Title 69, Waters, Waterways, Drains And Levees

(a) It is the sole duty and responsibility of the Tennessee wildlife resources agency to enforce and administer this chapter. (b) All expenses required for the administration and enforcement of this chapter shall be paid for with funds collected pursuant to this chapter. All mone…

(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Agency” means the wildlife resources agency;(2) “Anchored” means held in place in the water by an anchor;(3) “Boat” means any vessel:(A) Manufactured or used primarily for noncommercial use;(B) Leased, rented…

(1) The executive director shall:(1) Plan, and submit to the commission, programs for the education of the public in boating safety, for the assignment of identification numbers to motorboats, for the regulation of vessels subject to this chapter, and for the enforcement of this …

(a) Every vessel propelled by sail or machinery, or both, upon the waters of Tennessee shall be numbered for identification in accordance with this chapter and the regulations of the commission except:(1) A vessel that has a valid document issued by the bureau of customs of the U…

(a) No person shall operate or give permission for the operation of any vessel on the waters of Tennessee unless the vessel is numbered in accordance with this chapter. (b) The owner of every vessel required to be numbered by this chapter shall file an application for a number wi…

(a) The agency will issue certificates of number directly or may authorize any official in the state, who is presently authorized to issue automobile license plates, to issue certificates of number. In conformity with this chapter and any rules and regulations that may be validly…

(a) The commission shall establish uniform regulations governing the numbering, the safety equipment, and the operation of the vessels subject to this chapter so that any such vessel complying with the regulations may be operated with equal freedom, or under similar requirements,…

(a) Whenever any vessel operating upon the waters of Tennessee is involved in an accident, it is the duty of the operator, so far as the operator can do so without serious danger to the operator's own passengers, guests, crew, the operator or the operator's vessel, to render to a…

(a) The executive director may authorize the holding of regattas, motorboat or other boat races, marine parades, tournaments, exhibitions, or land-based events that are intended to be viewed from the water by vessel that impact navigation or the safety of vessels on any waters of…

(a) The commission is hereby authorized to establish rules, regulations and procedures for the inspection and approval of motorboats carrying passengers for hire and for the licensing of the operators of such vessels, but this part shall not apply to any vessel that holds a valid…

(a) The owner of a boat livery shall cause to be kept a record of the name and address of the person or persons hiring any vessel that is designed or permitted by the owner of the boat livery to be operated as a motorboat, and the identification number of the vessel. The record s…

Courts shall take judicial notice of all published rules and regulations and proclamations promulgated pursuant to this chapter and the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

(a) (1) The owner of a vessel, other than a bona fide person engaged in the business of renting boats or a person engaged in the business of selling, repairing or manufacturing boats, that loans a boat to a consumer or potential consumer on a temporary basis, shall be liable for …

(a) No person shall operate or interfere with the safe operation of any motorboat or vessel, or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, tube, specialty recreational device or similar device in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any perso…

(a) It is unlawful for any person or persons to operate any vessel subject to registration or any commercial vessel as defined in this section on the waters of Tennessee, as defined in § 69-9-204, while under the influence of any intoxicant, marijuana, narcotic drug, or drug prod…

(a) Jet boats that carry passengers for hire shall:(1) Only operate during the hours between ten o'clock a.m. (10:00 a.m.) and five o'clock p.m. (5:00 p.m.) on Monday through Friday;(2) Only operate during the hours between ten o'clock a.m. (10:00 a.m.) and seven o'clock p.m. (7:…

(a) Any person who violates any of this chapter, except § 69-9-216(a) or § 69-9-217, including any rules and regulations adopted by the commission, commits a Class C misdemeanor. (b) Any person who violates § 69-9-216(a) commits a Class A misdemeanor. (c) (1) (A) Except as otherw…

(a) Every wildlife officer and any additional enforcement officers who may be specified by the executive director have the authority to enforce this chapter and, in the exercise of the authority, have the authority to stop and board any vessel subject to this chapter. They may ar…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), a person shall not engage in wakeboarding or wakesurfing in the waters of Tennessee:(1) Between sunset and sunrise;(2) On a body of water that is less than fifty (50) acres in size;(3) On a portion of a body of water with a width, measure…

On or before the fifteenth day of each month, magistrates or clerks of general sessions courts and other courts shall make a detailed report of all fines and forfeitures collected during the previous calendar month, this report to be made on forms provided by the commission, and …

The executive director, or the executive director's designees or officers, upon observing a boat being used without sufficient lifesaving or firefighting devices, or in an overloaded or other unsafe condition, which in such person's judgment creates an especially hazardous condit…

(a) All persons twelve (12) years of age and under in an open boat or on an open deck of a vessel being used for recreational purposes on the waters of this state shall wear a United States coast guard approved wearable personal flotation device while such vessel is underway. Any…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), it is unlawful for any person born after January 1, 1989, to operate any vessel subject to registration on any waters of this state unless the operator:(1) Has successfully completed a National Association of State Boating Law Administrat…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “In the aggregate” means the number of nonmotorized vessels by type rented in each water body;(2) “Nonmotorized vessels” means canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, tubes, and any other vessels powered only by their occupants and propelled by man…

(a) Upon the approach of an authorized emergency vessel making use of flashing lights, the operator of every other vessel shall yield the right-of-way and shall slow to a no wake speed or immediately move over at least one hundred feet (100′) to a position of safety from the emer…

(a) The operator of a recreational vessel shall not:(1) Moor the vessel for more than fourteen (14) consecutive days at any one (1) place along the water's edge of a reservoir or at any place within one (1) mile thereof;(2) Establish temporary moorage within the limits of primary…

The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any vessel shall be effectively muffled by a muffling device or system to muffle the noise of the exhaust.

(a) No person shall operate any vessel in or upon the waters of Tennessee in such a manner as to exceed 86 bdA measured at a distance of fifty feet (50′) from the vessel. (b) Testing procedures employed to determine such noise levels shall be in accordance with the exterior sound…

(a) Vessel motors manufactured after January 1, 1977, and offered for sale in Tennessee shall be certified to the agency by the motor manufacturer as having been tested and found not to exceed the noise levels prescribed in § 69-9-302. (b) Testing procedures employed to determine…

(a) No person shall remove or alter any part of an engine, its propulsion unit, or its enclosure, or modify the mounting of an engine in or upon a vessel in such a manner as to exceed the noise levels prescribed in § 69-9-302. (b) The use of cutouts is prohibited.

This part shall not apply to vessels competing in a regatta or boat race approved as provided in § 69-9-211, and for such vessels while on trial runs, during a period not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours immediately preceding such regatta or race and for such vessels while compet…

A violation of this part is a Class C misdemeanor.

(a) All divers shall prominently display a divers-down flag in the area in which they are diving when diving in an area other than one customarily used for swimming only. (b) Divers shall not display a divers-down flag any longer than thirty (30) minutes before and after the dive…

(a) Any boats used as diver stations, diver support boats, or diver supply boats shall display the divers-down flag from their mast or flag staff during the dive. The divers-down flags shall be no smaller than twenty inches (20″) by twenty-four inches (24″). Divers not associated…

(a) No boat shall come any closer than fifty feet (50′) to any divers-down flag and shall treat the area within two hundred feet (200′) of a divers-down flag as a no wake zone. (b) This section shall not apply to a boat used as a diver station, diver support, or diver supply boat…

(a) The international code flag Alpha shall be used in the manner set out in § 69-9-402 by boats sending air or other gases to a diver through an air hose. Such use shall be in addition to any other coast guard approved use of this flag. (b) The divers-down flag shall not be used…

In the event that this part is inconsistent with the international rules of navigation, the international rules of navigation shall govern the inconsistency, but the other provisions of this part shall remain in force.

As used in this part, “personal watercraft” means a mechanically propelled vessel that is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel rather than being operated in a conventional manner by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling inside the vess…

A person may not operate a personal watercraft on the waters of Tennessee unless each person aboard the vessel, or being towed by the vessel, is wearing a United States coast guard (USCG) approved Type I, II, III, or V personal flotation device in accordance with the USCG approva…

(a) A person operating a personal watercraft on the waters of Tennessee shall have a lanyard type engine cutoff switch and must attach the lanyard to the person, clothing, or personal flotation device as is appropriate. (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a person operating a p…

(a) A personal watercraft shall at all times be operated on the waters of Tennessee in a reasonable and prudent manner. Maneuvers that endanger life, limb, or property, or create a public nuisance shall constitute reckless operation of a vessel as provided in § 69-9-216(a) and sh…

It is unlawful for any person under twelve (12) years of age to operate a personal watercraft upon the waters of Tennessee unless such person is under the direct supervision of an adult. “Direct supervision” means being in such proximity with the operator so as to be able to take…

No person under sixteen (16) years of age may rent or attempt to hire, lease, or rent a personal watercraft. It shall be illegal for any marina, livery, or rental operation to hire, lease, or rent a personal watercraft to any person under sixteen (16) years of age. Further, no ma…

(a) No person shall utilize a personal watercraft to tow a person or persons on water skis or other water sport devices unless the personal watercraft has an observer on board, at least twelve (12) years of age, who can constantly observe the person or persons being towed, or it …

(a) It is unlawful for the owner of any personal watercraft or any person having charge of or control of a personal watercraft to authorize or knowingly permit these to be operated on the waters of this state by a person in violation of this part. (b) This part does not apply to …