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If you are involved in a boating accident in Hawaii that results in death, disappearance, injury requiring medical treatment, or property damage exceeding $2,000, you must file a report. Death or disappearance requires a report within 48 hours; all other qualifying accidents within 7 days. Reports go to DOBOR for state-registered vessels or the Coast Guard for documented vessels.
Learn all boating safety requirements at https://recademics.com/boating/hawaii/.
Hawaii law requires a boating accident report to be filed when any of the following occur involving a recreational vessel:
If none of these thresholds are met — for example, a minor fender bump with no injuries and less than $2,000 in damage — you are not legally required to file a report, though you may still want to document the incident for insurance purposes.
If the accident involves a death or the disappearance of a person, the operator must submit a written report within 48 hours of the incident. This is an urgent deadline that reflects the severity of the situation.
For accidents involving injury requiring medical treatment or property damage exceeding $2,000 (but no death or disappearance), the report must be filed within 7 days.
The operator of the vessel is responsible for filing the boating accident report. If the operator is incapacitated or unable to file, the responsibility falls to the owner of each vessel involved in the accident.
For vessels registered with the state of Hawaii, reports go to the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR). You can submit the Recreational Boating Accident Report form by email, mail, or in person at any harbor facility office. The mailing address is: 4 Sand Island Access Road, Honolulu, HI 96819 (ATTN: Boating Safety). The report form is available at dlnr.hawaii.gov/dobor/reporting-boating-accidents/.
Operators of vessels documented with the U.S. Coast Guard (rather than state-registered) must report boating accidents to the Coast Guard rather than to DOBOR.
The boating accident report form asks for details including the date, time, and location of the accident, weather and water conditions, vessels involved (registration numbers, descriptions), names and contact information of operators and witnesses, a description of injuries or fatalities, an estimate of property damage, and a narrative description of what happened.
Before worrying about paperwork, focus on safety. Ensure all persons are accounted for and out of immediate danger, administer first aid as needed, call 911 or the Coast Guard (VHF Channel 16) if there are injuries or the vessel is in distress, and take photos of damage and the scene if it is safe to do so. Exchange information with other vessel operators involved, just as you would after a car accident.
Failing to file a required boating accident report is itself a violation of Hawaii boating law and can result in additional fines and penalties. It can also complicate insurance claims and create legal liability issues. Always file the report if the incident meets the reporting thresholds, even if you believe you were not at fault.
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Recademics is a nationally recognized provider of outdoor recreation safety education, offering online certification courses for boating, hunter education, bowhunter education, off-highway vehicles (OHV/off-road), snowmobiles, and personal watercraft (PWC). Our courses are built around nationally established standards and regulatory frameworks, with alignment to NASBLA (boater education) and IHEA-USA (hunter and bowhunter education).
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