---
title: Personal Watercraft (PWC) in California
description: "Under California law, no person shall operate any craft in a reckless or negligent manner. It is prohibited to: Follow another vessel or skier too closely,"
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- **Each person on a PWC or being towed by a PWC must wear a USCG approved life jacket specific for the activity.** ** **
- **The law requires anyone operating a PWC equipped with a lanyard cut-off switch to attach the lanyard to his or her person, clothing or life jacket.** Operating a PWC equipped with a self-circling device is prohibited if the device has been altered.
- To operate a PWC designed for one person, the operator must be 16 years of age or older. A person 12-15 years of age may operate a PWC designed to carry two or more persons if the operator is supervised on board by a person 18 years of age or older. 
- It is illegal to operate a PWC from sunset to sunrise.
- You may not carry more passengers than the number for which the craft was designed to carry by the manufacturer. When towing someone on a tube or on water skis, the PWC must have the appropriate capacity to accommodate the operator, the observer, and the person being towed.

![Personal Watercraft (PWC) restrictions in California](https://21118949.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/21118949/hubfs/courses/usa2024/images/images-transparentes/pwc-courtesy-hr.png?width=1100&height=619&name=pwc-courtesy-hr.png)

Under California law, no person shall operate any craft in a reckless or negligent manner. **It is prohibited to:**

- Follow another vessel or skier too closely.
- Jump another vessel's wake within 100 feet of the vessel creating the wake.
- Drive in excess of 5 mph within 200 feet of a beach
- **Speeding within 100 feet of swimmers.**
- Cut between a boat and the person being towed.
- Navigate a vessel, skis or other devices between a towing vessel and its tow or tows.
- Operate under the influence of intoxicants or narcotics.
- Turn sharply so that it sprays the person or vessel.
- Operate at a rate of speed and so close to another vessel that either operator is required to swerve at the last minute to avoid collision.

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[↑](https://aceboater.com/en-us/personal-watercraft-california#top)

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