (RSMo 306.127).
Is there a shorter Missouri boat license test for renters?
No test, but a rental business may issue one temporary card for up to seven days, to a renter of operating age who shows a driver's license and signs that the state's boating law handbook was reviewed. The provision expires December 31, 2032 (RSMo 306.127.8).
How old do you have to be to drive a boat in Missouri?
Fourteen to operate alone. A younger person may run a motorboat only under the direct on-board supervision of a parent, guardian or other person 16 or older, and a personal watercraft only with a person 16 or older aboard (RSMo 306.122, 306.142).
Is this the water patrol's own examination?
It is not. This site is no government website and has no tie to the Missouri State Highway Patrol or its Water Patrol Division, which has reviewed nothing here. The questions rest on chapter 306 alone, so the course material still has to be studied.