This year, 2008, the Maine legislature will consider a bill requiring everyone operating a noncommercial motorboat or PWC to have a valid boater education certificate with them while operating in Maine waters.

If enacted, this law will be been phased in over several years based on the age of the operator:

• Beginning June 30, 2011, an operator 20 years of age or younger must meet this requirement.
• Beginning June 30, 2012, an operator 30 years of age or younger must meet this requirement.
• Beginning June 30, 2013, an operator 40 years of age or younger must meet this requirement.
• Beginning June 30, 2014, an operator 45 years of age or younger must meet this requirement.
• Beginning June 30, 2015, an operator 50 years of age or younger must meet this requirement.
• Beginning June 30, 2016, all operators must meet this requirement.

This legislation has not yet been passed and the associated rulemaking still needs to be completed.

Certificates from US Coast Guard Auxiliary America's Boating Course and Boating Skills & Seamanship are approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and the certificates earned in these classes are valid in all states which require boater education.   At this point it is most probable that they will be accepted in Maine as well. This site will be updated when the exact language of the new rules are available.

Non-residents will be required to have a training certificate valid in their the state of residency or possesses a Canadian pleasure craft operator's card.

Commercial Vessels are exempt from this requirement, however, both federal and state laws governing the operation of commercial vessels still apply and may require a higher level of training and/or operating experience.

More details:

• Status of the proposed law
• Text of the proposed law

Lost Certificates:

Every effort should be made to safeguard your certificates and maintain copies of any records you have proving you successfully completed the course. Before State Safe Boating Education Laws went into effect, most boater safety educators, including the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, did not maintain central databases of graduates.

Students who took a class more than 10 years ago would benefit from re-taking the class today.

As far as we can tell at this time, Casco Bay Flotilla's records go back to 1981.  However there may be a year or two missing.   Records from 1995 to present are electronic and will be added to the Auxiliary national data base.  Over the coming year we hope turn our paper records, from 1981 to 1994, into electronic records and add them to the Auxiliary's national data base.   If you took our course in the Portland or surrounding areas there is a good chance that we still have your records.

Students who can provide evidence of having completed one of our classes, such as a copy of the original certificate, wallet card, year they took the course along with other requested identification that would be in our records to identify you, may request replacements from the Public Education Officer.   If such evidence is not available, contact the Public Education Officer  and provide as much information as possible, such as the date and instructor's name. If flotilla records can be located indicating that you completed the class, a replacement can be issued.

Replacement cards and/or certificates require a $10 materials and administration fee.

State and national rules prohibit providing replacement cards if evidence of class completion can not be found.