What changed in Michigan boating for 2026

Updated June 2026. Boating statutes move slowly — this page mostly tracks the fee bill and the safety-system buildout.

The 2026 watch list

• The registration fee bill is the live item. A bill pending in the Legislature would raise watercraft registration fees by roughly 30%, with built-in increases afterward. A motorboat under 12 feet would go from $14 to about $18. A 21-to-28-foot boat would go from $115 to about $150. It would be the first meaningful increase in decades, part of the same recreation-funding push as the hunting and fishing fee proposals. As of mid-2026 it had not passed. Current fees apply, and this page updates if that changes.
• Beach-safety systems keep expanding. The double-red-flag rule (water closed, entering ticketable) is now standard at state park beaches. Electronic flag towers piloted at Grand Haven show where the system is heading. Our beach safety page carries the full postcard.
• The rules themselves are stable. The two-birthday certificate law, life jacket requirements, PWC rules, and BUI thresholds are unchanged for 2026.

The seasonal rhythm

Registrations expire March 31 — renew before launch season. Boating safety classes fill spring calendars. And the drowning statistics behind our safety pages update through the season, via the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. We treat them as a reason for the postcard, never as a scoreboard.

The signpost

Fees and registration at Michigan.gov/SOS; rules at Michigan.gov/Boating. Start with Boating and paddling in Michigan, explained. See the season’s other changes at hunting, fishing, ORV, and camping.