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Do Adults need a Life Jacket in a Kayak ?

November 24, 2021 9 min read

One of the most common queries that we come across is if adults need a life jacket while kayaking.

The simple answer to this question is that most of the states don’t require adults to wear the life jackets but there is a requirement for life jackets to be worn by children under a particular age which differs from state to state. But in our opinion there are some very good reasons that anyone who is on the water should wear it. These reasons are as below :

1) It Saves Lives – There have been several cases wherein experienced kayakers and swimmers have lost their lives as they were not wearing the life jacket.

2) The Rescue is Easier – It becomes much easier to pull someone back into their kayak due to the shoulder straps on the Life Jacket. This is a very critical feature that a Life Jacket provides.

3) Improved Visibility– If you are Kayaking to a place where motorized vessels are also allowed, then visibility is super critical for your safety. That is why most of the life jackets are made with bright color that improves the visibility.

4) Provides Functionality – Most of the Life Jackets have large pockets that allows you to carry hooks, utility tools, small baits or other useful fishing tools that you want to keep handy. You can also keep items such as your smartphone and other accessories.

A Life Jacket is also called as a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) & there are 5 types of PFDs which you can wear while you are out on the water

The five types of PFDs are:

Type I: Offshore life jackets
Type II: Near-shore
Type III: Flotation aids
Type IV: Throwable devices
Type V: Special use devices (often used for kayaking)

All the 50 states have different laws regarding the life jackets. Depending on the state you are in, the law may be different.

While doing our research, we wondered if there was a better way to concise the regulations for all the 50 states in one simple table. Anyone looking for information regarding the Life Jacket requirement will be able to get it just by a quick glance.

S. No	State	Kayak life jacket law	Minimum age to wear a life jacket	Approved life jackets	When a PFD has to be worn by a child	Vessel length requirement	Fine for not wearing the PFD
1	Alabama	One life jacket per person on board	Anyone under 8	USCG Type I, II, or III	At all times while onboard any vessel	All length vessels	Upto $100
2	Alaska	One life jacket per person on board, readily available	Anyone under 13	USCG Type I, II, III, or V in some situations	In an open vessel, on deck, or while waterskiing	All length vessels	Upto $100
3	Arizona	One life jacket per person on board, readily available	12 and under	USCG Type I, II, III, or V in some situations	While underway on any vessel	All length vessels	NA
4	Arkansas	One life jacket per person on board, readily available	12 and under	USCG approved	At all times	All length vessels	$100 - $250
5	California	One life jacket per person on board, readily available	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, III or V	On any recreational vessel underway	All length vessels	Upto $150
6	Colorado	A vessel less than 16 feet must have one wearable PFD, readily available, onboard for each person	All children under 13	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III PFD	Children onboard any recreational vessel underway	All length vessels for children	Upto $100
7	Connecticut	One PFD for each person on board. With a rule unique to Connecticut, that anyone in a manually propelled vessel must actually wear their PFD from October 1 through May 31.	Children 12 and under	USCG-approved	Onboard any recreational vessel underway	All length vessels for children	$75
8	Delaware	One PFD on board per person and children 12 and under must wear a life jacket.	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, III or V	Onboard any recreational vessel underway	All length vessels	$25
9	Florida	A wearable PFD for each person	Children under 6	USCG-approved I, II, or III	On recreational vessel underway	Vessels less than 26 feet	$50 - $80
10	Georgia	A wearable USCG Type I, II, III, or V PFD for each person – in good condition and readily accessible.	Children 12 and under	USCG-approved	Onboard a moving vessel	All length vessels	Upto the Court
11	Hawaii	All vessels are required to have a wearable USCG-approved personal flotation device for each person.	Children 12 and under must wear it	USCG-approved	When a vessel is underway or moored or anchored outside a mooring area	All length vessels	$50 - $1000
12	Idaho	One life jacket on board per person	Kids 14 years and younger must wear their life jacket on all boats 19′ and under	USCG-approved	While boat is underway	Vessels 19′ and less	$84
13	Illinois	One Type I, II, III personal flotation device on board per person	Under 13	USCG-approved PFD	While vessel is underway	Vessels less than 26′	$75
14	Indiana	One Type I, II, III, or V USCG approved PFD on board per person	Under 13	USCG-approved PFD	While onboard any vessel	All length vessels	Upto $500
15	Iowa	One Type I, II, III, or V life jacket on board per person in all kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards	Under 13	USCG-approved PFD	All recreational vessels while underway	All length vessels	Upto $75
16	Kansas	One Type I, II, III, or V life jacket on board per person	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III, or V PFD	Onboard or while being towed. And by children under 14 in USCG jurisdiction waters	All length vessels	Upto $500
17	Kentucky	One Type I, II, or III PFD on board per person	Children 12 and under	USCG-approved	At all times while underway and on deck	All length vessels	$50
18	Louisiana	Each person on board must wear a USCG–approved Type I, II, III, or V PFD while underway on a motorboat less than 16 feet long that’s using an outboard motor and is steered by a hand tiller or steering arm attached to the motor.	16 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or V	While underway	Vessels less than 26′	$50
19	Maine	One Type I, II, III, or V USCG-approved PFD on board per person	10 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or V	At all times	All length vessels	Upto $100
20	Maryland	One Type I, II, III or V USCG-approved PFD on board per person	Under the age of 13. Children under 4 must wear a PFD that has additional safety features	USCG-approved PFD	On a recreational vessel while underway	Vessels under 21′	Upto the Court
21	Massachusetts	One Type I, II, III USCG-approved PFD on board per person	Life jackets must be worn by canoeists and kayakers from September 15 – May 15, and at all times by youth under 12	USCG-approved Type I, II, III	While underway	All length vessels	$50
22	Michigan	One Type I, II, or III USCG-approved PDF on board per person. On kayaks and canoes can alternatively choose to have a Type IV throwable on board	Under 6	USCG-approved Type I or II	While riding on the open deck of a vessel	All length vessels	Upto $100
23	Minnesota	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved personal flotation device of Type I, II or III for each person on board	Under 10	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III	When not below deck or anchored	All length vessels	Upto $1000
24	Mississippi	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved personal flotation device of Type I, II or III for each person on board	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III	While in the open portion of a vessel	Vessels less than 26′	$25 - $100
25	Missouri	All vessels must have at least one wearable life vest for each person on board	Under 7	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or V	At all times on any watercraft	All vessels	Upto $1000
26	Montana	If two or more persons are on a sailboard, each person must wear a PFD	Under 12: Sailboard operators under 15 must wear a PFD at all times	USCG-approved	While underway	Vessels less than 26′	$15 - $500
27	Nebraska	All vessels (motorized and non-motorized, except for sailboards) must have one life jacket for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or V	At all times	All length vessels	$50
28	Nevada	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved personal flotation device for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved	While onboard any vessel	All length vessels	NA
29	New Hampshire	All vessels, including kayaks and canoes, must have a PFD for each person on board.	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III	While onboard any vessel	All length vessels	Upto $60
30	New Jersey	All vessels must have one Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device for each person on board	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II, III or V	Underway onboard any recreational vessel	All length vessels	$25 - $100
31	New Mexico	Anyone on a kayak or canoe must wear a personal flotation device the entire time they are in the vessel	Under 13	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or IV	While underway	All length vessels	$50 - $500
32	New York	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved wearable life jacket for each person on board	Under 12	USCG-approved Type I, II, III, or V PFD	While underway	Onboard any vessel 65′ and under	$25 - $100
33	North Carolina	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved personal flotation device for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved Type I, II or III PFD	While underway	All length vessels	$25
34	North Dakota	For all non-motorized vessels, there must be a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device onboard for each person	10 and under	USCG-approved Type I, II or III PFD	While underway	All vessels less than 27′	NA
35	Ohio	All vessels must have one United States Coast Guard approved wearable personal flotation device for each person on board	Under 10	USCG-approved PFD	While onboard any vessel	All vessels less than 18′	Upto the Court
36	Oklahoma	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved personal flotation device for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved PFD	While underway	All vessels less than 26′	$201
37	Oregon	All vessels must be equipped with a PFD for each person on board	12 and under	USCG-approved PFD	While underway and on open deck	All length vessels	$237
38	Pennsylvania	All kayakers through the dates of November 1 and April 30 must wear a life jacket. A life jacket must be on board at all times of year.	12 and under	USCG-approved PFD	While underway	Vessels 20′ or less including kayaks and canoes	$50
39	Rhode Island	All vessels must have one Coast Guard approved wearable life jacket for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved PFD	While underway	Vessels less than 65′	$100
40	South Carolina	All vessels must be equipped with a wearable, USCG approved life jacket for each person on board or being towed	Under 12	USCG-approved Type I, II, III or V	At all times while onboard	Vessels less than 16′	$25 - $200
41	South Dakota	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board	Under 7	USCG-approved	On any vessel operating at more than no-wake speeds	All vessels	Upto $100
42	Tennessee	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board	12 and under	USCG-approved Type I,II, III or V PFD	While underway and on deck	All vessels	Upto $50
43	Texas	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board.	Under 13	USCG-approved	While underway and on deck	Vessels less than 26′	$25 - $500
44	Utah	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved	While underway and on deck	Vessels less than 26′	Upto $1000
45	Vermont	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person.	Under 12. Anyone under 16 while sailboarding	USCG-approved Type I, II, or III PFD	While underway and on deck	Vessels less than 26′	$84
46	Virginia	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board	Under 13	USCG-approved	While onboard and underway	All vessels	Upto $250
47	Washington	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person	12 and under	USCG-approved	While underway	Vessels under 19′	$87
48	West Virginia	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person on board	12 and under	USCG-approved	While underway	All vessels	$20
49	Wisconsin	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person	U.S.C.G. under 13	USCG-approved	While underway	All vessels	$148
50	Wyoming	All canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards must have on board one USCG approved wearable PFD for each person	Under 13	USCG-approved	While underway	All vessels	$110

Is it possible to get a DUI while kayaking?

Yes. With new and targeted kayaking legislation, all 50 states are becoming more serious about regulating and enforcing paddling. When you research your state's regulations you will realize that having a drink and getting on your paddle board can result in the equivalent of a DUI, (BUI) Boating Under the Influence.

Let's just say the writing is on the wall for states to enact more kayaking rules, regulations, and specific legislation.

Summary

The laws concerning life jackets differ from one state to the next. Some states simply mandate children under a specific age to wear them, while others compel everyone to do so.

Even if you are not required to wear one by law, a life jacket can save your life if something goes wrong while you are out on the water.

Checkout our extensive collection of Inflatable Boats on Kaykish.com

Do Adults need a Life Jacket in a Kayak ?

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