A person born after 1981 will supervise others operating a rented powercraft in Ohio. Besides meeting the education rule, what must be true?ORC 1547.052(B)
A renter born in 1990 has already completed a safe boater course. How does Ohio law let the renter show that before taking out a 40 horsepower rental?ORC 1547.052(A)(1)
Above what engine size does Ohio's boater education rule apply to a powercraft?ORC 1547.05(A)
An Ohio boat owner lets a friend born in 2001, who has no certificate, run the owner's 90 horsepower boat. Has the owner broken the law?ORC 1547.05(C)
An Ohio boater born in 1990 is stopped while running a 50 horsepower boat and has no certificate aboard. How long does the boater have to present it?ORC 1547.051
An Ohio rental business hands a renter born in 1995 an abbreviated examination. What score must the renter reach?ORC 1547.052(A)(2)
Besides completing an approved safe boater course, what else satisfies Ohio's boater education rule?ORC 1547.05(A)
In Ohio, what does failing to present the boater education certificate within the time allowed amount to?ORC 1547.051
Ohio requires boater education of powercraft operators born on or after which date?ORC 1547.05(A)
Who is exempt from Ohio's boater education rule under ORC 1547.05(B)?ORC 1547.05(B)
Show all 75 questions (65 more)
Operator ages and supervision 6
A 13-year-old in Ohio asks to drive the family's personal watercraft. What makes that legal?ORC 1547.06(A)
The adult supervising an Ohio child on a 60 horsepower powercraft was born in 1992. What else must the adult have?ORC 1547.06(C)
An Ohio child under twelve paddles a canoe. What supervision does ORC 1547.06 require?ORC 1547.06(B)
An Ohio child under twelve steers a powercraft of more than ten horsepower that is not a personal watercraft. Where must the supervising adult be?ORC 1547.06(C)
In Ohio, from what age may a person operate a personal watercraft with no supervising person aboard?ORC 1547.06(A)
May an 11-year-old operate a personal watercraft in Ohio with an adult aboard?ORC 1547.06(A)
Life jackets 7
In Ohio, children under what age must wear a life jacket aboard a small vessel such as a 14-foot fishing boat?ORC 1547.24
Ohio's rule that a child under ten must wear a life jacket applies on vessels of what length?ORC 1547.24
What flotation devices must a 17-foot canoe carry in Ohio?ORC 1547.25(A)(2)
What may a barefoot skier in Ohio wear in place of a life jacket?ORC 1547.18(B)
What must a person engaged in towed watersports wear in Ohio, absent a special permit?ORC 1547.18(A)
Which Ohio vessel must carry a throwable flotation device as well as a wearable one for each person?ORC 1547.25(A)(1)
Who must wear a life jacket on a personal watercraft in Ohio?ORC 1547.41(A)(1)
No wake areas and safe operation 14
A passenger wants to ride on a part of a moving Ohio vessel that was not designed for sitting. When is that allowed?ORC 1547.22
An Ohio law enforcement vessel approaches with a flashing light and follows your boat. What must you do?ORC 1547.131
An Ohio officer signals a vessel to stop with a light or a siren. What does ORC 1547.13 forbid the operator to do?ORC 1547.13(B)
Following directly behind a water skier is unsafe operation in Ohio at less than what distance?ORC 1547.07(B)(3)
How does Ohio law define idle speed?ORC 1546.01
How far must an Ohio vessel stay from an official diver's flag, unless it is tending the dive?ORC 1547.08(D)
In Ohio law, what does "no wake" mean?ORC 1546.01
Ohio lists jumping another vessel's wake as unsafe operation when the vessel goes airborne at less than what distance from the vessel making the wake?ORC 1547.07(B)(1)
On Lake Erie or the Ohio River, within what distance of a marina, gas dock, launch ramp or harbor entrance must a vessel hold idle speed?ORC 1547.08(B)(1)(a)
What does Ohio law say about driving a vessel through a designated bathing area?ORC 1547.08(A)
What does Ohio law say about trash aboard a vessel in operation?ORC 1547.49(B)
When may an Ohio boater tie up to a buoy or other aid to navigation?ORC 1547.09
Where does ORC 1547.09 forbid mooring or anchoring a vessel?ORC 1547.09
Within what distance of a stationary law enforcement vessel showing a flashing light may an Ohio vessel not create a wake?ORC 1547.132(B)
Water skiing and towing 6
An Ohio inland lake has a designated ski zone. Where must water skiing on that lake take place?ORC 1547.14(A)
An Ohio operator tows a skier and needs someone to observe. What minimum age does ORC 1547.15 set for that person?ORC 1547.15
During which hours is water skiing prohibited in Ohio without a special permit?ORC 1547.16
On which Ohio waters does the rule confining skiers to ski zones not apply?ORC 1547.14(A)
What does Ohio law require before a water ski jump on its waters is used for jumping?ORC 1547.19
While the observer watches the skier, what must the operator of an Ohio towing vessel watch at all times?ORC 1547.15
Personal watercraft 4
An Ohio owner knowingly lets a friend ride the owner's personal watercraft after dark. Who has broken ORC 1547.41?ORC 1547.41(A)
How does Ohio law define a personal watercraft?ORC 1546.01
The maker fitted an Ohio personal watercraft with a lanyard cutoff switch. Where does ORC 1547.41 say the lanyard goes?ORC 1547.41(A)(2)
When is it illegal to operate a personal watercraft in Ohio?ORC 1547.41(A)(3)
Operating under the influence 6
An arrested Ohio boater is advised of the consequences and still refuses the chemical test. For how long is the person barred from operating a vessel?ORC 1547.111(D)
At what concentration of alcohol in whole blood is operating a vessel illegal in Ohio for an adult?ORC 1547.11(A)(2)
Besides operating a vessel, what else may an Ohio boater who refused the chemical test not do during the prohibition?ORC 1547.111(D)
Does Ohio's operating under the influence section reach a person riding water skis?ORC 1547.11(A)
For an Ohio vessel operator under twenty-one, what is the lowest whole-blood alcohol concentration that is an offense?ORC 1547.11(B)(1)
What does Ohio law treat a vessel operator as having given, once arrested for operating under the influence?ORC 1547.111(A)(1)
Accidents and officers 7
A bystander helps at the scene of an Ohio boating accident. When can the bystander be liable in a civil action for that help?ORC 1547.59
An Ohio operator hits an unattended moored boat. What does the law require?ORC 1547.10
The operator in an Ohio boating accident is incapacitated. Who files the required form?ORC 1547.59
What dollar figure in ORC 1547.59 makes a damage-only Ohio boating accident reportable?ORC 1547.59
What must the operator do first after an accident on Ohio waters, so far as it is safe and practical?ORC 1547.10
Which injury triggers Ohio's boating accident report?ORC 1547.59
With whom is an Ohio boating accident report filed?ORC 1547.59
Required equipment 8
On Lake Erie, which vessels must carry Coast Guard approved visual distress signals for both day and night use at all times?ORC 1547.251(A)
On most Ohio waters, a vessel with a toilet must have the toilet removed, sealed or drained to a holding tank. On which waters does that rule not apply?ORC 1547.33
On Ohio waters other than Lake Erie, a vessel may carry a distress flag in place of a Coast Guard approved daytime signal. What must the flag be?ORC 1547.251(C)
What noise level may an Ohio powercraft not exceed in a stationary sound level test?ORC 1547.31(B)(1)
When may a distress signal be displayed on Ohio waters?ORC 1547.251(D)
Where must the capacity plate be attached on an Ohio watercraft?ORC 1547.39(A)
Which Ohio watercraft need not carry an anchor and line?ORC 1547.26
Which three limits on an Ohio watercraft's capacity plate may not be exceeded?ORC 1547.40(A)
Registration, numbers and tags 7
A watercraft validly numbered by another state is used in Ohio. After how many days of use in Ohio does its exemption from Ohio numbering end?ORC 1547.53(B)
An Ohio canoe owner chooses not to have the canoe numbered. What does the owner receive with the registration?ORC 1547.53(H)
For how long is an Ohio watercraft registration certificate valid?ORC 1547.54(B)
Ohio registers most watercraft. Which of these needs no registration?ORC 1547.532(A)
Where does each Ohio registration tag go on a numbered watercraft that is not Coast Guard documented?ORC 1547.57(A)
Where is the permanent identification number attached on an Ohio watercraft?ORC 1547.57(B)
Which watercraft is exempt from numbering by Ohio?ORC 1547.53(A)
How this list was compiled: Written only from the Ohio Revised Code, Chapter 1547 (Watercraft and Waterways): sections 1547.05, 1547.051, 1547.052, 1547.06, 1547.07, 1547.08, 1547.09, 1547.10, 1547.11, 1547.111, 1547.13, 1547.131, 1547.132, 1547.14, 1547.15, 1547.16, 1547.18, 1547.19, 1547.22, 1547.24, 1547.25, 1547.251, 1547.26, 1547.31, 1547.33, 1547.39, 1547.40, 1547.41, 1547.49, 1547.53, 1547.532, 1547.54, 1547.57 and 1547.59, and the definitions in section 1546.01, each read on the state's code site, https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-1547, on 2026-09-30. Each question names its section and links to it. Section 1547.05 accepts either an approved safe boater course or a proficiency examination; no section read gives that examination's length or pass mark, so none is used. The only examination score in the chapter is the ninety per cent a rental business's abbreviated examination requires (section 1547.052). The Ohio Administrative Code rules (1501:47) 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 the Ohio boat operator's guide, a boating course, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators or another practice test.
How it works
This unofficial Ohio boating license test practice asks only state law: Chapter 1547 of the Ohio Revised Code, with the section under each question. Navigation rules and boat handling are not here. Code read September 2026.
Read the full guide
Born in 1982 or later, ten horsepower, children under ten
ORC 1547.05 asks anyone born on or after January 1, 1982 for a course or proficiency examination certificate before running more than ten horsepower. Children under ten wear a life jacket in any vessel under eighteen feet (1547.24). Nobody under sixteen runs a personal watercraft alone, and nobody runs one after sunset (1547.06, 1547.41).
What Ohio law says about the examination
Section 1547.05 accepts an approved safe boater course or a proficiency examination on the same curriculum, proctored or not. The chapter gives no length or pass mark for it, so this page shows no pass line. The one score it names is ninety per cent on a rental business's short examination (1547.052).
An Ohio boater license test question often turns on a distance: 300 feet from a diver's flag, 100 feet from a stopped patrol boat.
Questions and answers
Who needs a boating license in Ohio?
Ohio law calls it a certificate. Under ORC 1547.05, anyone born on or after January 1, 1982 needs one to operate a powercraft of more than ten horsepower. It is earned by an approved safe boater course or a proficiency examination.
How old do you have to be to drive a boat in Ohio?
No single age. Under ORC 1547.06 a child under twelve operates only under the direct supervision of a person eighteen or older, aboard if the powercraft exceeds ten horsepower. A personal watercraft needs an operator of sixteen, or twelve with an adult aboard.
Is this the real Ohio boating license exam?
No. This is not a government website and is not affiliated with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which has reviewed none of it. The questions were written for this site from the Revised Code, and each one links to its section.