The Short Version
Florida's dive flag law is section 327.331 of the Florida Statutes, and the FWC restates it on its boating regulations page. For a person at the helm it comes down to three things:
- Open water: 300 feet. On waters other than rivers, inlets and navigation channels, make a reasonable effort to stay at least 300 feet from any divers-down flag or buoy.
- Rivers, inlets and navigation channels: 100 feet. In those narrower waters the distance drops to 100 feet.
- Closer than that, idle speed. If you have to pass inside those distances, you may go no faster than you need to keep headway and steerageway. The FWC calls this slowing to idle speed.
The flag means a person is in the water near it, wearing a mask and snorkel or breathing gear, and often out of sight below the surface. The rest of this guide covers what the flag and buoy look like, what the law asks of divers, the penalties, and a short routine for the moment you spot one.
Who Counts as a Diver
Section 327.331(1) defines a diver as a person who is wholly or partially submerged in the waters of the state and is equipped with a face mask and snorkel or underwater breathing apparatus. That covers far more people than scuba divers on a reef trip:
- Snorkelers floating face down over a grass flat or a shallow reef.
- Scuba divers on a wreck, a ledge or a spring run.
- Divers using surface-supplied air, since the statute counts any apparatus that lets a person breathe without coming up, whether it is self-contained or connected to a distant source of air.
A swimmer with no mask is outside the definition, and so is a person wading at the beach. The statute also exempts divers from displaying a flag when they dive in an area customarily used for swimming only. Everywhere else, a diver in the water should be marked by a flag or buoy, and a boater should treat that mark as a person in the water nearby.
What a Divers-Down Flag and Buoy Look Like
Florida uses the red symbol with a white diagonal stripe. Section 327.331(1) and the FWC page describe it in detail:
| Feature | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Symbol | A red rectangle or square with a white diagonal stripe |
| Shape | If rectangular, the length is no less than the height and no more than 25 percent longer than the height |
| Stripe | Its width is 25 percent of the height of the symbol; multiple stripes all run the same direction |
| Flag stripe direction | From the top, staff side of the flag down to the lower opposite corner, on each face |
| Flag stiffener | A wire or other stiffener so the flag stays fully unfurled with no wind |
| Buoy | A buoyant device, other than a vessel, with the symbol on three or four flat sides |
| Size from the water | Symbol at least 12 by 12 inches |
| Size from a vessel | Symbol at least 20 by 24 inches |
Two placement rules follow from the same section. A flag flown from a boat must be displayed from the highest point of the vessel, or another spot where nothing blocks it from any direction. A divers-down buoy may not be used or displayed on board a vessel; it belongs on the water, near the divers.
When you see either one, you are looking at the same message: divers are in the water in the immediate area.
How Far to Stay Back: 300 Feet and 100 Feet
The distance you keep depends on the kind of water you are in. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 327.331 set it out, and the FWC page repeats it.
| Where you are | Distance boaters keep from the flag or buoy | How far divers try to stay from their flag or buoy |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers, inlets and navigation channels | At least 100 feet | Within 100 feet |
| All other waters, such as open bays, the Gulf and the Atlantic | At least 300 feet | Within 300 feet |
The distances match on purpose. Divers are expected to stay inside the circle around their flag, and boats are expected to stay outside it. When both sides follow the rule, a boat running past at the edge of that distance should not meet a diver surfacing.
The wording is "make a reasonable effort." In a crowded channel you may not always be able to hold 100 feet, which is why the law pairs the distance with a speed rule for the times you cannot. On open water there is usually more room, so steering wide early is the easier choice.
Slowing Down Inside the Distance
Subsection (6) of section 327.331 covers the boat that has to come closer. A vessel that approaches within 100 feet of a divers-down warning device on a river, inlet or navigation channel, or within 300 feet of one on other waters, must proceed no faster than is necessary to maintain headway and steerageway. The FWC's regulations page puts it more simply: slow down to idle speed.
Law enforcement and rescue vessels are the only boats the subsection exempts.
This is the part of the dive flag law with real teeth. Section 327.33, Florida's reckless operation statute, says reckless operation of a vessel includes a violation of section 327.331(6). Running fast past a dive flag inside the distance can be charged as reckless operation, a criminal offense, and the next section lists what that carries.
The FWC also names the dive flag in its description of careless operation: every operator must run the boat in a reasonable and prudent manner with regard for other traffic, posted restrictions and the presence of a divers-down flag. Careless operation is a noncriminal infraction.
Penalties
The penalty depends on which part of the law is broken.
Most dive flag violations are noncriminal infractions. Section 327.331(9) says a violation of the section is a noncriminal infraction punishable under section 327.73, except where section 327.33 applies. Section 327.73 sets the civil penalty for these infractions at $100 unless it states another amount, and a person who chooses to go before the county court can face a civil penalty of up to $500.
Speeding past the flag can be reckless operation. Because section 327.33(1) counts a violation of 327.331(6) as reckless operation, the reckless operation penalties apply:
- No accident: a misdemeanor of the second degree.
- An accident that damages property or injures a person: a misdemeanor of the first degree.
- An accident that causes serious bodily injury: a felony of the third degree.
The FWC also runs a mandatory violator education program for people convicted of a criminal boating violation, an infraction that led to a reportable boating accident, or a specified noncriminal infraction within a 12-month period. If a dive flag incident ends in an injury, the Florida boating accident reporting guide explains when and how it has to be reported.
Rules for Divers and Dive Boats
The same section puts duties on divers and on the boats that carry them. If you run a boat for friends who snorkel, these apply to you:
- Fly the flag whenever someone is in the water. All divers must prominently display a divers-down warning device in the area where they dive, unless it is an area customarily used for swimming only.
- Take it down when everyone is back. A divers-down warning device may not be displayed once all divers are aboard or ashore.
- Never run with it up. Nobody may operate a vessel displaying a divers-down warning device unless the vessel has one or more divers in the water. Lower the flag before you move the boat between spots.
- Fly it high. A flag on a boat goes at the highest point or where nothing blocks it from any direction, and the symbol must be at least 20 by 24 inches.
- Keep the buoy in the water. A divers-down buoy cannot be displayed on board.
- Stay close to your flag. Divers make reasonable efforts to stay within 100 feet of their flag or buoy in rivers, inlets and channels, and within 300 feet on other waters.
- Do not block a channel. Except in an emergency, divers may not display flags on a river, inlet or navigation channel in a way that unreasonably creates a navigational hazard.
Dive boats also carry the same required safety gear as any other vessel. The Florida boat safety equipment checklist lists it by boat length.
What to Do When You Spot a Dive Flag
A flag can be hard to see in a chop or against a bright sky, so the routine starts with a lookout.
- Scan ahead. Keep someone watching the water ahead for red and white flags and buoys, especially near reefs, wrecks, ledges, springs and grass flats.
- Work out what water you are in. River, inlet or marked channel means 100 feet. Open bay or ocean means 300 feet.
- Steer wide early. A small course change far out keeps you outside the distance without slowing down.
- If you must pass closer, drop to idle. Come off plane and go no faster than you need to steer. Stay at idle until you are back outside the distance.
- Watch for bubbles and snorkels. Divers can be anywhere inside the circle, and a diver surfacing may not see or hear you.
- Give the dive boat room. The boat flying the flag is often anchored or drifting with people climbing in and out.
- Brief your passengers. If someone aboard spots a flag first, they should call it out.
The same habits help around swimmers, paddlers and anchored boats. Personal watercraft riders should take extra care, since a jet ski can close 300 feet in seconds; the Florida jet ski and PWC laws guide covers the other rules for riders.
Rental Boats and Dive Flags
Renters are bound by the dive flag law the same way owners are, and a renter who has never seen the red and white flag may not know what it means. Point it out to whoever is driving before you leave the dock.
If you plan to snorkel from a rental, ask the livery whether a divers-down flag or buoy is aboard, and check that it meets the size rule before you leave the dock. A small flag meant for a float in the water does not meet the 20 by 24 inch rule for a flag flown from the boat. The Florida boat rental rules guide covers what else a renter should check before leaving.
Where Dive Flags Fit in Boating Safety Education
Dive flags are one of the Florida topics written into the boater education law itself. Section 327.395 requires every boating safety course and exam used for the Boating Safety Education ID Card to cover diving vessels, divers, divers-down warning devices and the requirements of section 327.331. That card is required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, who operates a vessel with a motor of 10 horsepower or more.
Our Florida boating safety course guide explains what the course covers and how the card is issued, and boating in Florida puts the dive flag rule next to the other rules every Florida boater runs into. Boat Skill's Florida course opens for enrollment soon; create an account to be notified when it does.
