Vacationers headed to Florida and planning to rent a boat now have an easy and low-cost way to earn their temporary boating safety certificate. The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water now offers a 90-day temporary certification course for boat renters online at BoatUS.org/FL-temp for only $8.99.
The 25-question course is not only good for visitors but may also help Florida residents who don’t own a boat seek out their first rental. Of course, both vacationers and residents can also choose to take the BoatUS Foundation’s NASBLA- and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-approved online state boating safety course, which offers the only free way to earn a Florida boating safety certificate that never expires.
“Florida is the number-one state in the country for boat and PWC rentals,” said Alan Dennison, education program manager for the BoatUS Foundation, which has been a leader in boating safety for more than 40 years. “We want to save people money so we chose to price our course the lowest. We also want give folks more options for earning their boating safety certification by offering a 90-day temporary certification course alongside our longstanding free state- and U.S. Coast Guard-approved online course.”
The 90-day Florida temporary certification course must be completed in one sitting, while the more extensive, free online state boating course can be started, stopped and resumed at your convenience. Both courses allow course takers to print their boating safety certification – either 90-day temporary or lifetime Boater Education ID Card – upon completion.
The temporary course meets all state requirements for boat livery rentals but is only valid for 90 days upon course completion. The minimum age to rent a boat in Florida is 18. For more information on all BoatUS Foundation boating safety courses, go to BoatUS.org/Courses.