Policy Letter 23-01 - CH-1 - Change 1 to Recreational Boating Incident Reporting

Sep 16, 2026

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Policy Letter 23-01, CH-1 (effective for incidents occurring on or after 1 Jan 2024) provides Change 1 updates to Recreational Boating Incident Reporting requirements. It cancels the prior guidance and expands reporting clarity for specific categories, including certain state-numbered uninspected commercial vessels, voluntary departures, certain casualty scenarios, self-inflicted injuries, and incidents during storm or unusual sea conditions. The letter adjusts federal damage and injury threshold calculations and language, adds definitions for “associated equipment” and “personal property,” and clarifies how incident reports and regulatory terms should be forwarded to the Coast Guard to avoid unnecessary reporting.

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Commandant U.S. Coast Guard 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE Washington, DC 20593-7509 Staff Symbol: CG-BSX Phone: 202-372-1062 [Email: RBSInfo@uscg.mil](Email: RBSInfo@uscg.mil) 16751 CG-BSX Policy Letter 23-01, CH-1 26 Sep 2023 From: /T. P. Glendye/, CAPT COMDT (CG-BSX) To: Distribution Subj: CHANGE 1 TO RECREATIONAL BOATING INCIDENT REPORTING Ref: (a) Recreational Boating Incident Reporting, CG-BSX Policy Letter 23-01, dtd 1/27/23 (b) 33 CFR Part 173 subpart C – Casualty and Accident Reporting (c) 33 CFR part 174 subpart D – State Reports (d) 33 CFR part 174 subpart C – Casualty Reporting System Requirements (e) 46 USC § 13102(b)(1)–State Recreational Boating Safety Programs (f) Recreational Boating Statistics, COMDTPUB 16754.34 (series) (g) 46 USC § 2101–General Provisions 1. Purpose. This policy letter cancels reference (a) . The revision provides additional guidance for reporting of incidents that solely involve state-numbered uninspected commercial vessels (5.c.(2)), voluntary departures from anchored vessels (5.b.(5)), casualties on properly docked or moored vessels due to the actions of another recreational vessel (5.a.(12)-(14) and 5.b.(7)-(9)), self-inflicted injuries (5.b.(2)) and incidents that occur during storm or unusual tidal or sea conditions (5.b.(13(a)(b))) . It changes parameters for calculating the federal damage threshold (4.i) and fine-tunes language regarding the federal injury threshold (4.b), foreign flag vessels (5.c.(1)), and incidents involving a watercraft or artificial contrivance that has already been determined to not bea vessel (5.b.(14)) . It also provides definitions for “associated equipment”(4.a) and“personal property”(4.x) . Last, it renumbers the final sections, and updates the references. Effective for incidents occurring on or after 1 Jan 2024, this policy provides guidance on the reporting requirements in references (b) through (d) to avoid unnecessary reporting of occurrences to the Coast Guard. By explaining the way the Coast Guard uses the incident reports and the terms used in the reporting regulations, this policy clarifies the incidents that reporting authorities should forward to the Coast Guard. 2. Background. Reference (b), pursuant to 33 CFR § 173.51, applies to the following: Each vessel operated on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and on the high seas beyond the territorial seas for a vessel owned in the United States that: (1) Is operated by its operator for recreational purposes; or (2) Is required to be numbered under this part. It does not apply to a vessel subject to inspection under Title 46 U.S.C. Chapter 33. Further, reference (b), specifically 33 CFR § 173.55(a)(1)-(4), requires operators of recreational vessels to submit a casualty or accident report to the “reporting authority,” which is defined at 33 CFR § 173.3 as a state listed in 33 CFR part 173, Appendix A, or the Coast Guard if no state is listed. It requires a report to the reporting authority under the following conditions: a. A death; b. An injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid; c. Damage to vessels and other property that totals $2,000 or more or results in the complete loss of a vessel ($2,000 is the federal threshold, a state or territory may establish a lesser value); or d. The disappearance of a person under circumstances that indicate death or injury. Note: Reference (b) also lists the minimum required contents ofthe report. Reference (c) requires the reporting authority to forward reports to the Coast Guard, and reference (d) sets out requirements for a state casualty reporting system. Per reference (e), the Coast Guard requires the states to report to the Coast Guard incidents on waters over which the state has jurisdiction that meet one or more of the conditions in paragraphs 2.a though 2.d; this includes sole state waters. The Coast Guard uses the required reports to create the statistics

FAQs

When does this policy letter become effective for incident reporting?

It applies to incidents occurring on or after 1 Jan 2024.

What kinds of incidents are given additional reporting guidance in this change?

The policy expands guidance for incidents involving certain state-numbered uninspected commercial vessels, voluntary departures from anchored vessels, specific casualty cases tied to another recreational vessel’s actions, self-inflicted injuries, and incidents occurring during storm or unusual tidal/sea conditions.

How are federal damage and injury thresholds updated?

The revision changes the parameters used to calculate the federal damage threshold and fine-tunes the language regarding the federal injury threshold, along with related definitional updates for reporting terms.

Sep 16, 2026

Upload by Jasmine