Courses & certification
The Florida boating safety course
One approved course, ten chapters, and the card at the end of it. Take it on any device, at your own pace, and we file your completion with the state.
- Format100% online
- Time3–4 hours
- ExamFree retakes
- You getState ID card
How it works
Get your Florida boating card in four steps
Take the course, pass the exam, and be certified for life. Nothing to mail, nothing to book, nobody to meet.
- 1est. 2–3 minsSign upCreate your BoaterReady account, choose your course, and get started. It takes a few minutes.
- 2est. 3–4 hrsStudy and pass the courseTake the course on desktop, tablet or mobile. We save your progress automatically, so you can learn at your own pace.
- 3est. 1–5 minsPrint your certificatePass the final exam and print your course completion certificate straight away. With photo ID, it covers you while the state makes your card.
- 4est. 0 minsGo boatingHit the water. You are set to legally operate a boat, and your permanent card follows by mail.
Most people finish in an evening or two. Stop and come back as often as you like.
The course
What is in the Florida boating course?
Florida law and the national standard, written for Florida water rather than adapted from another state. Ten chapters, each lesson short enough to finish between interruptions.
Ten chapters, about three to four hours
Every topic ends with questions that check you actually got it. Nothing is timed and nothing is locked behind a video you cannot skip back through.
- 3–4 hours
- 10 chapters
- Any device
Before you leave the dock
Weather, float plans, fueling, launching and the checks that prevent most bad days before the engine starts.
Your boat and required equipment
The parts of a boat, capacity and registration, plus the safety gear Florida requires on board: life jackets, signals, extinguishers, lights.
Rules of the road
Lookout, safe speed, meeting, crossing and overtaking, sound signals, fog, and reading other boats' lights at night.
Navigation aids and the Intracoastal
Channel markers, regulatory signs, charts and tides, and the rules for paddlers in the Intracoastal Waterway.
Florida law on the water
Who must carry the card, the exemptions, boating under the influence, and your duties after an accident.
Manatee zones and protected waters
Idle speed and slow speed zones, emergency and construction vessels, manatees, sea turtles and seagrass.
When things go wrong
Cold water, someone overboard, capsizing, fire, running aground, anchoring, and calling for help.
Jet skis, towing and divers
Florida's personal watercraft rules, towing skiers and tubes legally, and boating safely near divers.
Choose your license
Both include the full course and the exam. The difference is what you carry afterwards.
Temporary license
A short course and the state's temporary certificate exam, for a short stay in Florida.
$19once
Short-term and Florida only. For the permanent card, take the lifetime course.
What's included
- A Florida study course to prepare you
- The state's temporary certificate exam
- Free exam retakes
- Proof of passing the moment you pass
- The state's temporary certificate, Florida only
Lifetime license
The full course and final exam, ending in the permanent state card.
$49.95once
State card fee included. Nothing to renew.
What's included
- The full state-approved course
- The final exam
- Free exam retakes
- Printable certificate the moment you pass
- The permanent state card, fee included
- Completion reported to the FWC for you
What other approved providers charge
- BoaterReady$49.95
- Provider 1$39.95
- Provider 2$44.95
- Provider 3$49.99
Prices read from each provider's own Florida course page on August 24, 2026. Prices change — if that date looks old, check before relying on it.
Get certified this week.
About three to four hours, on the phone in your hand.