(a) A boater safety certification may not be issued to the following persons:
(1) Any person less than 12 years of age.
(2) Any person whose vessel operating right or privilege is suspended.
(3) Any person whose vessel operating right or privilege is revoked.
(4) Any person who is an habitual abuser of alcohol or drugs.
(5) Any person afflicted with or suffering from a physical or mental disability which, in the opinion of the Director of Public Safety or examining officer, will prevent the person from exercising reasonable and ordinary control over a vessel.
(6) Any person who is ineligible to receive a driver's license pursuant to Act 2009-713.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, a person 12 years of age, but less than 14 years of age, who does not have a valid boater safety certification on January 1, 2002, may not operate a vessel, including a personal watercraft, unless the person obtains a valid boater safety certification and is under the immediate supervision of a person who is 21 years of age or older having a valid boater safety certification and who is on the vessel and is in a position to take immediate physical control of the vessel if needed. Also, notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, Alabama residents 12 years of age, but less than 14 years of age on January 1, 2002, may apply for and obtain a boater safety certification and operate a vessel, including a personal watercraft, to the same extent and under the same conditions as persons 14 years of age.
Structure Code of Alabama
Title 33 - Navigation and Watercourses.
Chapter 5 - Registration and Operation of Vessels.
Article 2 - Boating Safety Reform.
Section 33-5-50 - Short Title.
Section 33-5-51 - Operation of Personal Watercraft.
Section 33-5-52 - Boater Safety Certification Generally.
Section 33-5-53 - Boater Safety Certification; Application Fee; Examinations; Exemptions.
Section 33-5-54 - Issuance of Boater Safety Certification.
Section 33-5-55 - Reports; Disposition of Funds.
Section 33-5-57 - Persons to Whom Boater Safety Certification Shall Not Be Issued.
Section 33-5-58 - Persons With Physical Disabilities or Impairments; Hearings.
Section 33-5-59 - Display of Certification Required.
Section 33-5-60 - Reciprocal Agreements With Other States.
Section 33-5-64 - Duplicates for Lost or Destroyed Certifications; Fees.
Section 33-5-65 - Reinstatement of Certification Following Cancellation, Suspension, or Revocation.
Section 33-5-66 - Violations; Penalties.
Section 33-5-68 - Application Fee; Retention by Department of Public Safety.
Section 33-5-69 - Flotation Device; Exceptions.
Section 33-5-71 - Obstruction of Operator's View Prohibited; Penalties.
Section 33-5-72 - Emergency Engine or Motor Shut-Off Switch.
Section 33-5-73 - Operation of Vessel in Excess of Speed Zone Prohibited.
Section 33-5-76 - Authority to Arrest at Scene of Boating Accident.
Section 33-5-78 - "Vessel" Defined.
Section 33-5-79 - Rules and Regulations.
Section 33-5-80 - Exemption for Law Enforcement Officers While Performing Their Duties.
Section 33-5-81 - Boating Safety as Part of Driver Education Curricula.