Boating safety education and the equivalency exam 31
A buyer in Virginia gets a temporary operator's certificate with the certificate of number for a new motorboat. How long does it allow the buyer to operate?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(4)
A classroom student in Virginia chooses to keep the textbook open during the final. What mark does 4VAC15-410-40(B) then require?4VAC15-410-40(B)
A person fails Virginia's equivalency exam a second time. What does the regulation require next?4VAC15-410-110(B)
A person rents a motorboat in Virginia and has taken no course. Which paper puts the renter in compliance?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(5)
A Virginia boater cannot produce proof of boating safety education. What must the officer do before issuing a citation?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(H)
A Virginia court convicts a boater of a boating offense that is a Class 3 misdemeanor or greater. What must the court also order?Va. Code 29.1-746(B)
A visitor who meets a home state's boating education rules uses Virginia waters temporarily. For how long does that keep the visitor in compliance?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(7)
At least how many questions on Virginia's equivalency exam must be specific about Virginia boating laws?4VAC15-410-20
Show all 108 questions (100 more)
Boating safety education and the equivalency exam, continued
Before operating a rented motorboat of 10 horsepower or more in Virginia, what must the authorized operator do with the dockside safety checklist?4VAC15-410-120(C)
By what date did Virginia's phase-in reach all motorboat operators, regardless of age?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(D)
By which day did Virginia require personal watercraft operators of every age to meet its boating safety education rule?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(D)
Can Virginia's temporary operator's certificate be renewed?4VAC15-410-130
How long does a person have to show a Virginia court proof of passing a court-ordered boating safety course?Va. Code 29.1-746(B)
How many questions does Virginia's regulation give the equivalency exam?4VAC15-410-20
In what form may a Virginia boater show an officer evidence of boating safety education?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(H)
May a person use reference materials during Virginia's equivalency exam?4VAC15-410-110(B)
The operator of a motorboat falls ill on Virginia waters and an untrained passenger takes over. When is the passenger in compliance?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(8)
Section 29.1-735.2(B)(2) offers a route for boaters who would rather be tested than sit through classes. What is it?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(2)
Section 29.1-735.2(B)(9) points to a registration under section 28.2-241. Who holds it?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(9)
Under Virginia's regulation, a boating safety education course includes at least how many test questions?4VAC15-410-20
Under Virginia's regulation, does a Coast Guard license to operate a vessel still count when it is no longer current?4VAC15-410-40(A)(3)
Virginia requires boating safety education to operate a personal watercraft or a motorboat with a motor of what size?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(A)
What choice must a classroom boating safety course in Virginia give a student about the end-of-course exam?4VAC15-410-100
What is the longest time Virginia's regulation allows for the equivalency exam?4VAC15-410-110(B)
What kind of penalty does Virginia's boating safety education section set for a violation?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(I)
What score passes a closed-book written test at the end of an in-person classroom boating course in Virginia?4VAC15-410-40(B)
What score passes Virginia's proctored equivalency exam?4VAC15-410-40(B)
When does the optional Virginia Boater Education Card expire?4VAC15-410-140(C)
Where must the dockside safety checklist be while a rented boat is operated in Virginia?4VAC15-410-120(D)
Which card from another country does Virginia's boating education section accept?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(7)
Which Navy qualification meets Virginia's boating safety education requirement?Va. Code 29.1-735.2(B)(10)
Personal watercraft 19
4VAC15-430-30(C) goes beyond the statute on who needs a wearable device around a personal watercraft. Whom does it name?4VAC15-430-30(C)
A 13-year-old in Virginia has passed a boating safety course. May the child operate a personal watercraft?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(1)
A personal watercraft passes between a towing boat and its water skier. How does Virginia's statute treat that?Va. Code 29.1-738.03
Before renting a personal watercraft to another person in Virginia, what must the person renting it out have completed?Va. Code 29.1-736(C)
Between what hours is it unlawful to operate a personal watercraft on Virginia waters?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(5)
From what age may a person operate a personal watercraft in Virginia with no course condition tied to age?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(1)
How long may a motorboat be and still be a 'personal watercraft' under Virginia's definition?Va. Code 29.1-700
Section 29.1-700 names the primary motive power of the small craft it calls personal watercraft. What is it?Va. Code 29.1-700
Section 29.1-738.03 adds a court order for repeat offenders that keeps them off personal watercraft. For what period?Va. Code 29.1-738.03
Section 29.1-738.03(1) describes one way of endangering others on a personal watercraft. Which?Va. Code 29.1-738.03
Section 29.1-738.03(4) deals with turning sharply beside a swimmer to douse the swimmer with jet spray. How is that conduct classed?Va. Code 29.1-738.03
Section 29.1-748(A)(3) lists the Coast Guard types that riders of a personal watercraft may wear. Which types?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(3)
Section 29.1-748(A)(4) says where the cord of a cut-off switch goes. Where?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(4)
Virginia's fifty-foot rule for personal watercraft does not stop the craft from towing a person on a rope of what length?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(7)
What does Virginia forbid the owner of a personal watercraft to do?Va. Code 29.1-749(A)
What lets a 14- or 15-year-old operate a personal watercraft in Virginia?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(1)
What limits the number of passengers on a personal watercraft in Virginia?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(6)
What must a business that rents personal watercraft to the public in Virginia give each renter?Va. Code 29.1-749.3
Within what distance of docks, piers, boat ramps and people in the water must a personal watercraft in Virginia keep to the slowest speed that maintains steerage and headway?Va. Code 29.1-748(A)(7)
Personal flotation devices 8
4VAC15-430-30(A)(1) sets the count of wearable devices by the people aboard. What count?4VAC15-430-30(A)
A Virginia business regularly rents out boats that are not motorboats. What must it provide for each passenger?Va. Code 29.1-736(B)
At what hull length does 4VAC15-430-30(B) add a device meant to be thrown?4VAC15-430-30(B)
Besides serviceable condition and a legible approval number, what does Virginia's regulation require of each personal flotation device?4VAC15-430-60
Under Virginia's regulation, when is a wearable device NOT 'readily accessible'?4VAC15-430-50(A)
What does Virginia's regulation require of a throwable device on a recreational vessel?4VAC15-430-50(B)
Which of these need not carry any personal flotation device under Virginia's regulation?4VAC15-430-40(B)
Which vessels does Virginia's regulation excuse from carrying the additional throwable device?4VAC15-430-40(A)
No wake, 50 feet and officers 8
A Virginia court tries a reckless boating charge and finds the degree of culpability slight. What may it find instead?Va. Code 29.1-738.01
Before stopping, boarding and inspecting a vessel under Virginia's boating chapter, what must an officer have done?Va. Code 29.1-745(A)
How does Virginia's boating chapter define 'no wake'?Va. Code 29.1-700
Section 29.1-744.3 slows ordinary motorboats near piers, boathouses, ramps and swimmers. At what range does it start?Va. Code 29.1-744.3
Which person in the water is outside Virginia's 50-foot slow-speed rule for motorboats?Va. Code 29.1-744.3
Which signal from a law-enforcement officer requires a Virginia boater to bring the vessel to a stop promptly?Va. Code 29.1-739.1(A)
Which vessels does section 29.1-745(A) put outside routine stops and inspections in Virginia, except for enforcement of section 29.1-738 and the registration certificate?Va. Code 29.1-745(A)
Without the owner's consent, what must a Virginia officer have before stopping or boarding a noncommercial vessel?Va. Code 29.1-745(B)
Water skiing and divers 7
A Virginia vessel tows a water skier with no observer on board. What makes the tow lawful?Va. Code 29.1-742(A)
How close may a vessel under way come to a structure flying a diver's flag in Virginia?Va. Code 29.1-734.1(C)
Section 29.1-742(B) shuts down ski and surfboard tows for part of the night. Which part?Va. Code 29.1-742(B)
What does Virginia's diver's flag look like?Va. Code 29.1-734.1(B)
What shape and least size does section 29.1-734.1(B) give the dive marker?Va. Code 29.1-734.1(B)
When may a diver's flag be displayed on Virginia waters?Va. Code 29.1-734.1(A)
Who is excused from Virginia's observer and night-hour rules for towing a skier?Va. Code 29.1-742(C)
Operating under the influence 12
A person under 21 operates a motorboat in Virginia after consuming alcohol. From what blood alcohol concentration is that person in violation of section 29.1-738.02?Va. Code 29.1-738.02(A)
A Virginia court finds that a boater unreasonably refused a blood or breath test, a first offense. For how long must it bar the boater from operating a watercraft or motorboat underway?Va. Code 29.1-738.2(E)
After a first conviction under Virginia's reckless or intoxicated boating section, for how long must the court order the person not to operate a watercraft or motorboat underway?Va. Code 29.1-738.4
After a second conviction within ten years under Virginia's section 29.1-738, how long is the court-ordered bar on operating underway?Va. Code 29.1-738.4
Does Virginia's operating under the influence section for boats reach drugs as well as alcohol?Va. Code 29.1-738(B)
For a second unreasonable refusal within five years in Virginia, for how long is the boater barred from operating underway?Va. Code 29.1-738.2(E)
For how long does a Virginia court deny the privilege to operate a watercraft or motorboat after a conviction under the under-21 alcohol section?Va. Code 29.1-738.02(B)
In Virginia's operating under the influence article for boats, what does 'operate' include?Va. Code 29.1-738(C)
Section 29.1-738.2(A) puts the chemical tests in an order after an arrest on the water. What order?Va. Code 29.1-738.2(A)
Virginia bars operating a motorboat underway at the blood alcohol concentration at which it is unlawful to drive a motor vehicle. What is that concentration?Va. Code 29.1-738(B); 18.2-266
Virginia's implied consent to a blood or breath test applies when a boat operator is arrested within what time of the alleged offense?Va. Code 29.1-738.2(A)
When is a vessel 'underway' for Virginia's operating under the influence article?Va. Code 29.1-738(C)
Accidents and reports 7
A bystander in Virginia helps at the scene of a boating accident, in good faith and without pay, acting as a reasonably prudent person would. What does the statute say about civil damages?Va. Code 29.1-739(A)
A Virginia operator knowingly fails to stop and help after a collision that causes serious bodily injury or death. What grade of offense is that?Va. Code 29.1-740
After an accident on Virginia waters, which facts does the boat operator write down for an injured person or a property owner?Va. Code 29.1-739(A)
Is a Virginia boating accident report open to public inspection?Va. Code 29.1-739(B)
Where does section 29.1-739(A) set the limit of the aid owed after a casualty?Va. Code 29.1-739(A)
Which Virginia agency gets the operator's full report of a boating accident under section 29.1-739(B)?Va. Code 29.1-739(B)
Whom must the operator notify, within a reasonable time, of a reportable boating accident in Virginia?Va. Code 29.1-739(B)
Mufflers and rentals 3
What does section 29.1-737 allow by way of muffler cutouts?Va. Code 29.1-737
Where must the muffling device of a Virginia motorboat exhaust, unless it has mechanical baffles?Va. Code 29.1-737
Whose duty is it to equip a rented motorboat as Virginia's boating chapter requires?Va. Code 29.1-736(A)
Registration and numbers 13
A buyer in Virginia holds the dated bill of sale and the former owner's valid registration card. For how long may the buyer operate the vessel?Va. Code 29.1-705
A decal on a Virginia motorboat is lost or defaced. Within how many days must the owner apply for a replacement?Va. Code 29.1-703
A motorboat numbered in another state is exempt from Virginia numbering while it has been in the Commonwealth for less than how long?Va. Code 29.1-710
A numbered Virginia motorboat is destroyed or abandoned. Within how many days must the owner give the Department notice?Va. Code 29.1-708
For how long before and after an authorized race is a racing boat exempt from numbering in Virginia?Va. Code 29.1-710
For which rented vessel may a Virginia owner keep the certificate of number on shore?Va. Code 29.1-702(B)
How close to the registration number must the validation decals sit on a Virginia motorboat?Va. Code 29.1-703
Section 29.1-709 gives a deadline for telling the Department about a new mailing address. How long?Va. Code 29.1-709
What do the decals on a Virginia motorboat signify?Va. Code 29.1-703
What must be done with expired decals on a Virginia vessel?Va. Code 29.1-703
When does a Virginia certificate of number expire?Va. Code 29.1-702(A)
Where does a Virginia owner paint or attach the boat's identification number under section 29.1-702(B)?Va. Code 29.1-702(B)
Where must a Virginia certificate of number be when the motorboat is in operation, apart from the short-rental exception?Va. Code 29.1-702(B)
How this list was compiled: Written only from the Code of Virginia, Title 29.1, Chapter 7, Boating Laws (sections 29.1-700, 29.1-702, 29.1-703, 29.1-705, 29.1-708 to 29.1-710, 29.1-734.1, 29.1-735.2, 29.1-736 to 29.1-738.4, 29.1-739 to 29.1-740, 29.1-742, 29.1-744.3, 29.1-745, 29.1-746 and 29.1-748 to 29.1-749.3), with section 18.2-266 for the alcohol figure that section 29.1-738 borrows, and from two chapters of the Board of Wildlife Resources' regulations in the Virginia Administrative Code: 4VAC15-410 (boating safety education) and 4VAC15-430 (safety equipment). All were read on 2026-10-03 on Virginia's Legislative Information System, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title29.1/chapter7/ and https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title4/agency15/. Each question names its section and links to it. The examination facts are the regulation's own: 4VAC15-410-20 gives the equivalency exam no fewer than 75 and no more than 100 questions, at least 25 of them on Virginia boating laws, and 4VAC15-410-40 sets the pass marks (80 percent on the proctored equivalency exam, 70 percent on a closed-book classroom test, 90 percent on an open-book classroom test or an Internet course's self-test). The Department of Wildlife Resources' boating education page, https://dwr.virginia.gov/boating/education/requirement/, was opened on 2026-10-03; it says all personal watercraft operators of 14 and older and all operators of motorboats with a 10 horsepower or greater engine need a boating safety course. 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
Unofficial practice for the Virginia boating license test, built from the Code of Virginia, Title 29.1, Chapter 7 and the Board of Wildlife Resources' regulations, state law only. Steering and sailing questions live elsewhere on this site. Read October 2026.
Read the full guide
10 horsepower, ages 14 and 16, and 50 feet
Whatever the operator's age, section 29.1-735.2 wants boating safety education behind any motor of 10 horsepower or more and on every personal watercraft. The Commonwealth hands out no boating license. On a personal watercraft the floor is 16, lowered to 14 for a rider who has passed an approved course (29.1-748). Within 50 feet of docks, ramps and people in the water, both kinds of boat slow to steerage speed.
What the regulation says about the equivalency exam
4VAC15-410 gives the proctored equivalency exam 75 to 100 questions, at least 25 on Virginia boating laws, three hours and no reference materials. It passes at 80 percent. A classroom test passes at 70 percent closed-book or 90 percent open-book.
Sunset ends the day for personal watercraft; ski tows get thirty more minutes.
A diver's flag keeps vessels 25 yards away, not 50 feet.
Questions and answers
Do you need a boating license in VA?
No license exists. What Virginia requires is boating safety education, proved by a course certificate or card, for personal watercraft and for motorboats of 10 horsepower or greater. Section 29.1-735.2(B) lists the other ways to comply, such as the proctored equivalency exam.
How many questions are on the Virginia boating exam, and what is the pass mark?
The proctored equivalency exam has 75 to 100 questions and passes at 80 percent (4VAC15-410-20 and 4VAC15-410-40). The shorter 25-question set under Exam mode is this site's invention and carries no passing score.
How old do you have to be to drive a personal watercraft in Virginia?
Sixteen, or 14 or 15 with an approved boating safety education course and proof of it carried while riding (section 29.1-748). Nobody under 14 may operate one.
Is this Virginia boating test from the Department of Wildlife Resources?
No. It is an independent site, not a government one, and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has seen none of it. The section number under each answer lets you read the law yourself. Course topics such as navigation and handling are missing on purpose.