By Bill Hariu – September 2025

PWC stands for personal watercraft with an emphasis on the personal. Trade name craft, such as Ski-doo® (Bombardier Recreational Products), Waverunner® (Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA), and JET SKI® (Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA) are types of PWC. PWC’s are defined as motorboats less than 16 feet in length that are powered by jet pumps, not propellers, where the people stand, kneel, or sit on, rather than inside the boat.

PWC Education Requirement

Per Virginia Law & Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) to operate a PWC on Virginia waters you must meet these requirements:

• No person under the age of 14 may operate a PWC.
• All PWC operators age 14 and older and all operators (regardless of age) of motorboats with a 10 hp or greater engine need to take a DWR certified boating safety course.
• Classroom and Internet courses that are the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) approved and accepted by Virginia DWR meet these requirements. Classroom courses are provided by DWR, USCG Auxiliary and the US Power Squadrons. DWR’s Boat Virginia course is free of charge. The USCG Auxiliary and the US Power Squadrons may have a course fee. A Virtual Classroom course is also available. This course differs from other online courses as it is free and is led by an instructor in real time.  For course information got to the DWR web site https://dwr.virginia.gov/boating/education/requirement/steps-to-requirement/
• Once you complete the course, the course completion certificate or card that is provided by the course provider is what is required to operate a vessel. 
• Have a copy of your NASBLA certificate or card with you when operating the PWC.
• The DWR challenge exam or other provisions of the Education Compliance Requirement do not meet the requirements of the age restriction law.

Safety Operation of a PWC Per VA DWR Regulations: Learn the local rules and keep your speed under control. All PWC must come to no wake speed when within 50 feet or less of piers, docks, boathouses, boat ramps, people in the water and any other type of vessel, except another PWC.

PWC Registration in Virginia                                                                        A PWC that is principally used on the public waters of Virginia must be registered and titled in Virginia. You will need to apply for both a Certificate of Title and a Certificate or Number (registration) through the Virginia DWR at GoOutdoorsVirginia.com

• Obtain Your Decals and Card: The DWR will issue a Certificate of Number (a pocket-sized registration card) and validation decals for your PWC.

• Display Registration Markings: Your registration numbers must be displayed on the Bow of your vessel, and validation decals must be displayed within 6 inches of the numbers.
• Carry Your Registration:  You must sign the Certificate of Number and carry it on board Your PWC when operating it.

Restrictions on PWC Operation in Virginia                        

• Operate a PWC unless at least sixteen years of age, except any person fourteen or fifteen years of age shall be allowed to operate a personal watercraft if (i) successfully completed an approved boating safety education course and (ii) carries proof of successful completion of such course while operating a PWC.
• Upon the request of a law-enforcement officer, such person shall provide proof of having successfully completed an approved course; PWC operators will need to comply with DWR boating safety education requirement.
• Operate a PWC unless each person riding on the PWC is wearing a type I, type II, type III, or type V personal flotation device approved by the United State Coast Guard; Inflatable life jackets are prohibited.
• Failure to attach the lanyard to his person, clothing, or personal flotation device, if the PWC is equipped with a lanyard-type engine cut-off switch.
• Operate a PWC on the waters of the Commonwealth between sunset and sunrise.

Towing Restrictions

• Anyone being towed behind a vessel must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

• Towing time of operation with a PWC is only allowed between sunrise and sunset.
• When towing a person on water skis or a similar device, the towing PWC must have an observer in addition to the operator.
• When a PWC is towing, it must have a rear-facing observer at least 12 years old and be rated for a minimum of three people.
• It is also illegal to operate a PWC while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Operate a PWC while carrying a number of passengers more than the number for which the craft was designed by the manufacturer; or operate a PWC in excess of the slowest possible speed required to maintain steerage and headway within fifty feet of docks, piers, boathouses, boat ramps, people in the water, and vessels other than PWC.
• In Virginia, a PWC is not prohibited from towing a person with a rope less than fifty feet in length.

Reckless PWC Operation                                             

A person shall be guilty of reckless operation who operates any PWC recklessly or at a speed or in such a manner as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person, which shall include, but not be limited to:

weaving through vessels that are underway, stopped, moored or at anchor while exceeding a reasonable speed under the circumstances and traffic conditions existing at the time; following another vessel or person on water skis or similar device, crossing the path of another vessel, or jumping the wake of another vessel more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the speed of both vessels and the traffic on and the condition of the waters at the time; crossing between the towing vessel and a person on water skis or other device; or steering toward an object or person and turning sharply in close proximity to such object or person in order to spray or attempt to spray the object or person with the wash or jet spray of the PWC.

 Examples of PWC Speed

The average speed of a PWC typically falls between 30-70 mph.  Factors like engine size, hull design, weight and operator experience also influence a PWC’s speed.

A PWC traveling at 40 mph typically requires 180 feet to 225 feet to come to a stop.  At 40 mph on a PWC you’re covering approximately 58.67 feet per second. That's a football field distance in 5.11 seconds.  Be alert of what you are approaching.

Understanding closing speed is crucial for maintaining a safe distance and avoiding collisions. It helps determine how quickly you need to react to avoid a potential collision accident.

Approaching another vessel head on: While operating a PWC at 40 mph a head on vessel is closing towards you at 30 mph your combined closing speed is 70 mph.  You’re covering approximately 102.67 feet per second towards each other. That’s a football field distance in 2.92 seconds to avoid the head on vessel.

Be a Safe Responsible PWC Operator

Injuries will only be avoided when the operator is educated about the craft, knows the rules of the water and can make safe decisions based on all present variables, experience and consideration of possible consequences.  The Virginia DWR encourages all potential operators to take a safe boating course prior to independent operation, especially those with limited boating experience.

Safe operation of a PWC must be a conscious decision after learning the facts. The true meaning of PWC is personal responsibility. Help make this year a personal-watercraft-safe year by not being a part of the accident or fatality picture.

Be Responsible! Be Safe! Have Fun! Or, more appropriately, to have fun, you must act responsibly and be safe.

bill.hariu@lakeannavirginia.org