SubTitle15-140f-1_15-140f-5. Boating Safety, Title15 Navigation and Aeronautics, Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies

Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (Last Updated: June 14,2023)

SubTitle15-140f-1_15-140f-5. Boating Safety

Sec. 15-140f-1. Safe boating certificate course content. Safe water skiing endorsement course content

Latest version.

(a) Any person required by subsections (a) or (b) of section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes to successfully complete a course prior to issuance of a safe boating certificate shall complete a course in safe boating operation which, for purposes of these regulations, shall include a minimum of eight hours of classroom instruction. Said course shall subscribe to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) National Boating Education Standards amended from time to time and available online at www.nasbla.org or from the NASBLA Headquarters Office, 1648 McGrathiana Parkway, Suite 360, Lexington, KY 40511. Said course shall include a section on Invasive Aquatic Vegetation as described in subsection (h) of section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(b) For purposes of this section, and section 15-140e and subsection (c) of section 15-140f of the Connecticut General Statutes, the following courses in safe boating operation may be approved by the commissioner:

(1) Classroom courses with a proctored, closed-book examination in safe boating operation taught by Department of Energy and Environmental Protection personnel or their agents who have been designated to teach such course by the commissioner;

(2) Classroom courses in safe boating operation which have been approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators with a proctored, closed-book examination;

(3) Classroom courses in safe boating operation taught by members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary with a proctored, closed-book examination; and

(4) Classroom courses in safe boating operation taught by members of the United States Power Squadrons with a proctored, closed-book examination.

(c) Any person required by section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes to complete instruction in safe water skiing as a prerequisite to receiving a safe water skiing endorsement shall be required to successfully complete a course of instruction approved by the commissioner.

(1) Only those instructional courses in safe water skiing and their associated examinations approved, in writing, by the commissioner shall be accepted as meeting the prerequisite for receiving a safe water skiing endorsement. The commissioner shall determine whether an instruction course and examination meets the requirements set forth in this section. An approved instruction course or examination that is altered in a way that omits required content shall be deemed to be unapproved until the commissioner approves, in writing, the change(s) or alteration(s).

(A) Any instruction course in safe water skiing that is approved by the commissioner shall include, at a minimum, the following topics: responsibilities and requirements of the vessel owner, operator, and observer while a vessel is engaged in water skiing; responsibilities and requirements of the person or persons being towed; and recognized safety practices for water skiing.

(B) Any person seeking to obtain a safe water skiing endorsement and who is required by section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes to obtain such safe water skiing endorsement prior to operating a vessel engaged in water skiing shall be required to pass an examination consisting of a minimum of ten questions regarding safe water skiing practices with a passing score of eighty percent (80%) prior to being issued a safe water skiing endorsement.

(C) The commissioner shall incorporate the safe water skiing instruction and examination described in this section into approved safe boating courses offered pursuant to sections 15-140f and 15-140j of the Connecticut General Statutes. There shall be no additional fee for the safe water skiing instruction and examination where it has been incorporated into such courses. The commissioner may offer the safe water skiing instruction and examination described in this section as a stand-alone class. There shall be no fee for such stand-alone class, except that a facility fee of not more than ten dollars ($10), as requested by the facility and approved by the commissioner, may be charged per student and paid to the facility for those classes that take place on property which use is not under the control of the commissioner. The commissioner may charge an administrative fee of not more than ten dollars ($10) per student for an online safe water skiing instruction course approved by the commissioner. An examination administrative fee of not more than ten dollars ($10) per student may be charged by a provider of an online course that has been approved, in writing, by the commissioner.

(2) The commissioner shall issue the safe water skiing endorsement as a mark or notation on a person’s safe boating certificate or certificate of personal watercraft operation.

(A) The commissioner may issue a stand-alone safe water skiing endorsement to those persons seeking a safe water skiing endorsement who are not required by section 15-140e or section 15-140j of the Connecticut General Statutes to obtain or possess a safe boating certificate or certificate of personal watercraft operation, respectively.

(B) The commissioner shall not issue a safe water skiing endorsement to persons who hold a temporary safe boating certificate or a temporary certificate of personal watercraft operation.

(d) A list of approved courses shall be maintained by the commissioner.

(Effective September 24, 1992; Transferred and Amended September 8, 1998; Amended March 9, 2004; Amended December 22, 2016)

Sec. 15-140f-2. Proctored examinations for safe boating certificates

Latest version.

(a) Any person taking an approved course in safe boating operation as the prerequisite for issuance of a safe boating certificate shall also be required to pass a proctored closed book examination to be given at the conclusion of such course. In the case of a course in safe boating operation taught by Department of Environmental Protection personnel or its agents, such examination shall consist of no fewer than fifty questions prepared by the Commissioner. The minimum score to pass such examination shall be eighty percent correct answers.

(b) As provided by Section 15-140e(b)(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, any person may take an equivalency examination in order to satisfy the prerequisite for issuance of a safe boating certificate. Such examination may be taken only one time. The equivalency examination shall be taken upon application, in person at a place and at a time designated by the Commissioner and shall consist of a closed book examination of no fewer than fifty questions prepared by the Commissioner. The minimum score to pass such examination shall be eighty percent correct answers. Any person who fails to pass such examination shall be required to successfully complete an approved course in safe boating operation as identified in Section 15-140f-1 or 15-140j-2(c)(1) of the Regulations of the Connecticut State Agencies as a prerequisite to receiving a safe boating certificate.

(Effective September 24, 1992; Transferred and AmendedSeptember 8, 1998; Amended March 9, 2004; Amended July 8, 2011)

Sec. 15-140f-3. Issuance of safe boating certificates

Latest version.

(a) Any person required by subsection (a) of Section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes to obtain a safe boating certificate shall apply to the Commissioner for such certificate on a form provided by the Commissioner. The applicant shall provide the following information on the form: the applicant's name, address, date of birth, place of birth, phone number, sex, hair color, eye color, and height. Proof of identity shall be required as provided in subsection (a) of Section 14-137-67 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, except that a valid Connecticut motor vehicle operator's license with photograph of the applicant, or an acknowledgment of the identity of the applicant, taken by a person authorized by Section 1-29 of the Connecticut General Statutes to take such acknowledgment, if submitted as part of the application shall be conclusive proof of the identity of the applicant.

(b) A safe boating certificate issued to any person less than twelve years of age shall have a notation thereon that the holder of such certificate shall not operate a vessel with a motor of greater than ten horsepower unless he is under the on-board supervision of a person at least eighteen years of age who has been issued a safe boating certificate.

(c) Each safe boating certificate issued by the Commissioner shall be assigned a boat operator number unique to the person to whom such certificate is issued and the same number shall be assigned to any duplicates of such certificate. Only one safe boating certificate and boat operator number shall be assigned to any person and no person shall apply for or obtain more than one such certificate or number.

(d) No person shall make a material false statement on an application to obtain a safe boating certificate or duplicate certificate and every statement made on any such application shall be upon oath or affirmation. The certificate of any person who knowingly makes a material false statement, or provides insufficient funds for payment of applicable fees, or obtains any certificate to which he is not entitled, shall be null and void.

(e) No person shall alter or deface a safe boating certificate or a duplicate certificate, and no person shall exhibit to any enforcement officer identified in Section 15-154 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a certificate or duplicate certificate which has been altered or defaced, or a certificate or duplicate certificate other than the one issued to him.

(f) Duplicates of safe boating certificates may be issued by the Commissioner only to applicants who change their legal name or to applicants whose certificate is lost, stolen, or destroyed upon application to the Commissioner on a form provided by the Commissioner. Every statement made on any such application shall be upon oath or affirmation. Information to be provided by the applicant may include any or all of the items which the Commissioner, in his sole discretion, deems required for issuance of an original certificate. Any person to whom a duplicate certificate is issued who subsequently finds or has returned to him the original or previous duplicate of such certificate shall, within five days, return his last-issued certificate to the Boating Division of the Department of Environmental Protection.

(g) Temporary safe boating certificates shall be subject to the same provisions regarding issuance of safe boating certificates set forth in subsections (a) through (f) of this section. Each application for a temporary certificate shall be accompanied by a certificate of number or certificate of decal issued to the applicant for his vessel on the date of vessel registration. Temporary certificates shall expire in three months from the date of vessel registration as is provided for in Section 15-140e(c) of the Connecticut General Statutes. No person shall be issued more than one temporary safe boating certificate and issuance of a temporary certificate shall not entitle the holder thereof to issuance of a lifetime certificate as provided for by subsection (a) of Section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes.

(h) Any person applying for a safe boating certificate by providing proof that he has successfully completed an approved course in safe boating operation shall provide with his application the original document demonstrating successful course completion, or a copy thereof, or an original statement, written on the letterhead of and signed by an authorized representative of the agency or organization which gave such course, attesting to the existence of records which show that the applicant successfully completed such course. The Commissioner may waive such requirement of proof when verification is obtained from records of the Commissioner which show such approved course in safe boating operation was successfully completed.

(i) Any person applying for a safe boating certificate by providing proof that he has successfully passed an equivalency examination shall provide with his application the original document demonstrating that the applicant passed such examination. The Commissioner may waive such requirement of proof when verification is obtained from records of the Commissioner which show such examination was passed.

(Effective September 24, 1992; Transferred and AmendedSeptember 8, 1998; Amended January 3, 2007; Amended July 8, 2011)

Sec. 15-140f-4. Fees for safe boating certificate courses and examinations and for issuing safe boating certificates, temporary safe boating certificates and duplicate certificates

Latest version.

(a) There shall be no fee for an approved course in safe boating operation taught by Department of Environmental Protection personnel or its agents.

(b) The fee for a safe boating certificate equivalency examination shall be seventy five dollars for any person taking such examination.

(d) The Commissioner may set a fee for issuance of a duplicate safe boating certificate of twenty dollars.

(e) Duplicate certificates issued because of name change due to marriage or divorce shall be free of charge.

(f) The fee payable under this section for an equivalency examination shall be paid prior to taking such examination. Fees for issuance of certificates payable under this section shall accompany the application for a safe boating certificate, temporary safe boating certificate or duplicate certificate.

(Adopted effective March 9, 2004; Amended July 8, 2011)

Sec. 15-140f-5. Reciprocal agreements with other states

Latest version.

(a) Any person who possesses a safe boating or a personal watercraft operation certificate issued by a state having an agreement of reciprocity with the Commissioner may present evidence of said certificate to satisfy the educational requirements, as described in Sections 15-140e and 15-140j of the Connecticut General Statutes, for the issuance of a Connecticut safe boating certificate or a certificate of personal watercraft operation.

(b) Any person who is required to possess a safe boating certificate under Section 15-140e of the Connecticut General Statutes, or a certificate of personal watercraft operation under Section 15-140j of the Connecticut General Statutes, and who possesses a safe boating certificate or certificate of personal watercraft operation issued by a state having an agreement of reciprocity with the Commissioner, shall obtain a safe boating certificate or certificate of personal watercraft operation issued by the Commissioner within ninety days of becoming a resident of this state.

(Adopted effective January 3, 2007; Amended July 8, 2011)