On The Water
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.013 — boating while intoxicated, and a higher class with a child under seventeen aboard
In Missouri, boating while intoxicated has its own section in the same chapter as the driving offenses, with its own ladder of prior, persistent, aggravated, chronic and habitual boating offenders.
A child aboard raises the class. Operating a vessel while in an intoxicated condition is a class B misdemeanor, and a class A misdemeanor if the defendant is a prior boating offender or a person less than seventeen years of age is present in the vessel. Causing injury or death with criminal negligence makes it a felony.
A first offense. A first offense may not receive a suspended imposition of sentence unless the person is placed on probation for a minimum of two years, or, where the level was fifteen-hundredths of one percent or more and a DWI court is available, completes that program.
A jacket for each person aboard. Every vessel except class A, under sixteen feet, carries a wearable personal flotation device for each person on board and each person being towed who is not wearing one, plus a throwable device, and class A motorboats and other watercraft carry one device for each person. Devices are coast guard approved, serviceable and readily accessible, and a violation is an infraction with a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars and no court costs.
Back to the mooring. A water patrol officer may direct an operator with too few flotation devices, or in an overloaded or unsafe condition, to return to the nearest safe mooring and stay there until it is corrected.
| The assumption | What the law actually does |
|---|---|
| The assumptionA boating charge is always the lowest misdemeanor | What the law actually doesA prior boating offense, or a person under seventeen aboard, makes it a class A misdemeanor |
| The assumptionA missing life jacket means a large fine | What the law actually doesAn infraction, fined not more than twenty-five dollars, with no court costs |
Registration and numbering, boating education, the rest of the equipment rules and the higher penalties for repeat offenses are not all on this page. What a particular citation carries is a question for a licensed Missouri attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 577.013 — Boating while intoxicated
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 306.100 — Classification of vessels; equipment requirements
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Missouri attorney.