by Joseph Hazelbaker

Created on: January 18, 2009   Last Updated: January 23, 2009

There are numerous life jacket laws in Ohio of which every boater and passenger must be aware. The following provides a detailed overview of these life jacket or personal floatation device (PFD) laws and provides the citation where more information can be found.

Ohio's life jacket laws govern every aspect of boating, from the boat owner, to the boat operator, to the passenger. Please note that "life jacket" and "PFD" are used interchangeably in this article to refer to the same thing; United States Coast Guard (USGS) approved wearable floatation devices for individual use.

Ohio Revised Code section 1547.38 requires that all boat owners must provide safety equipment, including life jackets/PFDs on all vessels they own. A full list of the required equipment can be found at the Ohio Division of Watercraft's website by clicking on "Laws" in the top menu bar located on the homepage, then selecting the link titled "Required Safety Equipment." For our purposes, it is sufficient to know that life jackets are specifically named among the list of required equipment.

Vessels larger than 16 feet must be equipped both with a USGS approved personal floatation device per person and one Type V or throwable device (e.g. life preserver). Vessels under 16 feet must have a PFD, but need not have a throwable device. Each PFD must be USGS approved, be in "serviceable condition", fit the wearer, and be "readily accessible" to each passenger at all times. Note that the law does not require that the life jackets be worn. Instead, they must be readily accessible at all times. Boat operators, therefore, must make sure that their passengers know where the life jackets are and that the location is easily reachable at all times. (See Ohio Revised Code section 1547.25)

There are three exceptions where passengers must wear life jackets at all times.

The first involves water skiers, who must wear an approved, serviceable, and correctly sized PFD at all times when on the water. This includes both water skiers who are skiing on an object and those skiing barefoot (See Ohio Revised Code section 1547.18).

The second exception where PFDs must always be worn is when riding on personal watercraft (e.g. "Jetskis"). (See Ohio Revised Code section 1547.41)

The final and most important exception is for children. No vessel may be operated when a child under the age of ten is a passenger unless that child is wearing an approved life jacket. "Approved" life jacket means the same as for adults (USGS approved, serviceable,

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