Boating License Practice Test 2026 – Free PCOC Boating Test Questions

Who needs a Pleasure Craft Operator Card, the other accepted proofs of competency, the rental boat checklist, replacing a lost card, the horsepower limits for operators under 16 and which documents to carry.

Pleasure craft licence rules (10 hp threshold, 5-year validity, 30-day deadlines, marking the bow), registration, compliance notices and safe limits, hull serial numbers and buying or building a boat.

Lifejacket types and sizes, how PFDs differ, inflatable PFD restrictions, fitting children, checking and caring for flotation devices, heaving lines, lifebuoys and reboarding devices.

Minimum equipment by boat type and length, how length is measured, the notes on flares, reboarding devices, compasses and radar reflectors, manual propelling devices, anchors, bailers and sound-signalling devices.

Rocket parachute, multi-star, hand and smoke flares, their heights and burn times, expiry and storage, electronic visual distress signals, disposing of old flares and other recognized distress signals.

Fire classes and extinguisher ratings, monthly checks, fighting a fire on board, the fuelling procedure and 4-minute blower rule, carbon monoxide, heavier-than-air vapours and ignition protection.

Seaworthiness and the pre-departure check, marine forecasts and wind warnings, sail plans, charts and publications, local hazards, loading your boat and the free courtesy check.

Lookout, safe speed and risk of collision, head-on, crossing and overtaking situations, give-way and stand-on duties, which vessels keep clear of which, narrow channels and restricted visibility.

Short and prolonged blasts, manoeuvring signals (one, two, three and five blasts), the bend signal, fog signals by vessel type, the Great Lakes difference and required sound appliances.

Masthead, side, stern and all-round lights and their arcs, light options for power boats, sailboats and paddle craft, anchor lights and the anchor ball, the motor-sailing cone and towing lights.

Port and starboard hand buoys and the upstream rule, bifurcation, fairway and isolated danger buoys, and port, starboard and junction daybeacons.

Cardinal buoy colours, topmarks and lights, and the special buoys: cautionary, anchorage, information, hazard, keep out, scientific (ODAS), diving, mooring, control and swimming.

How buoys are classified, odd and even numbers, flat and conical tops, light and reflector colours, the PRIV marking and how to recognise hazard, keep out, control, mooring and swimming buoys.

Choosing a safe speed, wake damage, the muffler rule, the 10 km/h shoreline limit and its exceptions, Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations signs, and rules around marine mammals.

Large ships and their blind spots, tugs and tows, diver flags, seaplanes, low-head dams, power lines, historic canal rules, passing through a lock and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Personal watercraft age and handling rules, towing water-skiers and tubers (spotter, seats, sunset limit), stand-up paddleboard leashes and safety tips for paddlers, hunters and anglers.

Impaired boating under the Criminal Code, the 2-hour rule, penalties, common contravention fines, who enforces boating laws, provinces without ticketing, and rules for non-resident boaters.

VHF channels 16, 68 and 70, DSC and MMSI numbers, the operator certificate, cell phones and beacons, Mayday, Pan-Pan and Sécurité calls, false alerts and the duty to help.

Recovering a person overboard, the Anderson and Williamson turns, reboarding, the 1-10-1 principle, signs of hypothermia, and the H.E.L.P. and huddle positions.

Clean, drain and dry against invasive species, sewage rules (holding tanks, Ontario's ban on discharge and portable toilets), bilge pollution, green boating habits and reporting pollution or suspicious activity.