A certificate holder is convicted in Pennsylvania of negligent operation of a watercraft. What must the person do before operating again?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(k)
A Pennsylvania boater says the certificate exists but is not on board. How long must the officer give the boater to produce the original?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(l)
A person visits Pennsylvania in a motorboat from a country other than the United States. For a visit of what length is the person exempt from the certificate?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(c)
A resident of another state visits Pennsylvania in a motorboat registered in that state. Section 5103's visitor exemption covers a visit of what length?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(c)
An operator in Pennsylvania is found without a required certificate in possession. What does the regulation tell the operator to do?58 Pa. Code 91.6(e)
How long does a temporary Pennsylvania certificate of boating safety education last at most?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(h)
Pennsylvania's section 5103(a) requires a boating safety certificate of motorboat operators born on or after which date?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(a)
Producing the certificate in person is inconvenient for the Pennsylvania boater. What may the officer permit?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(l)
Show all 103 questions (95 more)
Boating Safety Education Certificate, continued
Section 5103(g) says how long the Commission's education document stays good. How long?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(g)
To whom does the Pennsylvania commission issue a certificate of boating safety education?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(e)
What kind of test does section 5103 have the Pennsylvania commission administer when appropriate?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(e)
What may a Pennsylvania boat owner not knowingly allow a person who is required to have a certificate to do?58 Pa. Code 91.5(c)
What must a Pennsylvania boater who is subject to the education requirement do with the certificate while operating?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(b)
Which certificate held by a resident of another state satisfies Pennsylvania's section 5103?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(i)
Which federal document is enough in place of Pennsylvania's certificate of boating safety education?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(i)
Which motorboat may a person born on or after January 1, 1982 operate in Pennsylvania without a certificate, under section 5103's exemption?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(c)
Which of these does Pennsylvania's regulation forbid a person to do with a Boating Safety Education Certificate?58 Pa. Code 91.6(f)
Which waters does Pennsylvania's landowner exemption from the certificate cover?30 Pa.C.S. 5103(c)
Who needs a Boating Safety Education Certificate to operate a personal watercraft in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.3(f)
Operator ages 3
58 Pa. Code 91.4(b) stops a rider aged 12 through 15 from taking the controls in one situation. Which?58 Pa. Code 91.4(b)
In Pennsylvania, a person of 11 or younger may not operate a personal watercraft or a boat with a motor above what power?58 Pa. Code 91.4(a)
Up to what age of child does Pennsylvania forbid a parent to knowingly permit boat operation that breaks the boating regulations?58 Pa. Code 91.5(b)
Life jackets and the cold-weather rule 12
58 Pa. Code 97.1(i) names a cold season. What are its dates?58 Pa. Code 97.1(i)
A life jacket on a Pennsylvania boat is still sealed in its original packaging. Is it 'readily accessible'?58 Pa. Code 97.1(a)
The cold-season rule of 58 Pa. Code 97.1(i) reaches open craft below a set hull length. What length?58 Pa. Code 97.1(i)
Does Pennsylvania's cold-weather life jacket rule apply to a small boat at anchor?58 Pa. Code 97.1(i)
From what length must a boat in Pennsylvania carry a throwable device as well?58 Pa. Code 97.1(c)
How many wearable life jackets must a boat carry in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 97.1(b)
In Pennsylvania's regulation, where is a life jacket that is 'immediately available'?58 Pa. Code 97.1(a)
Pennsylvania's child life jacket rule covers canoes, kayaks, paddleboards and any boat of what length?58 Pa. Code 97.1(h)
Up to what age must a child wear a life jacket while underway on a small boat in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 97.1(h)
What must a person operating a sailboard in Pennsylvania do about a life jacket?58 Pa. Code 109.2(b)
Where does Pennsylvania's rule that a paddleboard carry a life jacket for each person not apply?58 Pa. Code 109.2(a)
Which boats of 16 feet and over need no throwable device in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 97.1(c)
Personal watercraft 5
58 Pa. Code 109.3(c) deals with the cord of a factory kill switch. To what is it tied?58 Pa. Code 109.3(c)
58 Pa. Code 109.3(d) bars personal watercraft from operating during part of each day. Between which two moments?58 Pa. Code 109.3(d)
How long may a boat be and still be a 'personal watercraft' in Pennsylvania's regulation?58 Pa. Code 109.3(a)
May an inflatable life jacket be used to meet Pennsylvania's rule for personal watercraft?58 Pa. Code 109.3(b)
Under 58 Pa. Code 109.3(b), who on a Pennsylvania personal watercraft has to keep a life jacket on?58 Pa. Code 109.3(b)
Slow, no wake and unacceptable practices 19
Above what speed may no one ride on the bow decking, gunwales or transom of a motorboat in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Behind which motorboats may no one wake surf in Pennsylvania, unless the maker designed the propulsion for it?58 Pa. Code 105.3
How does 58 Pa. Code 103.16(a) word its catch-all limit on pace?58 Pa. Code 103.16(a)
How does Pennsylvania's code describe negligent operation of a watercraft?30 Pa.C.S. 5501(b)
How far must a boat in Pennsylvania stay from a water-skier being towed by another boat?58 Pa. Code 105.3
How far must boats keep from marked water siphons and intake towers in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 103.3(b)
In Pennsylvania's 'following too close' rule, how near to the rear of another boat underway is too close above slow, no wake speed?58 Pa. Code 105.3
In the same Pennsylvania rule, how near to the side of another boat underway is too close?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Pennsylvania forbids operating above slow, no wake speed while a person stands in a motorboat under what length, unless it is designed for standing?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Pennsylvania forbids towing a person on water skis with a tow rope of what length, measured from the transom?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Under Pennsylvania's Fish and Boat Code, what is exceeding the loading and horsepower limits on a boat's capacity plate evidence of?30 Pa.C.S. 5501(d)
What marks the passenger carrying area of a pontoon boat in Pennsylvania's regulation?58 Pa. Code 105.3
What may an officer direct the operator to do when such a condition exists on a Pennsylvania boat?58 Pa. Code 105.2
What must a person have to operate another person's boat in Pennsylvania?30 Pa.C.S. 5505
When may a person hang on a motorboat's swim platform or swim ladder while the boat is operated in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Which of these is a 'condition requiring immediate corrective action' on a Pennsylvania boat?58 Pa. Code 105.1
Which of these is on Pennsylvania's list of unacceptable boating practices?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Within what distance of the boat that made the wake is it unlawful in Pennsylvania to make a boat go airborne crossing that wake?58 Pa. Code 105.3
Within what distance of the shore line, docks, launching ramps and swimmers are boats limited to slow, no wake speed in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 103.3(a)
Waterskiing, wake surfing and divers 13
58 Pa. Code 109.4(c)(1) requires company for the driver during a tow. What company?58 Pa. Code 109.4(c)
58 Pa. Code 109.4(k) doubles the usual buffer for boats throwing a surfable wave. To what figure?58 Pa. Code 109.4(k)
A permit lets a Pennsylvania boat tow a skier with no observer. How large must its rearview mirror be at least?58 Pa. Code 109.4(c)
Between what hours are waterskiing and other boat-towed watersports prohibited in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.4(b)
How far must other boats stay from an area showing the divers down flag in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.5(c)
How large is a divers down flag in Pennsylvania's regulation?58 Pa. Code 109.5(a)
How must a water-skier end a run toward a dock or shore in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.4(h)
What is the longest tow rope Pennsylvania allows for conventional water skis?58 Pa. Code 109.4(e)
What may a wake surfer in Pennsylvania wear in place of an approved life jacket?58 Pa. Code 109.4(f)
What must a 'competent observer' know in Pennsylvania's regulation?58 Pa. Code 109.4(a)
What must each person being towed on water skis wear in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.4(f)
Where is the divers down flag displayed during diving in Pennsylvania?58 Pa. Code 109.5(b)
Which colors and pattern does 58 Pa. Code 109.5(a) give the marker for people under water?58 Pa. Code 109.5(a)
Operating under the influence 10
A person arrested under section 5502 refuses chemical testing in Pennsylvania, a first refusal. For how long are boating privileges suspended?30 Pa.C.S. 5125(b)
Besides an officer's reasonable grounds, what else triggers implied consent to chemical testing for a Pennsylvania watercraft operator?30 Pa.C.S. 5125(a)
Besides operating a watercraft, what does Pennsylvania's section 5502 forbid an impaired person to do?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(a)
For how long are boating privileges suspended for a refusal in Pennsylvania when they were suspended for a refusal before?30 Pa.C.S. 5125(b)
From what alcohol concentration is an adult barred from operating a watercraft in Pennsylvania under the general impairment subsection?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(a)
Pennsylvania's alcohol concentrations for watercraft operators are measured within what time after the person operated?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(a)
Section 5502(a.4) sets a far lower reading for a minor at the helm. What reading?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(a.4)
Section 5502(b) answers the claim 'I was allowed to take it'. Does that claim excuse the charge?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(b)
To which chemical tests is a watercraft operator deemed to have consented in Pennsylvania?30 Pa.C.S. 5125(a)
Which range does Pennsylvania's code call a 'high rate of alcohol' for a watercraft operator?30 Pa.C.S. 5502(a.1)
Accidents and reports 12
58 Pa. Code 101.2(2) says how badly someone must be hurt before paperwork is due. How badly?58 Pa. Code 101.2
58 Pa. Code 101.2(3) puts a dollar floor under reportable harm to hulls and belongings. What floor?58 Pa. Code 101.2
58 Pa. Code 101.3(a) names the body to be told at once of a death or a vanished passenger. Which body?58 Pa. Code 101.3(a)
A person is injured beyond first aid in a Pennsylvania boating accident. How soon must the written report be submitted?58 Pa. Code 101.4(b)
A reportable Pennsylvania boating accident involves only property damage. How soon must the written report be submitted?58 Pa. Code 101.4(b)
For what purpose may the fact that a Pennsylvania accident report was made be admitted in evidence?30 Pa.C.S. 5503(c)
The operator is physically incapable of making the Pennsylvania accident report. Who makes it next in order?30 Pa.C.S. 5503(a)
Staying at the scene on the water is clearly impractical after a Pennsylvania boating accident. What may the operator do?30 Pa.C.S. 5507(d)
To whom is a Pennsylvania watercraft accident report submitted?30 Pa.C.S. 5503(a)
What must the operator of a watercraft in an accident do first under Pennsylvania's section 5507?30 Pa.C.S. 5507(a)
When must a Pennsylvania operator render reasonable assistance to a person injured in a boating accident?30 Pa.C.S. 5507(c)
Which details does section 5507(b) make a Pennsylvania operator give after a boating accident?30 Pa.C.S. 5507(b)
Registration 10
A boat registered in another state is moved to Pennsylvania as its place of principal operation. For how long is the other state's number recognized?30 Pa.C.S. 5301(c)
A registered Pennsylvania boat is sold, destroyed or abandoned. How soon must the owner notify the commission?30 Pa.C.S. 5312
For which rented boats may the certificate of registration stay on shore in Pennsylvania?30 Pa.C.S. 5306(c)
Section 5309 sets a deadline for reporting a new mailing address. What is it?30 Pa.C.S. 5309
Section 5310(a) has a Pennsylvania boat's registration number painted on or attached where?30 Pa.C.S. 5310(a)
Under the calendar-year rule of section 5308, a Pennsylvania boat registration is valid through what date?30 Pa.C.S. 5308(b)
What does Pennsylvania forbid a person to do with a boat he owns or controls?30 Pa.C.S. 5506
What is the longest multiple-year boat registration the Pennsylvania commission may issue?30 Pa.C.S. 5308(b)
Where must the certificate of registration be whenever a Pennsylvania boat is in operation?30 Pa.C.S. 5306(b)
Which boats are exempt from registration under Pennsylvania's section 5302?30 Pa.C.S. 5302(a)
How this list was compiled: Written only from Title 30 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the Fish and Boat Code, Part III (sections 5103, 5125, 5301, 5302, 5306, 5308 to 5310, 5312, 5501 to 5503 and 5505 to 5507), read on the General Assembly's own site, https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/30/30.HTM, on 2026-10-03, and from the Fish and Boat Commission's boating regulations in Title 58 of the Pennsylvania Code (sections 91.4 to 91.6, 97.1, 101.2 to 101.4, 103.3, 103.16, 105.1 to 105.4 and 109.2 to 109.5), read the same day on the Commonwealth's official Pennsylvania Code site, https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/. A statute question links to the page of Title 30, which has no address for one section; a regulation question links to its chapter. That a test exists is section 5103(e): the Commission sets criteria for a course in boating safety education, administers a written or verbal test when appropriate, and issues a certificate to a person who passes an approved course. Neither the statute nor the regulations read give a number of questions or a pass mark, so none is stored here. The Commission's page on the certificate and courses, https://www.pa.gov/services/fishandboat/apply-for-bsec-and-safety-courses, was opened on 2026-10-03; it says anyone who finishes an approved boating course gets a Boating Safety Education Certificate that lasts for life. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the statute and regulation text; nothing is copied from a boater handbook, a boating course, a course provider's study guide or another practice test.
How it works
An unofficial PA boating license practice test on state law only, taken from the Fish and Boat Code and the Commission's boating regulations. The steering rules for meeting and passing are another bank's job. Read October 2026.
Read the full guide
Born 1982 or later, 25 horsepower, and 100 feet
Section 5103 asks anyone born on or after January 1, 1982 for a Boating Safety Education Certificate on a motor above 25 horsepower. A personal watercraft takes the certificate whatever the rider's birth year. Once issued it is good for life. Boats hold to slow, no wake speed within 100 feet of shore, docks and swimmers.
What the code says about the course and the test
Section 5103(e) has the Commission set course criteria, give a written or verbal test when appropriate, and issue the certificate to a person who passes an approved course. Title 30 leaves the length and the passing score unstated, and the tool follows it by showing no pass line.
From November 1 through April 30, everyone in a boat under 16 feet, canoe or kayak wears a life jacket.
A water-skier lets go outside the 100-foot limit and coasts in; no powered return to the dock.
Questions and answers
Do you need a boating license in Pennsylvania?
Not a license as such: the Commission's paper is a Boating Safety Education Certificate. People born on or after January 1, 1982 need it above 25 horsepower, as does anyone on a personal watercraft (30 Pa.C.S. 5103; 58 Pa. Code 109.3).
How many questions are on the PA boating test, and what is the pass mark?
The Fish and Boat Code and the regulations read print neither figure. Section 5103 has the Commission give a written or verbal test when appropriate. Exam mode stops at question 25 because this site drew the line there, and it grades nothing as passed.
How old do you have to be to drive a boat in Pennsylvania?
Twelve for a personal watercraft or a motor above 25 horsepower: a person of 11 or younger may operate neither (58 Pa. Code 91.4). From 12 through 15, a personal watercraft operator may carry no passenger of 15 or younger.
Is this PA boating practice test from the Fish and Boat Commission?
No. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission had no part in it, and this is not a government website. Check any answer against the section printed with it.