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Float plan checklist: sources and guidance

A float plan tells someone ashore who is aboard, what the boat looks like, where you are going and when to call for help. This checklist records those details and the federal safety equipment on board, such as a wearable life jacket for each person [18].

Purpose

Use this float plan checklist to write down the facts someone ashore would need if you do not come back on time: who is aboard, what the boat looks like, how to reach you, where you are going and when to raise the alarm. The plan is only useful if a person you trust holds a copy and knows what to do with it.

The checklist also records the safety equipment on board. Some of it is set by federal rules for recreational boats, for example at least one wearable life jacket for each person [18]. Those items cite the rule; the rest of the float plan is good practice and is marked that way in the sources.

Who should use it

The operator of any recreational boat, from a kayak or paddleboard to a cruising sailboat or sportfishing boat. Anyone going along can ask the operator whether a plan has been left. The person who holds the plan ashore uses it to decide when to call for help and what to tell rescuers.

How often

Before every trip on the water, as good practice. Update the plan and tell your shore contact if your route or return time changes, and close it by telling them when you are back.

How to use this checklist

  1. Fill in the vessel and communication sections once, then check them before each trip. A recent photo of the boat helps rescuers recognize it.
  2. Walk the boat and record the safety equipment that is actually on board. Mark N/A only where the help text says an item does not apply to your boat or trip.
  3. List every person aboard, the route, the expected return time and the time after which your contact should call for help.
  4. Give a copy to your shore contact and make sure they have the numbers to call.
  5. When you return, tell your contact you are back, even if you are late.

Two equipment items are marked critical: a wearable life jacket for each person and a life jacket on every child under 13 while under way (unless below decks or in an enclosed cabin), because the rules say no one may use or operate the boat otherwise [17] [20].

What the rules say

No federal rule cited here requires a recreational boater to write a float plan; the plan is good practice. The federal equipment rules that the checklist records are these:

  • At least one wearable life jacket (PFD) must be on board for each person [18]. Recreational vessels 16 ft or longer also carry one throwable PFD [19], except canoes and kayaks [23]. Racing shells, rowing sculls, racing canoes and racing kayaks are exempted from carrying PFDs [24].
  • A child under 13 aboard a recreational vessel under way wears a Coast Guard approved PFD [21] or is below decks or in an enclosed cabin [22].
  • On coastal waters and the high seas [4], boats 16 ft or longer carry visual distress signals [9] for day and night use [8], and smaller boats carry night signals between sunset and sunrise [10]. Night signals between sunset and sunrise [15] [16] are all that is needed for boats in an organized marine parade, regatta, race or similar event [12], manually propelled boats [13], and open sailboats under 26 ft without propulsion machinery [14]. A signal that needs a launcher is carried with an approved launcher [11].
  • Fire protection rules apply to recreational vessels propelled or controlled by machinery [25]. Check the carriage table and exceptions for your vessel in 33 CFR 175.320 [28]. Extinguishers must be unexpired, unused and serviceable [26] [27]. The Coast Guard explains that a date-stamped disposable extinguisher older than 12 years is expired and must be removed from service [34].
  • On US inland waters [29], the lights rules apply from sunset to sunrise [30], and a vessel under 12 m that carries no whistle has some other means of making an efficient sound signal [33].
  • A numbered vessel carries its certificate of number, in paper or digital form [2] [3].

What this checklist does not cover

  • This is not the U.S. Coast Guard's own float plan form, and it is not filed with any agency; the record stays with the person ashore you choose.
  • State boating laws and regulations. Check your state's rules as well as the federal ones summarized here.
  • Commercial, charter and inspected passenger vessels; this page does not address their equipment or crewing rules.
  • The International Navigation Rules and equipment rules for voyages outside US waters.
  • Choosing, sizing and servicing life jackets; follow each life jacket's approval label and owner's manual.

Questions

What safety equipment has to be on a recreational boat?

At least one wearable life jacket for each person [18], plus a throwable PFD on recreational vessels 16 ft or longer [19]. On coastal waters, boats 16 ft or longer also carry visual distress signals [4] [9], and motorboats carry fire extinguishers unless an exception applies [28]. Your state may add more.

Do children have to wear life jackets on a boat?

Under the federal rule, no one may operate a recreational vessel under way with a child under 13 aboard [20] unless the child is wearing a Coast Guard approved PFD [21] or is below decks or in an enclosed cabin [22].

Do kayaks and canoes need life jackets?

Yes, at least one wearable life jacket for each person [18]. Canoes and kayaks 16 ft or longer do not need the extra throwable PFD [23], and racing canoes and racing kayaks are exempted from carrying PFDs [24].

Do I need my boat registration on board?

For a vessel with propulsion machinery of any type [1], the operator has on board, in hard copy or digital form [2], a valid certificate of number or temporary certificate for that vessel [3].

Do I need distress flares on a lake?

The federal visual distress signal rules apply to boats on the coastal waters of the United States and on the high seas [4]. Coastal waters include the US waters of the Great Lakes [5], the territorial seas [6], and connected bays, sounds, harbors and rivers down to the point where they narrow to 2 nautical miles across [7]. On an inland lake that is not part of these coastal waters, the federal signal rules do not apply, but check your state's rules; carrying signals anyway is good practice.

Sources

Each cited excerpt was found word for word in the official text on the date shown.

  1. [1]33 CFR 173.11 Applicability (vessel numbering, subpart B) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  2. [2]33 CFR 173.21 Certificate of number and temporary certificate (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  3. [3]33 CFR 173.21 Certificate of number and temporary certificate (a)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  4. [4]33 CFR 175.101 Applicability (visual distress signals, subpart C) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  5. [5]33 CFR 175.105 Definitions (visual distress signals) (b)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  6. [6]33 CFR 175.105 Definitions (visual distress signals) (b)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  7. [7]33 CFR 175.105 Definitions (visual distress signals) (b)(3) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  8. [8]33 CFR 175.110 Visual distress signals required (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  9. [9]33 CFR 175.110 Visual distress signals required (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  10. [10]33 CFR 175.110 Visual distress signals required (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  11. [11]33 CFR 175.113 Launchers (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  12. [12]33 CFR 175.115 Exceptions (visual distress signals) (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  13. [13]33 CFR 175.115 Exceptions (visual distress signals) (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  14. [14]33 CFR 175.115 Exceptions (visual distress signals) (c) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  15. [15]33 CFR 175.115 Exceptions (visual distress signals) (introductory text) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  16. [16]33 CFR 175.115 Exceptions (visual distress signals) (introductory text) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  17. [17]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  18. [18]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (a)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  19. [19]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  20. [20]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (c) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  21. [21]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (c)(1) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  22. [22]33 CFR 175.15 Personal flotation devices required (c)(2) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  23. [23]33 CFR 175.17 Exemptions (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  24. [24]33 CFR 175.17 Exemptions (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  25. [25]33 CFR 175.301: recreational vessel fire protection — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  26. [26]33 CFR 175.310: recreational vessel fire protection — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  27. [27]33 CFR 175.310: recreational vessel fire protection — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  28. [28]33 CFR 175.320: recreational vessel fire protection — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 25, 2026.
  29. [29]33 CFR 83.01 Purpose and applicability (Inland Navigation Rules) (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  30. [30]33 CFR 83.20 Application (Rule 20, lights and shapes) (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  31. [31]33 CFR 83.20 Application (Rule 20, lights and shapes) (c) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  32. [32]33 CFR 83.33 Equipment for sound signals (Rule 33) (a) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  33. [33]33 CFR 83.33 Equipment for sound signals (Rule 33) (b) — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register). Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  34. [34]Fire Extinguishers Requirements for the Recreational Boater FAQ — United States Coast Guard. Retrieved September 25, 2026.

Guidance, not legal advice. It does not replace the law, the manufacturer's instructions or your organization's competent people.