Florida Boating Accident Reporting: When and How to Report

The Short Answer

Florida boating accident reporting comes down to two duties in Florida Statutes chapter 327, and both fall on the operator.

1. Call it in right away. Under section 327.30, when an accident causes a death, a disappearance, an injury that needs medical treatment beyond immediate first aid, or at least $2,000 in damage to vessels or other property, the operator must notify law enforcement "without delay, by the quickest means available." The call goes to the FWC's Division of Law Enforcement, the sheriff of the county where it happened, or the city police chief if the accident happened inside a city.
2. File a written report. Under section 327.301, the operator must send a written report of the same kinds of accidents to the FWC's Division of Law Enforcement, within the time limits in federal rule 33 CFR 173.55: 48 hours when someone dies within 24 hours, needs treatment beyond first aid, or disappears from the boat, and 10 days for everything else that has to be reported.

Before either of those, the operator owes help to anyone hurt and a written exchange of name, address and boat identification. Leaving the scene without doing all of this is a crime, and the penalty climbs with the harm done. The sections below take each duty in turn, then cover rentals, what happens to your report, and a checklist for the first hour.

What Counts as a Reportable Boating Accident

Section 327.30(2) applies to any "collision, accident, or other casualty" involving a vessel in the water or entering or leaving it. Its list names capsizing, collision with another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury requiring medical treatment beyond immediate first aid, death, the disappearance of anyone from on board under circumstances that suggest death or injury, and damage to vessels or other property in an apparent total of at least $2,000. The FWC's boating regulations page sums up the notice duty by those outcomes: injury beyond immediate first aid, death, disappearance, or at least $2,000 in damage.

Two details trip people up. The $2,000 is an "apparent aggregate amount," so you add up the damage to every boat, dock and piece of property involved, using your honest estimate at the scene. And the injury line is about treatment, so a cut that needs stitches counts even if the person feels fine.

When you are not sure whether an accident crosses a threshold, make the call. A report that turns out to be unnecessary costs you a few minutes. A missed one can cost far more.

Step One: Help, Then Exchange Information

The first duty in section 327.30(1) applies to every collision, accident or casualty, whatever the damage. The operator of each vessel involved must:

• Give practicable assistance to anyone affected, so far as it can be done without serious danger to the operator's own vessel, crew and passengers. That means helping to save people from danger, or reducing the danger, caused by the accident.
• Give his or her name, address and the vessel's identification in writing to any person injured and to the owner of any property damaged.

If you hit an unattended boat, such as one tied to a dock or at anchor with nobody aboard, the statute says you must take all reasonable steps to find and notify its owner or the person in charge, give that person your name, address and registration number, and report as the section requires.

Keep a pen and a waterproof notepad aboard for this. Write down the other boat's registration number, the names and addresses of everyone involved and any witnesses, the time and the place. You will need the same details for the written report.

Step Two: Notify Law Enforcement Without Delay

For an accident that meets the thresholds above, section 327.30(2) requires the operator to give notice "without delay, by the quickest means available" to one of three agencies:

• the Division of Law Enforcement of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC),
• the sheriff of the county where the accident happened, or
• the police chief of the city where it happened, if it happened inside a city.

One call to any of them satisfies the notice duty. If someone is in danger, call for emergency help first, then make sure one of those agencies has been told.

The statute also protects you on one point: under section 327.30(3), the duty to report or give information to an officer writing an accident report does not extend to information that would violate your privilege against self-incrimination. You still have to make the notice and stay at the scene.

An officer who investigates a boating accident may arrest or cite any operator involved when the officer has probable cause, based on a personal investigation, to believe that operator committed an offense connected with the accident. That comes from section 327.30(6).

Step Three: The Written Report and Its Deadlines

Section 327.301(1) requires the operator of a vessel involved in an accident that results in bodily injury, death, the disappearance of any person, or at least $2,000 in damage to forward a written report to the FWC's Division of Law Enforcement within the time limits in 33 CFR 173.55. Those federal limits are:

• Within 48 hours of the accident if a person dies within 24 hours of it, needs medical treatment beyond first aid, or disappears from the vessel.
• Within 10 days of the accident or the death for any other report that has to be made.

A few rules in section 327.301 shape who actually files:

• If the operator cannot, the vessel's owner must make the report within the same limits.
• If an officer writes the report, the operator does not have to forward one. Any officer who investigates an accident that meets the thresholds must send a written report to the FWC within 24 hours after finishing the investigation.
• If the officer does not write one, the officer must give each party a short-form report to fill out. It asks for the date, time and location, a description of each vessel, the names and addresses of the parties and of witnesses, and the investigating officer's name, badge number and agency.
• The FWC can ask for more. The division may require supplemental reports when the first one falls short, and may require any witness to report.
• Electronic counts. A report generated through information technology resources is a written report under section 327.301(5).

Failing to file the written report, or a supplemental report the division asks for, is a noncriminal infraction under section 327.301(7).

If the Boat Was Rented

Renters ask whether the accident is their problem or the rental company's. Under section 327.301(6), when a vessel is leased, rented or chartered at the time of the accident, the person who offered it for lease, rental or charter is responsible for complying with both the written report rule and section 327.30. So tell the livery about any accident as soon as everyone is safe, and give it the names, registration numbers and witness details you collected.

Florida also builds accident handling into the rental itself. Under section 327.54, a livery must give pre-rental or pre-ride instruction that covers emergency procedures, including what to do after capsizing, a fall overboard, taking on water, and vessel accidents. And if a rented vessel is unnecessarily overdue more than 4 hours after the rental time ends, the livery must notify law enforcement.

The rest of what a rental counter must do before you leave the dock is in our Florida boat rental rules guide. Visitors renting for a vacation week can start with Florida boating license rules for tourists.

Leaving the Scene: The Penalties

Section 327.30(5) makes it unlawful for an operator involved in an accident or injury to leave without giving all possible aid to everyone involved, making a reasonable effort to find the owner or people affected, and then notifying law enforcement as the section requires. The penalty depends on what the accident caused:

A person who willfully leaves the scene of an accident that caused a death must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison. On top of any other penalty, section 327.30(7) lets a court order an additional fine of up to $1,000 per violation for anyone convicted under the section.

What Happens to Your Accident Report

Many operators hesitate to report because they worry the report will be used against them. Section 327.301(4) addresses that directly. A report made by a person involved in an accident, and any statement that person makes to an officer to complete a required report, is "without prejudice to the individual reporting" and may not be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal.

There are limits. An officer who is a witness in a criminal trial may testify about statements made to the officer, as long as the person's privilege against self-incrimination is not violated. And the results of breath, urine and blood tests given under the boating under the influence statutes are not confidential and are admissible. Our Florida BUI laws guide covers those tests and the penalties that come with them.

Reports also may not be used for commercial solicitation, although news coverage is allowed. The FWC uses reported accidents in its yearly boating accident statistical reports, which it publishes on its website.

Fines and a Required Course After a Reportable Accident

A reportable accident can also change what a citation costs. Under section 327.731, a person convicted of a noncriminal boating infraction that resulted in a reportable boating accident must pay a $500 fine, in addition to the penalties for that infraction. The FWC's regulations page lists the same group under its mandatory boater education rule. The statute requires those people to:

1. Complete a classroom or online boating safety course at their own expense.
2. File proof of completion with the FWC within 90 days.
3. Stay off the helm until that proof is filed. Operating before then is a second-degree misdemeanor under section 327.731(3).

The course covers the same accident duties described here, along with the navigation rules that prevent most collisions. Boat Skill's online course follows those Florida subjects, and enrollment opens soon. Until then the notify-me signup holds your place.

Striking a Manatee

Manatee strikes have their own guidance. The FWC's boating regulations page says boaters who accidentally strike a manatee are urged to report the strike to the FWC, and may not be subject to prosecution if they were following any vessel speed restrictions that applied at the time. Our Florida manatee zones guide explains how those speed zones are posted.

A Checklist for the First Hour

Keep this list with your registration and boater card:

1. Stop and check everyone aboard. Account for every person, and look for anyone in the water.
2. Help the people on the other boat if you can do it without serious danger to your own boat and passengers.
3. Call for emergency help if anyone is hurt or missing.
4. Decide whether the accident meets a threshold: death, disappearance, treatment beyond first aid, or $2,000 or more in damage. If it does, or you are unsure, notify the FWC, the county sheriff or the city police right away.
5. Give your name, address and boat identification in writing to anyone injured and to the owner of any damaged property. For an unattended boat, take reasonable steps to find the owner.
6. Write down the other boat's registration, names and addresses, witnesses, the time and the location. Photograph the damage.
7. If you rented the boat, tell the livery as soon as everyone is safe.
8. Stay at the scene until the people involved have been helped and the required notice has been made.
9. File the written report with the FWC within 48 hours or 10 days, as 33 CFR 173.55 requires, unless an officer wrote the report.

Every rule on this list comes from section 327.30, section 327.301 and the federal time limits in 33 CFR 173.55.

Sources

• Florida Statute 327.30: Collisions, accidents, and casualties
• Florida Statute 327.301: Written reports of accidents
• Florida Statute 327.731: Mandatory education for violators
• Florida Statute 327.54: Liveries; safety regulations
• 33 CFR 173.55: Report of casualty or accident
• FWC: Boating Regulations
• FWC: Boating Accident Statistical Reports