Life Jackets

NOTICE: The Utah Boating Progam is no longer a part of the Utah Division of State Parks and will now be managed within the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation. Please visit recreation.utah.gov for updated information.

Life Jackets Save Lives!

Nationally, 80% of people who drowned in boating accidents would have survived had they been wearing a life jacket. Wear it Utah!

Remember:  Utah law says there must be at least one properly sized U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person aboard a vessel. Life jackets must be readily accessible and not in an out-of-reach location or in original packaging. 

Who Needs to Wear a Life Jacket?

• Children under a certain age are required to wear life jackets (under 13 years of age).
• Participants engaged in towing activities, anyone on a PWC, river sections that are not designated as flatwater are required to wear a life jacket.
• Any boat 16’ and longer (except canoes and kayaks) must carry a throwable PFD called a Type IV

Throwable devices must be immediately available for use such as in the cockpit or near the helm