Everyone wears a life jacket
Every person on board - or being towed - must WEAR a Coast Guard-approved life jacket. There's no exception for adults, and inflatable life jackets aren't allowed on a jet ski.
Boating / Jet skis
Jet ski rules.
A personal watercraft (PWC) - a Jet Ski, WaveRunner, Sea-Doo, or similar - follows all the motorboat rules, plus a few extra. These are the ones that trip people up.
The extra rules for jet skis
Clip the cut-off lanyard
If your jet ski came with an engine cut-off lanyard, attach it to your body, your clothing, or your life jacket. If you fall off, the engine stops.
Daylight only
A jet ski may run only from sunrise to sunset - never at night.
Stay 50 feet back
Don't operate within 50 feet of another boat, jet ski, platform, person, object, or the shore - except at slow, no-wake headway speed.
Ride responsibly
Don't jump another boat's wake recklessly or unnecessarily close. Reckless operation - weaving through traffic, buzzing people, chasing wildlife - is illegal for any boat.
Under 13
A child under 13 can't operate a jet ski unless an adult 18 or older, who can legally operate it, is on board.
Keep going
Official sources
Personal watercraft rules come from TPWD and the Texas Water Safety Act, on top of the standard motorboat rules.
- Data vintage:
- PWC rules as reviewed June 2026
- Last reviewed:
- June 15, 2026
- TPWD Personal Watercraft Regulations - The official PWC rules
- TPWD Life Jacket Requirements
Caution: Rules can change. The official TPWD PWC page is the final word.
Spot something that needs a Texas check?
This first pass is built to be polished over time. Send the page name, county, parcel context if relevant, and the official source you are looking at.
Email Texas Porch.