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Rules · Florida

Florida boating rules for visiting sailors

Anchoring, permits, sewage, wildlife and who may skipper – each rule in one line, with the statute and the date we read it. The log below says what changed, and when.

Not legal advice. Where a rule matters to you, read the statute linked on its page.

F.S. 327.4109since 19 May 2025
Where you may not anchorNot within 150 feet of a marina, boat ramp or boatyard, not within 500 feet of a superyacht repair facility, and not within 300 feet outward from the marked boundary of a public mooring field.
F.S. 327.4111since 1 Jan 2026
The long-term anchoring permitAnchoring for 14 days or more within a 30-day period and within 1 linear nautical mile of a documented anchorage point needs a permit, issued at no cost and expiring 1 year from the date of issuance.
F.S. 327.4108since 1 Jul 2026
Anchoring limitation areas at nightBetween one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise, anchoring is prohibited in a section of Middle River, in Sunset Lake and in ten listed segments of Biscayne Bay.
F.S. 327.395
Boating education a visitor needsAnyone born on or after 1 January 1988 who operates a vessel powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or greater must carry proof of boating safety education; an International Certificate of Competency is named in the statute.
F.S. 327.53
No-discharge zones and holding tanksRaw sewage may not be discharged from any vessel in Florida waters, and four designated no-discharge zones cover Destin Harbor, the waters of the City of Key West, the state waters of the Florida Keys sanctuary and the Indian River–Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve.
F.S. 327.4107since 1 Jul 2026
At-risk and derelict vesselsSix conditions make a vessel at risk of becoming derelict; an owner who is not aboard must carry out the propulsion test within 48 hours after receiving notice.
F.S. 327.35
Alcohol and the equipment the law asks forBoating under the influence begins at a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters, and every person under 6 years of age must wear a flotation device on a vessel less than 26 feet in length while underway.
F.S. 327.331
Divers-down flags and the distance to keepMake a reasonable effort to keep at least 300 feet from a divers-down warning device in open water, and at least 100 feet on rivers, inlets and navigation channels.
F.S. 379.354
Saltwater fishing licence for a visitorA nonresident saltwater fishing licence costs $15.50 for 3 consecutive days, $28.50 for 7 consecutive days or $45.50 for the year, and the annual spiny lobster permit costs $5.
15 CFR 922
Sanctuary rules in the Florida KeysNOAA's Restoration Blueprint final rule for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary published on 17 January 2025, and the anchoring prohibition in sanctuary preservation areas does not take effect until 2027.
F.S. 327.60since 19 May 2025
What a city or county may regulateA county with a population of 1.5 million or more may regulate vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise on more than 30 days in any 6-month period.
FAC 68C-22
Manatee protection zonesManatee zones are set county by county in rule chapter 68C-22 — sixteen different seasonal periods, five counties with none, and no rule for Monroe.
F.S. 328.58
Registering a boat from another stateA vessel carrying a valid registration number from another state must have that number recorded in Florida once the 90-day reciprocity period provided for in chapter 328 is exceeded.
F.S. 253.04(3)(a)
Seagrass scarringOperating a vessel outside a lawfully marked channel in a careless manner that causes seagrass scarring in certain aquatic preserves is a noncriminal infraction, fined $100, then $250, $500 and $1,000 for repeat offences.
FAC 68B-24
Spiny lobster: season, sport season and bag limitsThe regular season runs 6 August to 31 March; the two-day sport season falls on the last Wednesday and successive Thursday of July.
F.S. 327.56since 1 Jul 2025
Stops, boardings and equipment checksAn officer may not board a vessel or make a vessel stop without probable cause to believe a violation of chapter 327 has occurred or is occurring, and an equipment violation is a secondary offence.
F.S. 212.08(7)(t)
The 20-day rule for a visiting boatUnder this exemption a boat may remain in Florida for a period not to exceed a total of 20 days in any calendar year, counted from the date of first dockage or slippage at a facility.

Where the rules differ by county

Statewide rules apply everywhere; these are the places with something extra.

CountyWhat applies on topSource
BrowardThe section of Middle River lying between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway is an anchoring limitation area. Rule 68C-22.010, Broward County Zones. Three zones run 15 November – 31 March, one of them only on weekends and holidays; the rest year-round.F.S. 327.4108 · FAC 68C-22
Miami-DadeSunset Lake and ten listed segments of Biscayne Bay are anchoring limitation areas.F.S. 327.4108
Monroe (Keys)No less than once every 90 days, each vessel anchored within Monroe County and within 10 linear nautical miles of a public mooring field or a designated anchoring area must pull anchor and be moved to a location no less than one-half linear nautical mile from the vessel's starting location. Where a pump-out record is asked for, it must indicate that the vessel was pumped out within the last 30 days. Under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act the designation and regulations take effect after a review period of forty-five days of continuous session of Congress beginning 17 January 2025; a regulation the Governor of Florida certifies as unacceptable within that period does not take effect in state waters of the sanctuary. The chapter lists no manatee protection zone rule for Monroe County.F.S. 327.4108 · 15 CFR 922 · FAC 68C-22
Counties other than MonroeA county may establish anchoring limitation areas of less than 100 acres each, in which a vessel may not anchor for more than 45 consecutive days in any 6-month period; the aggregate total of such areas in a county may not exceed 10 percent of the county's delineated navigable-in-fact waterways.F.S. 327.4108
Counties with 1.5 million or more inhabitantsThe statute sets the threshold by population and names no county; it covers vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise on more than 30 days in any 6-month period.F.S. 327.60
LeeRule 68C-22.005, Lee County Zones. No Entry 15 November – 31 March at the Tice power plant; Slow Speed 1 April – 15 November in two paragraphs; the ICW channel at 25 MPH 1 April – 14 November; the rest All Year.FAC 68C-22
BrevardRule 68C-22.006, Brevard County Zones. No Entry 15 November – 31 March, and two power-plant sub-zones in force 15 November through 31 March; the rest All Year, except as noted.FAC 68C-22
Indian RiverRule 68C-22.007, Indian River County Zones. One Slow Speed zone 1 November – 30 April, unregulated for the remainder of the year; the other three zones year-round.FAC 68C-22
St. LucieRule 68C-22.008, St. Lucie County Zones. Three different periods: Motorboats Prohibited 15 November – 31 March, Slow Speed 15 November – 30 April, Slow Speed 15 November – 15 April; the rest year-round.FAC 68C-22
Palm BeachRule 68C-22.009, Palm Beach County Zones. Paragraphs (b), (d) and (e) apply between 15 November and 31 March; paragraph (g) is 30 MPH from 1 June through 30 September and 25 MPH the rest of the year; (a), (c) and (f) are year-round.FAC 68C-22
Citrus (with parts of Levy and Hernando)Rule 68C-22.011, Citrus and Associated County Zones. Seven different periods in one rule: 15 November – 30 April, 1 March – 31 August, 1 April – 31 August, 1 September – 30 April, 1 October – 30 April, 1 May – 31 August, and 15 November – 31 March.FAC 68C-22
Volusia (with parts of Putnam, Lake and Seminole)Rule 68C-22.012, Volusia County and Associated County Zones. Two zones marked Seasonal, 15 October – 15 April, at Lake Beresford and Blue Spring Run; one Slow Speed zone 1 April – 31 August; the rest year-round.FAC 68C-22
HillsboroughRule 68C-22.013, Hillsborough County Zones. No Entry and Idle Speed at Apollo Beach 15 November – 31 March; two sub-zones north of the Courtney Campbell Causeway 1 April – 15 November; the rest All Year.FAC 68C-22
ManateeRule 68C-22.014, Manatee County Zones. No seasonal zone: every zone in the rule is All Year.FAC 68C-22
Charlotte (with part of DeSoto)Rule 68C-22.015, Charlotte County Zones. No seasonal zone: Idle Speed, Slow Speed and 25 MPH are all All Year.FAC 68C-22
PinellasRule 68C-22.016, Pinellas County Zones. Slow Speed 1 April – 15 November, Slow Speed 1 April – 31 October, Slow Speed 15 November – 31 March at Whitcomb Bayou, plus a year-round Slow Speed zone.FAC 68C-22
CollierRule 68C-22.023, Collier County Zones. No seasonal zone: the rule establishes year-round zones only.FAC 68C-22
MartinRule 68C-22.024, Martin County Zones. No seasonal zone: the zones are established for year-round regulation. The 15 November – 31 March in this rule concerns exemption permits, not a zone.FAC 68C-22
DadeRule 68C-22.025, Dade County Zones. Three zones run 15 November – 30 April — two of them Slow Speed with 30 or 35 MPH for the remainder of the year, one a No Entry zone; the rest year-round.FAC 68C-22
Sarasota (and a small portion of Charlotte)Rule 68C-22.026, Sarasota County Zones. The rule covers Sarasota County "and a small portion of Charlotte County", which its title does not say. The coastal zones are year-round; in the Myakka River–Big Slough area and associated waters of Charlotte County a No Entry zone runs 15 November – 15 March at Warm Mineral Springs and Salt Creek.FAC 68C-22
Duval (with parts of Clay and St. Johns)Rule 68C-22.027, Duval County and Associated County Zones. No seasonal zone: all zones are in effect year-round.FAC 68C-22
FlaglerRule 68C-22.028, Flagler County Zones. Both zones run 1 May – 7 September and there is no year-round zone — the only rule in the chapter whose zones apply in summer alone.FAC 68C-22
Cape Canaveral Energy Center (not a county rule)Rule 68C-22.029, Cape Canaveral Energy Center Interim Warm-water Refuge Zone, in place each year from 15 November to 31 March. The chapter list dates the rule 24 January 2023. It is a zone at a power plant rather than a county's set of zones.FAC 68C-22
Monroe (Keys), sport season onlyNo harvest of spiny lobster by diving at night — from 1 hour after official sunset until 1 hour before official sunrise.FAC 68B-24
Monroe and Biscayne National Park, bag limit6 on the first day of the sport season, 6 on the second day while on the water, and 12 in possession once the harvester has landed and departed those waters.FAC 68B-24
Everywhere else, bag limit in the sport season12 on the first day, 12 on the second day while on the water, and 24 in possession once the harvester has landed and departed state waters.FAC 68B-24
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Monroe)No harvest of spiny lobster during the sport season, and no possession in park waters — except for persons transiting park waters in a vessel. The exception does not cover a vessel someone is diving from.FAC 68B-24
Biscayne National ParkNo harvest and no trap in the park's Coral Reef Protection Areas, by reference to rule 68B-7.008.FAC 68B-24

What changed, and when

Full log RSS for this log
  1. 1 Jul 2026
    CS/CS/HB 1103 · ch. 2026-36
    Local enforcement of the vessel rulesin force

    Lets a county or municipality adopt an ordinance authorising code enforcement officers to enforce the at-risk vessel and long-term anchoring permit provisions. Such an ordinance may not take effect until the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reviews and approves it. Approved by the Governor on 20 April 2026, chapter number assigned 21 April 2026, effective date 7/1/2026.

    State law

  2. 1 Jan 2026
    CS/SB 164 · ch. 2025-147, s. 3
    Long-term anchoring permitin force

    Section 3 of the act carries its own date: "Effective January 1, 2026, section 327.4111, Florida Statutes, is created to read:". It is the only section of the act with a 2026 date; the rest took effect on 1 July 2025.

    State law

  3. 1 Jul 2025
    CS/SB 1388 · ch. 2025-35
    Probable cause for a vessel stopin force

    Prohibits an officer from performing a vessel stop or boarding a vessel without probable cause, makes safety and marine sanitation equipment violations a secondary offence, and creates the "Florida Freedom Boater" safety inspection decal. The bill page gives the effective date as 7/1/2025.

    State law

  4. 1 Jul 2025
    CS/SB 164 · ch. 2025-147
    Vessel Accountabilityin force

    The Vessel Accountability act was approved by the Governor on 19 June 2025. Its enrolled text closes with "Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2025." The act reworks the at-risk vessel provisions and the penalties that carry them.

    State law

  5. 19 May 2025
    CS/CS/HB 481 · ch. 2025-39
    Anchoring distances and Biscayne Bayin force

    Increases the prohibited anchoring and mooring distance near public mooring fields, designates specified sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County as grandfathered-in anchoring limitation areas, and restricts local regulation of vessels outside the marked boundaries of mooring fields in certain counties. The bill page gives the effective date as 5/19/2025.

    State law

2 earlier changes

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 22 Oct 2026. Found something wrong? Report a correction.