Boating in Puerto Rico: licence, sticker and life jackets

It is the framework law for recreational boating in Puerto Rico. Many of its details are deferred to DRNA regulation — lighting, life-saving, ventilation, fire extinguisher and other equipment, and the standards for operating vessels — but the articles themselves carry the numbers most asked about, and those we publish here. One text detail that surprises people: within marinas and anchorage areas the maximum speed shall be five miles per hour (5 mph), so as not to produce wake. And another: operating vessels of more than thirty (30) horsepower in lagoons and lakes is prohibited, save the exceptions that section itself includes.

For the operating licence: every person born after July 1, 1972 and resident in Puerto Rico who will operate a vessel subject to numbering and registration. The law exempts from that requirement anyone renting a jet ski at an authorized vessel rental business who meets the requirements the law itself sets for that case. There are also age limits for operating: no person under twelve (12) shall operate a motorboat of more than ten (10) horsepower without an adult present; if under ten (10), the motor’s horsepower shall not exceed ten (10); and no person under fourteen (14) shall operate a jet ski without an adult present.

• Operator licence, if you were born after July 1, 1972 and reside in Puerto Rico: obtained by passing a course and its written exam certified by DRNA, the Coast Guard, NASBLA or another entity the Secretary accredits.Verified against the official source
• Evidence of ownership of the vessel, and of payment of fees to the Secretary of the Treasury, for registration or transfer.Verified against the official source
• Evidence of having filed your income tax return for the prior tax year, if you were required to file: by a Treasury certification or a certified copy of the return.Verified against the official source

• If you have no evidence of ownership, the law describes an alternative: an authorization consisting of a sworn statement accompanied by a certification from the Office of the Attorney General of the Department of Justice attesting that the vessel or navigation vehicle is not the subject of criminal litigation.
• For vessels manufactured since January 1, 1998 that must be registered and fall under classes 3, 4, 5 and 6: evidence of excise tax payment from the Department of the Treasury.
• The stamped receipt from the Internal Revenue Collector, which the law requires be kept available at all times for inspection when law enforcement officers ask.

1. 1

   Step 1: Look at your birth date

   That is what decides whether you need a licence. Since January 1, 2001, no person born after July 1, 1972 and resident in Puerto Rico shall operate a vessel subject to numbering and registration without being authorized by a licence obtained by passing a course and its corresponding written exam on the use and handling of vessels and seamanship skills. The course may be implemented or duly certified by DRNA, by the Coast Guard, by the National Association of State Boating Laws Administrators (NASBLA) or by any other entity the Secretary accredits.

2. 2

   Step 2: Register and mark the vessel

   Every vessel subject to numbering and registration found in Puerto Rico waters must be numbered and lettered with a common or proper name, duly registered with the Department. No one shall operate it, or give permission to operate it, unless it is numbered and lettered under this law or under another state’s numbering system approved by the federal government, or it is foreign-flagged; that the Numbering Certificate is in full force and effect; and that the identification number is affixed in a visible place on each side, or where the regulation determines by vessel type. If registered with a name, that name must also be affixed on the stern or where the regulation indicates.

3. 3

   Step 3: Pay the fees and affix the sticker

   The registration or transfer application comes with evidence of ownership and of fee payment to the Secretary of the Treasury, plus evidence of having filed the prior tax year’s return if you were required to file. The Department issues a certification with the size, the payment amount and the municipality where the vessel is located; with it you go to the Internal Revenue Collector to pay the fees, and the Collector gives you a copy of the stamped receipt, which must be available at all times for inspection. The Department registers the vessel, assigns a number and name, and hands over the sticker upon presentation of that receipt. The sticker is affixed in a visible place, on the right side of the bow. For annual renewal, the Department issues the sticker renewal notice upon payment of the fees.

4. 4

   Step 4: Put life jackets where the law requires

   Two different rules. On a jet ski, no person may operate it unless both the operator and the passengers are wearing a life jacket or personal flotation device; the violation carries a fifty (50) dollar administrative fine per violation, by ticket. On a moving vessel, no owner or operator shall allow a person under twelve (12) aboard without wearing a life jacket or personal flotation device; the violation carries a one hundred (100) dollar fine for non-commercial vessels and two hundred fifty (250) for commercial ones, per violation, up to a maximum of one thousand (1,000) dollars per event. It is excepted when the minor is in the interior cabin or the wheelhouse; when the vessel is operated by the Ports Authority or by someone authorized by the Public Service Commission to carry passengers, in which case a life jacket must be available for every passenger at all times; and in activities or practices of sporting events organized by bona fide groups that the Secretary determines by waiver or regulation. And for water skiing: no person shall water ski without wearing a life jacket.

5. 5

   Step 5: Know the three alcohol limits

   The law tiers them by age. It is unlawful for any person twenty-one (21) or older to operate a vessel or navigation vehicle when their blood alcohol content is eight hundredths of one percent (0.08%) or more. For persons between eighteen (18) and twenty (20), the limit is two hundredths of one percent (0.02%) or more. And no person under eighteen (18) may operate a vessel or navigation vehicle with any amount of alcohol in their blood. There is a fourth rule, for public service: it is unlawful for any public employee or official to operate a vessel owned by the Government of Puerto Rico with any amount of alcohol in their blood.

6. 6

   Step 6: Respect the speed, the capacity and the observer

   Three more concrete rules. Within marinas and anchorage areas the maximum speed shall be five miles per hour (5 mph), so as not to produce wake. No owner shall allow operation in excess of the passenger capacity or weight recommended by the manufacturer — for homemade vessels, the guidelines of makers of comparable equipment apply by analogy — and the violation carries a two hundred fifty (250) dollar administrative fine. And to tow someone on water skis, floating boards or a similar device, there must be a person aboard besides the operator in a position to observe the progress of the person being towed; that prohibition does not apply when it is necessary to rescue or assist a person in danger.

7. 7

   Step 7: Do not enter swimmer areas or tie up where you should not

   The law prohibits vessels, navigation vehicles or land motor vehicles from being operated, transiting, cruising, anchoring or otherwise moving through areas reserved for swimmers or areas protecting natural and environmental resources, with express exceptions for rendering aid or seeking shelter in an emergency, for law enforcement officers or Government officials in official duties, and for certain authorized activities. It also prohibits tying or securing a vessel to any buoy or floating marker installed or authorized by the Department, and to a buoy placed by a fisherman to mark a trap’s location. And it punishes with a two hundred fifty (250) dollar administrative fine by ticket tying up to a mangrove species within a protected area, or anchoring outside designated areas near mangroves, corals and seagrass beds in natural resource protection areas, without prejudice to any civil, criminal or administrative action if damage is caused.

The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources administers this law through the Navigation Commissioner: it registers the vessel, assigns the number and name, and hands over the sticker. Fees are paid at the Internal Revenue Collector, and the application requires evidence of ownership and of having filed the prior year’s tax return. The law also empowers the Secretary, in coordination with the Treasury, to use collaborating entities such as banks and vessel dealers to collect fees and issue stickers. The licence course and exam may be given by the Department itself, the Coast Guard, NASBLA or another entity the Secretary accredits.

• Heading out without a licence when born after July 1, 1972 and residing in Puerto Rico.
• Believing the sticker goes anywhere: the law says the right side of the bow, in a visible place.
• Not carrying the stamped Internal Revenue Collector receipt, which must be available at all times for inspection.
• Leaving a child under twelve without a life jacket on a moving vessel outside the named exceptions.
• Getting on a jet ski without a life jacket: the law requires it of the operator and the passengers.
• Applying the 0.08% limit when you are between 18 and 20, whose limit is 0.02%.
• Towing someone on skis without a second person aboard observing.
• Tying up to a Department buoy or to a fisherman’s trap buoy.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA)

  DRNA

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

  DRNA

  www.drna.pr.gov