West Virginia boat rental laws
7 rules for boat and jet ski rental businesses in West Virginia, from 2 official sources.
Rental-specific lawWest Virginia's Boat liveries section (W. Va. Code § 20-7-16) asks rental businesses for hire records kept six months, equipped boats only, a boating safety orientation for every renter without a certificate, printed PWC handling and local rules, no PWC rentals under 18, and $300,000 liability insurance plus a licence and surety bond.
Instruction before every rental
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The livery gives a boating safety orientation to everyone who rents any vessel, including PWCs, unless they hold a boating safety education certificate; PWC renters also get the craft's operating characteristics in print before the rental.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“shall provide boating safety orientation for all persons that rent any vessel, including personal watercrafts, unless that person holds a certificate as required by section twelve-b, article seven of this chapter.”
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Operators of rental vessels get all pertinent boating rules in print, including local ones such as no-wake zones, restricted areas, channel and hazard markers and swimming zones.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“all pertinent boating rules including, but not limited to, those rules that may be peculiar to the area of the rental, such as no-wake zones, restricted areas, channel markers, water hazard markers and swimming zones.”
Boater education card for renters
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Anyone born on or after 31 December 1986 needs a boating safety education certificate to operate a motorboat or PWC, and carries it while operating.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-12b — Boating safety education certificate“no person born on or after December 31, 1986, may operate a motorboat or personal watercraft on any waters of this state without first having obtained a certificate of boating safety education”
Age limits
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A livery may not rent a personal watercraft to anyone under 18.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“may not lease, hire or rent a personal watercraft to any person under eighteen years of age.”
Safety equipment
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No rented motorboat or PWC may leave the premises without the required equipment, supplied by the owner or the renter.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“to depart from his or her premises unless it shall have been provided, either by owner or renter, with the equipment required pursuant to section thirteen of this article”
Insurance
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A boat livery or rental facility carries liability insurance of at least $300,000 and holds the licence and surety bond required by § 20-2-23d.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“shall carry liability insurance of at least $300,000 and possess the license and surety bond as required by section twenty-three-d, article two of this chapter.”
Records to keep
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A boat livery or rental facility records the name and address of each person hiring a motorboat or PWC, its identification number and the departure and expected return times, and keeps the record at least six months.
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W. Va. Code § 20-7-16 — Boat liveries“The owner or operator of a boat livery or rental facility shall cause to be kept a record of the name and address of the person or persons hiring any vessel including personal watercrafts … The record shall be preserved for at least six months.”
Not confirmed yet
What we looked for and could not confirm from an official source. Ask the agency before you assume anything here.
The licence and surety bond under W. Va. Code § 20-2-23d were not reviewed.
The WVDNR rules on the PWC safety orientation for liveries (§ 20-7-22a) were not reviewed.
The text was read from the Internet Archive's copies of the official code pages (November 2025 and April 2026); amendments after those dates are not reflected.
Federal rules still apply
On top of West Virginia law, the federal rules apply to every boat you rent out:
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Under federal law a boat leased, rented or chartered to someone else for their pleasure is a “recreational vessel” — so the federal recreational boating rules apply to your rentals.
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46 U.S.C. § 2101 — General definitions“"recreational vessel" means a vessel— (A) being manufactured or operated primarily for pleasure; or (B) leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter's pleasure.”
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Every recreational vessel needs at least one wearable Coast Guard-approved life jacket on board for each person, used as its approval label says; boats 16 ft or longer also need one throwable device.
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33 CFR § 175.15 — Personal flotation devices required“At least one wearable PFD is on board for each person; … No person may use a recreational vessel 16 feet or more in length unless one throwable PFD is onboard”
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A child under 13 aboard a recreational vessel under way must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket unless below decks or in an enclosed cabin. Where a state has its own child life jacket law, the state age applies on its waters instead.
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33 CFR § 175.15(c) and § 175.25“No person may operate a recreational vessel under way with any child under 13 years old aboard unless each such child is either— ( 1 ) Wearing an appropriate PFD approved by the Coast Guard; or ( 2 ) Below decks or in an enclosed cabin.”
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If the state has a statute requiring children of a certain age to wear a life jacket, that state requirement applies on the state's waters instead of the federal under-13 rule.
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33 CFR § 175.25 — Enforcement of State requirements for children to wear personal flotation devices“If the applicable State statute establishes any requirement for children of a certain age to wear an appropriate PFD approved by the Coast Guard, then that requirement applies on the waters subject to the State's jurisdiction instead of the requirement provided in § 175.15(c) of this part .”
Official agencies
Who makes and enforces these rules in West Virginia.
Questions rental operators ask
Do I have to give renters instruction before a rental in West Virginia?
The livery gives a boating safety orientation to everyone who rents any vessel, including PWCs, unless they hold a boating safety education certificate; PWC renters also get the craft's operating characteristics in print before the rental. Source: code.wvlegislature.gov, checked October 18, 2026.
Does a renter need a boater education card in West Virginia?
Anyone born on or after 31 December 1986 needs a boating safety education certificate to operate a motorboat or PWC, and carries it while operating. Source: code.wvlegislature.gov, checked October 18, 2026.
How old must a renter be in West Virginia?
A livery may not rent a personal watercraft to anyone under 18. Source: code.wvlegislature.gov, checked October 18, 2026.
For your renters
Free boating-law page for West Virginia on VesselSOS — link it from your booking confirmation.
West Virginia boating laws for boatersFree tools for rental operators
Print a safety briefing card, a rental agreement and waiver template or a dock poster. Free, in your browser.
Safety briefing cardRental agreement & waiver templateDock poster All free toolsRun the rental day on one screen.
VesselSOS Fleet checks renters out in 30 seconds and shows every boat and jet ski live until it is back — your customers’ phones are the trackers.
Fleet is a pilot: we are building it with a small group of rental operators for next season. No prices yet.