A District boater does not carry the course evidence on the vessel. Where does the regulation let the boater make it available to the Harbor Master?Answer: At the vessel's launching or berthing point on the shore. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.6
What do the District's harbor regulations give the Harbor Master charge of?Answer: The operation, navigation, mooring and anchoring of all vessels in District waters. Source: 19 DCMR 1000.2
What does the District's harbor chapter state as its policy?Answer: To promote safety for persons and property in the use and operation of vessels. Source: 19 DCMR 1000.1
What must a person who is operating or navigating a vessel on District of Columbia waters have in their possession?Answer: Satisfactory evidence of having completed an approved boating safety course. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.6
Which official do the District's boating definitions mean by the words Harbor Master?Answer: The Metropolitan Police Department official who commands the Harbor Unit. Source: 19 DCMR 1099.1
Who approves the boating safety course that the District's rule for operators under eighteen speaks of?Answer: The Harbor Master. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.5
Who is authorized by the District's harbor regulations to conduct a boating safety and education program?Answer: The Mayor. Source: 19 DCMR 1000.3
Show all 110 questions (103 more)
Operators under 18 and rentals 5
A person under what age may not operate a vessel of sixteen feet or more on District waters without a boating safety course or a qualified supervisor?Answer: Eighteen. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.5
The District's course rule for operators under eighteen applies to vessels of what length?Answer: Sixteen feet or more. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.5
How old must the observer be who rides in a vessel towing a water skier on District waters?Answer: Not less than twelve. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.1
When may a District wharf or pier business rent a vessel to a person under eighteen who has completed no boating safety course?Answer: When the person will be under the constant supervision of a course-trained person of at least eighteen. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.4
Who may supervise an operator under eighteen who has not completed a boating safety course in the District?Answer: A person of at least eighteen who has completed a boating safety course. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.5
Personal flotation devices 9
A commercial vessel in the District carries no passengers for hire. At what length must it carry type I flotation devices for everyone on board?Answer: Forty feet and over. Source: 19 DCMR 1034.3
The District's child flotation rule for recreational vessels underway protects children below what age?Answer: Thirteen. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.7
How must wearable flotation devices be kept on a vessel in District waters?Answer: In good and serviceable condition and readily accessible at all times. Source: 19 DCMR 1034.8
On which stretch of the Potomac River must all persons aboard any vessel wear a personal flotation device at all times under the District's rule?Answer: From Fletcher's Cove upstream to the District boundary line at Little Falls. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.10
The operator of a vessel of sixteen feet or more in the District is under eighteen. Who aboard must wear a personal flotation device?Answer: The operator and all other persons aboard who are under eighteen. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.7
What does the District require of flotation devices that are designed to be thrown?Answer: They are placed on board so as to be immediately available at all times. Source: 19 DCMR 1034.9
What must a canoe rental business in the District do before it rents a canoe?Answer: Instruct the renters in the canoe's operation and the use of its flotation devices. Source: 19 DCMR 1036.4
Which flotation device must a vessel carrying passengers for hire in the District have for each person on board?Answer: At least one type I device of a suitable size. Source: 19 DCMR 1034.3
Who decides the number and type of personal flotation devices a vessel must have on board underway in District waters?Answer: The Coast Guard, for that type of vessel. Source: 19 DCMR 1034.1
Speed limits and negligent operation 17
A vessel near you in District waters is turning, docking or getting underway. What do the regulations forbid?Answer: Operating so as to obstruct, hinder or impede its movement. Source: 19 DCMR 1030.1
A vessel on District waters is hailed while underway by the Harbor Master. What must it do?Answer: Stop immediately and lay to, or maneuver so the Harbor Master can come aboard. Source: 19 DCMR 1022.4
Besides direct collision, what effect of a power vessel's speed do the District's speed rules name as a danger to guard against?Answer: The wash or wake the vessel raises. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.2
From which point upstream does the six mile per hour limit apply in the Washington Channel?Answer: Hains Point. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.4
How do the District's regulations describe the negligent operation they forbid?Answer: Operating or using a vessel so as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.2
How do the District's regulations identify an emergency law enforcement or fire vessel?Answer: Its blue emergency lights are activated or its sirens are sounding. Source: 19 DCMR 1099.1
In the District's boating chapter, 'night' is sunset to sunrise and also any time when objects are not clearly discernible beyond what distance?Answer: Five hundred feet. Source: 19 DCMR 1099.1
In what condition must a vessel be before anyone may operate it on District waters?Answer: Of sound construction and in a good, seaworthy condition. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.8
May a vessel be tied to a privately maintained buoy or aid to navigation in District waters?Answer: No, the rule covers private aids as well as Coast Guard and District ones. Source: 19 DCMR 1030.16
On the Anacostia River, the District's six mile per hour limit runs upstream from Green Leaf Point to which bridge?Answer: The Benning Road Bridge. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.4
What is the speed limit for power-driven vessels on the Potomac River upstream from Arlington Memorial Bridge in the District?Answer: Six statute miles per hour. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.4
What must all vessels do for an emergency law enforcement or fire vessel in District waters?Answer: Yield and lay to. Source: 19 DCMR 1022.4
What speed limit do the District's regulations set for a power-driven vessel passing the wharf area of Alexandria, Virginia?Answer: Ten statute miles per hour. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.4
What speed may a hydrofoil or air cushion vessel not exceed in the Washington Channel?Answer: Six statute miles per hour. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.9
When may the operator of a vessel tie it to a seawall or bridge in District waters?Answer: Only in the case of an emergency. Source: 19 DCMR 1030.15
Which vessels are excused from the District's speed limits while responding to an emergency?Answer: Vessels of the District or United States government. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.3
Whose permission does a vessel need to enter an area of District waters restricted for a regatta or race?Answer: The Harbor Master's. Source: 19 DCMR 1029.1
Water sports, diving and swimming 13
An event sponsor holds a permit from a United States government agency. What does the District's regatta rule say about the Mayor's permit?Answer: It is still required. Source: 19 DCMR 1040.5
Besides the operator, who must be in a vessel that tows a water skier on District waters?Answer: A person placed to observe the progress of the person being towed. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.1
The District's observer and night-time towing rules do not reach which person?Answer: A performer in a professional exhibition held under a permit from the Mayor. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.3
From which vessel may nobody swim or dive under the District's water sports rules?Answer: One that is turning into or from an anchorage or docking, or getting underway. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.4
How close may a person swim or dive to a vessel that is loading or discharging passengers or freight in the District?Answer: No closer than one hundred yards. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.6
How far must other vessels stay from a diving flag displayed in District waters?Answer: One hundred fifty feet. Source: 19 DCMR 1029.7
How long before an aquatic event in District waters must the permit application be filed?Answer: At least thirty days. Source: 19 DCMR 1040.3
What does a regatta, race or marine parade in District waters need before it is held?Answer: A permit issued by the Mayor. Source: 19 DCMR 1040.2
What does the diving flag required in District waters look like?Answer: Red with a white diagonal stripe. Source: 19 DCMR 1029.6
When do the District's regulations forbid towing a person on water skis, an aquaplane or a surfboard?Answer: At any time during the night. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.2
Where in the harbor do the District's water sports rules forbid swimming or diving?Answer: In the marked channels, and from bridges, wharves or piers in or next to them. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.5
Which vessel may operate inside the District's distance from a displayed diving flag?Answer: The vessel or vessels attending the diver. Source: 19 DCMR 1029.7
Which winter activity on District waters needs the Harbor Master's permission under safe conditions?Answer: Any recreation with direct physical contact with the ice, such as ice skating. Source: 19 DCMR 1039.7
Personal watercraft 4
Above what speed does the District's twenty-five yard separation rule for personal watercraft apply?Answer: Ten miles per hour. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.6
During the restricted hours on the date of the annual Independence Day fireworks display, what speed may a personal watercraft not exceed on the named District waters?Answer: Six statute miles per hour. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.7
Two personal watercraft in the District travel faster than ten miles per hour. How far apart from any vessel must their operators steer?Answer: At least twenty-five yards. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.6
Within what distance of another vessel may a personal watercraft operator not jump that vessel's wake on the District's waterway?Answer: One hundred yards. Source: 19 DCMR 1027.5
Operating under the influence 11
A first conviction under the D.C. Code's impaired watercraft section carries what fine or jail term?Answer: A fine of $250, or not more than 30 days, or both. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.34(a)
Besides operating a vessel, what does the District's regulation forbid a person under the influence to use?Answer: Water skis, an aquaplane, a surfboard or a similar device. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.3
The D.C. Code has a second watercraft offense, operating while impaired. What must be impaired?Answer: The person's ability to operate a watercraft, by alcohol or any drug. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.33
For a person 21 or older who is not in a commercial vehicle, what urine alcohol concentration does the D.C. Code's definition of 'intoxicated' give?Answer: 0.10 grams or more per 100 milliliters. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.01(9)
For a person under 21, how much alcohol in the blood, urine or breath meets the D.C. Code's definition of 'intoxicated'?Answer: Any measurable amount. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.01(9)
For what purpose may the Harbor Master stop and board a vessel subject to the District's harbor chapter?Answer: To inspect it or determine compliance with the chapter. Source: 19 DCMR 1022.1
Under the D.C. Code, 'intoxicated' means an alcohol concentration at the time of testing of how much per 210 liters of breath?Answer: 0.08 grams or more. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.01(9)
What does the D.C. Code forbid a person who is intoxicated to do with a watercraft in the District?Answer: Operate it or be in physical control of it. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.31
What is the D.C. Code's penalty for a first offense of operating a watercraft under the influence?Answer: A fine of $1,000, or not more than 180 days, or both. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.32(a)
Which of these counts as 'watercraft' under the D.C. Code's impaired operating law?Answer: Water skis, an aquaplane or a sailboard, as well as a boat or ship. Source: D.C. Code 50-2206.01(23)
Which of these does the District's vessel operation rule name alongside alcohol in its ban on operating under the influence?Answer: Marijuana, or any narcotic drug, barbiturate or hallucinogen. Source: 19 DCMR 1026.3
Accidents, reports and the Harbor Master 15
A friend operates your vessel in District waters with your consent and has a collision. How do the regulations treat the friend?Answer: As the agent of the owner of the vessel. Source: 19 DCMR 1024.1
A passenger disappears from a vessel in District waters. Whom must the operator notify immediately?Answer: The Harbor Master. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.6
A person dies within twenty-four hours of a boating incident in the District. When is the written report due?Answer: Within forty-eight hours of the incident. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.5
A vessel is sunk in an emergency in District waters. Within how many days must it be removed, unless the Harbor Master extends the time in writing?Answer: Five days. Source: 19 DCMR 1030.9
Damage to the vessel and other property above what total calls for a written accident report in the District?Answer: $200. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.4
The Harbor Master sees a vessel in use without sufficient lifesaving equipment. What may the Harbor Master order?Answer: That the operator proceed to a designated location and remain until the hazard is remedied. Source: 19 DCMR 1022.5
How many outstanding violation notices against an unattended vessel allow it to be impounded in the District?Answer: Two or more. Source: 19 DCMR 1023.1
In what form must the operator of a vessel in a District collision give name, address and vessel identification to an injured person?Answer: In writing. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.2
What does proof of ownership of a vessel show at first sight under the District's civil liability rule?Answer: That the person operated the vessel with the owner's consent. Source: 19 DCMR 1024.2
What is the ordinary deadline for filing a boating accident report in the District?Answer: Within ten days of the incident. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.5
Which outcome, with no injury and no dollar figure, still calls for a written accident report in the District?Answer: A complete loss of a vessel. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.4
Which unsafe condition may the District's Fire Chief act on by ordering a vessel to a designated location?Answer: An accumulation of fuel in the bilge compartment. Source: 19 DCMR 1022.6
Who files the accident report in the District when the operator is incapable or unavailable?Answer: The owner of the vessel. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.4
Who may inspect a boating accident report filed in the District, although it is closed to public inspection?Answer: Any person named in the report, or a designated representative. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.7
With which agency is a written boating accident or casualty report filed in the District?Answer: The Metropolitan Police Department. Source: 19 DCMR 1031.4
Mufflers, anchoring and liveries 13
A District rental business writes down who took each vessel out. For at least how long must that entry be kept?Answer: At least six months. Source: 19 DCMR 1036.2
Besides the renter, whose names and addresses must a District boat livery record?Answer: All persons to be carried on the vessel. Source: 19 DCMR 1036.1
For how long may a vessel anchor outside an established anchorage area in District waters without the Harbor Master's prior approval?Answer: No more than twenty-four hours. Source: 19 DCMR 1028.5
For which use may a vessel anchored or berthed in District waters not be used, unless the Mayor provides otherwise by regulation?Answer: Multi-family dwelling purposes. Source: 19 DCMR 1041.4
What do the District's noise rules say about generators and pumps on vessels?Answer: They may not be operated so as to create a nuisance. Source: 19 DCMR 1035.5
What do the District's regulations say about discharging gasoline or waste into District waters from a vessel?Answer: It is prohibited. Source: 19 DCMR 1033.1
What does an amphibian aircraft need before it lands on or takes off from District waters, outside an emergency?Answer: The prior written approval of the Mayor. Source: 19 DCMR 1042.1
What must the mufflers on a vessel with internal combustion engines prevent under the District's regulations?Answer: Any unnecessary, intense or prolonged noise. Source: 19 DCMR 1035.1
When may a horn, bell or siren be used on a vessel in District waters?Answer: When the Navigation Rules require or permit it, or during public ceremonies. Source: 19 DCMR 1035.4
Which vessels are exempt from the District's muffler requirement?Answer: Vessels taking part in a regulated regatta or race. Source: 19 DCMR 1035.2
Which warning do the District's minimum standards for canoe safety instructions name?Answer: To avoid standing up in the canoe while underway. Source: 19 DCMR 1036.6
Who may place mooring buoys in District of Columbia waters?Answer: No person other than the Harbor Master. Source: 19 DCMR 1028.8
Whose permit or license is needed to keep gasoline for sale on board a vessel in District waters?Answer: The Fire Chief's. Source: 19 DCMR 1032.3
Registration and numbering 16
A registered vessel is out on District waters. Where do the regulations want its Certificate of Number kept?Answer: On the vessel, available for inspection. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.3
A vessel is no longer principally used in District waters. After how many days is its Certificate of Number invalid?Answer: Fifty days. Source: 19 DCMR 1005.4
A vessel numbered in another state uses District waters. After how many consecutive days does a rebuttable presumption arise that the use is no longer temporary?Answer: More than fifty days. Source: 19 DCMR 1001.3
For how long after an application for a Certificate of Number is filed may a vessel operate unregistered in the District, with visible evidence of the application aboard?Answer: Not more than thirty days. Source: 19 DCMR 1001.5
How close to the identification number must the annual validation sticker be displayed on an undocumented vessel in the District?Answer: Within six inches. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.14
How many days of use in District waters during a calendar year are prima facie evidence that a visiting vessel's use is no longer temporary?Answer: One hundred eighty-three days or more. Source: 19 DCMR 1001.4
How tall must the block characters of a vessel's identification number be at least in the District?Answer: Three inches. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.8
In the District's boating definitions, a 'boat' includes a vessel engaged in carrying how many passengers?Answer: Six or fewer. Source: 19 DCMR 1099.1
On which part of the hull does the District have a registered vessel show its number?Answer: On each side of the forward half. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.7
What must the operator of a rented livery boat in the District have on board when its Certificate of Number is kept on shore?Answer: A signed copy of the lease or rental agreement. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.5
What must the owner remove from a vessel when its District Certificate of Number expires or becomes invalid?Answer: The identification number and the validation stickers. Source: 19 DCMR 1005.7
Which of these shows the spacing the District requires between the letter and number groups of an identification number?Answer: DC 5678 EF. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.9
Which rented boat's Certificate of Number may stay on shore under the District's rule?Answer: A livery boat under twenty-six feet rented for less than seven days. Source: 19 DCMR 1004.4
Which use of a vessel takes it out of the District's duty to register with the Harbor Master?Answer: A vessel used exclusively for racing. Source: 19 DCMR 1001.5
With whom must the owner of a vessel using District waters register it, unless an exemption applies?Answer: The Harbor Master. Source: 19 DCMR 1001.1
Within how many days must a registered owner tell the Harbor Master in writing of a change of address or the theft of the vessel?Answer: Fifteen days. Source: 19 DCMR 1003.3
How this list was compiled: Written only from the District of Columbia's own boating law. (1) District of Columbia Municipal Regulations, Title 19, Chapter 10, Harbor and Boating Safety (sections 1000, 1001, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1026 to 1036, 1039 to 1042 and 1099), each section's text downloaded on 2026-10-03 from its page on dcregs.dc.gov, the site of the Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances; each question links to that page, in the form https://dcregs.dc.gov/Common/DCMR/SectionList.aspx?SectionNumber=19-1026. (2) The D.C. Official Code, sections 50-2206.01 and 50-2206.31 to 50-2206.34, as published by the Council of the District of Columbia at https://code.dccouncil.gov/. That site asks readers not to scrape it and to use its bulk download, so the section text was read on 2026-10-03 in the Council's own bulk publication at https://github.com/DCCouncil/law-html (publication dated 2026-05-19), and each question links to the section's page on code.dccouncil.gov. Section 19-1026 speaks of a boating safety course approved by the Harbor Master; nothing read gives a number of questions or a pass mark for any examination, so none is stored here. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site from the regulation and 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
Use this unofficial DC boating license study guide for the District's own law and nothing more: Title 19, Chapter 10 of the Municipal Regulations and the D.C. Code, section named under each answer. No navigation rules. Read October 2026.
Read the full guide
Sixteen feet, age 18, six miles per hour
Section 1026 asks anyone operating a vessel for evidence of an approved boating safety course. Under 18, a vessel of sixteen feet or more needs that course or a trained supervisor of 18. There is no District boating license. Power-driven vessels hold to six statute miles per hour above Arlington Memorial Bridge, in the Washington Channel above Hains Point and on the Anacostia from Green Leaf Point to the Benning Road Bridge (1027).
What the regulations say about the course
The course is one the Harbor Master approves; the Harbor Master is the Metropolitan Police Department official who commands the Harbor Unit. Chapter 10 sets no question count and no passing score.
Two reporting clocks: forty-eight hours when someone dies within a day, needs treatment beyond first aid or disappears; ten days for other reportable accidents.
A diving flag keeps other vessels 150 feet away; water skiing stops at night and needs an observer of 12.
Questions and answers
Do you need a boating license in DC?
No boating license exists in the District. Section 1026.6 of Title 19 has anyone operating a vessel carry evidence of an approved boating safety course, or make it available to the Harbor Master at the launching or berthing point on shore.
How old do you have to be to drive a boat in DC?
Under 18, a person may not operate a vessel of sixteen feet or more without an approved boating safety course, unless supervised by a person of 18 or older who has completed one (section 1026.5).
How many questions are on the DC boating safety course exam, and what is the pass mark?
The regulations give neither number. They speak of a boating safety course approved by the Harbor Master. Twenty-five questions make one Exam mode round on this page; this site fixed that size, and no pass line comes with it.
Is this study guide from the Metropolitan Police Department?
No. Neither the department nor its Harbor Patrol wrote or reviewed these questions, and this is not a government website. Each answer shows the section of the Municipal Regulations or the D.C. Code behind it, with a link to the District's published page.