Boaters 12 Years of Age and Younger Must Wear PFDs Anytime Boat Not Moored

Boat operators need to remember that anytime their vessel is moving, even if it is only adrift, any passenger 12 years of age and younger must wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). 

If a boat is not docked or tied to a fixed object, then a young passenger is required to wear a PFD (life jacket).  A boat does not have to be under the power of a motor for the law to apply.  It applies even if the boat is just drifting. 

“Young boaters that are in a cabin or enclosed area aren’t required to wear a PFD,” noted TWRA’s Chief of Boating Ed Carter.  “Minus those enclosures, however, the law helps provide protection to our boating youngsters.”  The PFD law has been required for several years by TWRA, but is now also a U.S. Coast Guard law nationwide.