Approved by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries www.dgif.virginia.gov
Register for the course, study the free online course material, and pass the Virginia boating license quizzes. Once you pass all of the quizzes, you have passed the course.
After passing and paying the $29.50 course fee, you'll instantly print out a temporary certificate, which is your temporary operating permit to operate legally on Virginia waters while you wait for your permanent card to arrive.
Your lifetime Virginia Boater Education Certificate boating license will arrive by mail in 5-7 business days. (Use your Temporary Boater Education Certificate to get on the water immediately after passing the course and until your permanent card arrives.)
Ready? Start the Course Today →The Boat Virginia Course features easy to understand boating safety instructions and hundreds of detailed illustrations to help you improve your boating skills and become a better, more prepared skipper.
This online boating license course is based on the Boat Virginia - A Course on Responsible Boating manual that was developed and printed by Boat Ed specifically for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for use in classroom instruction.
This is the same course that is used by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for classroom instruction.
Boat Ed is the only boating safety course provider that develops print materials on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The Boat Virginia Course features context-based video instruction to enhance your retention and motivation as you watch live-action video of boat and PWC operators, preparing and using good judgment when planning an outing or reacting to unexpected changes.
Want to learn about boating safety as a family? Prefer a video course with a mail-in test? You can order the official Boat Virginia video home-study course on boat and PWC safety.
Sample course instructional video "Casting Off"
Sample course instructional video "Capsizing, Swamping, or Falling Overboard"
Learning in this Boat Virginia Course is reinforced by the use of interactive animations that help students understand safe boating skills such as casting off and docking, understanding traffic laws on the water, dealing with emergencies, and more.
Sample course instructional animation "Tying Knots"
Sample course instructional animation "Personal Watercraft Overtaking"
To help you improve your boating skills and to prepare you for the final exam, the course is broken down into 6 easy-to-understand units that you can complete at your own pace:
As you progress through the course, you'll be given the opportunity to demonstrate how well you're understanding the boater safety topics by taking a quiz at the end of each of the 6 units.
You'll need to score 90% or greater on the unit quiz before moving on to the next unit.
If you don't pass a unit quiz, that's no problem. You'll just go back and study the unit again until you're ready to pass.
After passing all the unit quizzes with a score of 90% or greater you will have demonstrated successfully mastery of the boating safety course material.
By taking a boating safety course and applying the lessons you learn, you help to ensure that our waterways are the safest they can be.
Illustration from Unit 2 – Getting Out on the Water
Illustration from Unit 5 – Boating Emergencies
Illustration from Unit 6 – Enjoying Water Sports
This online boater education course is approved by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard as an approved online boating license course.
Virginia law enforcement officers patrol the waterways to make your boating experience safe and pleasant. Cooperate with them by following the Virginia boating laws and guidelines in this course.
With this boater course, you'll be on the water with a temporary boater education certificate in a few hours, and you can complete the online course at your own pace on a desktop computer or on any mobile smartphone or tablet.
This boat license safety course is proudly made in Dallas, Texas, USA, and our servers and data storage facilities are located within the U.S.A. Recreational boating is truly one of America's favorite pastimes and a freedom we all should continue to enjoy.
