To rent a boat in Florida, you need to complete an approved Boating Safety Course. The FWC website links to approved courses for this. If you were born before January 1, 1988 you are exempt from needing this certificate.
No, you are no required to hire a captain if the vessel is registered as a pleasure craft. That said after about 40 feet you will most Likely need crew to safely run it.
Florida State Law requires that you be at least 21 years old and in possession of a Florida Boater's License in order to operate any boat with an engine of 10 horsepower and above in Florida waters. This means you meed a boater's license to rent a pontoon boat.
However, you must be 18 years of age or older to rent a boat or PWC.
Note: This information is accurate as of February 2022 and is subject to change in May of each year. Please call the FWC's Boating Safety Section at 850-488-5600 for annual updates to this information or questions regarding boating safety course requirements. There is no minimum age to operate a boat.
Age Requirements to Rent a Boat In most cases, you'll need to be at least 18 years old to consider power boat rentals. In some others you may need to be 21 or even 25; the rental companies set their own policies and they may vary a bit from one to the next.
The State of Florida doesn't have classic “boating licenses,” but offers Boating Safety Education Identification Cards. These are absolutely mandatory for anyone born on or after January 1, 1988 who wants to rent a boat of 10 horsepower or more.
To rent a boat in Florida, you need to complete an approved Boating Safety Course. The FWC website links to approved courses for this. If you were born before January 1, 1988 you are exempt from needing this certificate.
What is required to rent a boat? You need to be at least 27 years old of age & have a valid photo ID and a major credit card. Also if you were born after January 1st 1988 you need to have the Florida Boater's Education Card or equivalent in another state or country with you.