At what speed does driving a recreational vessel in NSW require the operator to hold a general boat licence?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Get a boat or PWC licence
Boat & PWC licence · New South Wales · 2026
Boat and PWC Licence Knowledge Test: NSW 2026
Prepare for the Transport for NSW recreational boat and PWC licence knowledge test with practice questions, timed mock sittings and flashcards built straight from the official NSW boating rules and the international collision rules.
1,000+ Study items
50 Mock exam
90% To pass
100% Offline
The exam
What the NSW boat and PWC licence knowledge test involves
In New South Wales you need a general boat licence to drive a recreational vessel at 10 knots or more, and a PWC licence to ride a personal watercraft such as a jet ski. You get each licence by passing a knowledge test, sat at a Service NSW centre or with an authorised training provider after you meet the practical boating experience requirement.
How many questions are on the NSW boat licence knowledge test?
The general boat licence knowledge test has 50 multiple-choice questions. It is split into two sections, and you must reach the pass mark in each section, not just overall.
- Section A: general boating knowledge, pass mark at least 24 of 30.
- Section B: critical safety knowledge, where you must answer all 20 of 20 correctly.
- PWC licence: a separate test of 15 questions, pass mark at least 12 of 15.
What is the pass mark for the NSW boat licence test?
You must pass both sections: at least 24 of 30 in Section A and all 20 of 20 in the critical-safety Section B. Because the safety section allows no mistakes, our app lets you drill the critical-safety questions until they are second nature.
Is there a time limit?
Transport for NSW does not publish a time limit for the knowledge test. Our app lets you practise at your own pace and also run timed 50-question mock sittings if you want to rehearse under pressure. The mock pass mark in the app is our own rehearsal standard, set high to reflect the strict Section B rule.
Do I need a separate test for a jet ski?
Yes. Riding a personal watercraft needs a PWC licence, and you must already hold a general boat licence first. The PWC test is a separate 15-question test with a pass mark of at least 12 of 15. This app covers both the general boat knowledge and the PWC-specific rules.
What is this app built from?
Every question and flashcard is written from publicly available NSW material: the official Transport for NSW boating rules, the Marine Safety Act 1998 (NSW), the Marine Safety (General) Regulation 2016 (NSW), and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) with the IALA buoyage system. Each question cites the rule it comes from.
- 511 practice questions across the five study topics.
- 501 flashcards for quick recall of rules, distances and signals.
- Over 1,000 study items in total, all sourced from the official rules.
Features
A complete study system, on one device
01 / PRACTICE
Practice mode
Work through 511 questions by topic, see the right answer and a plain-English explanation, and revisit the NSW rule each question is built on.
02 / MOCK
Timed mock exam
Sit a realistic 50-question mock drawn across all five topics, and rehearse under timed pressure before the real knowledge test.
03 / FLASHCARDS
Flashcards
Drill 501 flashcards covering lifejacket rules, give-way duties, navigation lights, sound signals, buoys and required safety gear.
What's inside
What to look for in an exam-prep app
| Based on the official public source | Yes, The official Transport for NSW boating rules, the Marine Safety Act 1998 (NSW) and Marine Safety (General) Regulation 2016 (NSW), and the COLREGS with the IALA buoyage system |
|---|---|
| Timed mock exam | 50 questions, 60 min |
| Pass rule applied | 90% to pass |
| Answer explanations mapped to the source | Yes |
| Weak-area review | Yes |
| Flashcards (spaced repetition) | Yes |
| Works fully offline, no account | Yes |
| Ads | None |
| Payment | One-time purchase |
| Last content review | 2026-07-01 |
In the app
Calm, focused study, nothing else
Sample questions
Try 10 real practice questions
Tap an answer to see why it is right, mapped to the official source, exactly as in the app.
What is the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for a person aged 18 or over driving a recreational vessel in NSW?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Alcohol limits when driving a boat
A powered vessel travelling at 6 knots or more must keep at least what distance from other vessels, structures and the shore?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Keeping a safe distance
Two power-driven vessels are approaching head-on. Under the collision rules, what must each vessel do?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Giving way; COLREGS Rule 14
A power-driven vessel and a sailing vessel are crossing paths. Which one must generally give way?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Giving way; COLREGS Rule 18
At night, a vessel showing you a green sidelight is presenting which side to you?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Lights to display; COLREGS Rule 21
What does one short blast of a vessel's horn mean?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Boating sound signals
On a NSW personal watercraft (PWC), when must a lifejacket be worn?
Based on: Transport for NSW, When to wear a lifejacket
On open waters, beyond what distance from shore must a powerboat carry a registered 406 MHz EPIRB and a marine radio?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Safety equipment checklist
By marine radio, which spoken word signals grave and imminent danger requiring immediate help?
Based on: Transport for NSW, Distress and emergency calls
Source & accuracy
Where the questions come from, and when we last checked
Built from The official Transport for NSW boating rules, the Marine Safety Act 1998 (NSW) and Marine Safety (General) Regulation 2016 (NSW), and the COLREGS with the IALA buoyage system (2026 edition (NSW boating rules in force 2026)), the official public source, used under NSW Government website content and NSW legislation are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), State of New South Wales; the COLREGS and IALA maritime buoyage system are public international standards. View the official source .
Last checked against the source: 2026-07-01.
- Study items
- 1,000+
- Questions
- 511
- Flashcards
- 501
- Mock exam
- 50
- Pass mark
- 90%
All questions are original and written from the public source. No official exam questions are copied.
Content audit trail
- 2026-07-01 Initial release. Built from the Transport for NSW boating rules (CC BY 4.0), the Marine Safety Act 1998 (NSW) and Marine Safety (General) Regulation 2016 (NSW), and the COLREGS/IALA. Every question was cross-checked against its cited passage by a second, independent AI model over two review rounds; the official Transport for NSW handbook wording and any official test questions were deliberately not reproduced.
FAQ
Common questions
How many questions are on the NSW boat licence knowledge test?
The general boat licence test has 50 multiple-choice questions in two sections. You must score at least 24 of 30 in Section A and all 20 of 20 in the critical-safety Section B.
What is the pass mark?
You must pass both sections: at least 24 of 30 in Section A and all 20 of 20 in Section B. The PWC test is separate, with a pass mark of at least 12 of 15.
Is there a time limit on the test?
Transport for NSW does not publish a time limit for the knowledge test. Our app lets you practise untimed or run timed 50-question mock sittings.
Do I need a separate test for a jet ski?
Yes. A personal watercraft needs a PWC licence, and you must already hold a general boat licence first. The PWC test is a separate 15-question test with a pass mark of 12 of 15. This app covers both.
Does the app work offline?
Yes. Everything is stored on your device after a single purchase. There is no login, no subscription, and no internet connection needed to study.
Is this the official app?
No. This is an independent study aid built from publicly available NSW boating rules and the international collision rules. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Transport for NSW or the State of New South Wales.
Who writes these questions, and how do you check the answers are right?
Every question is written from the official public NSW rules and cites the rule it comes from. Before it ships, a second, independent AI model from a different family confirms that the cited rule supports the answer, and a human reviews anything the two models disagree on. You can read the full process at rivermaplearning.com/how-we-build-questions, and the free sample questions above let you judge the quality before you buy.
If I pass the practice mock, will I pass the real exam?
No study tool can promise that. Our practice mock mirrors the official 50-question format, and clearly labels the mock pass mark as our own rehearsal standard rather than an official figure. Use the app alongside the official NSW boating materials, not instead of them.
Get the app
Walk into your test prepared.
One purchase. Every question. Yours offline, forever.