The official boating safety app is the free United States Coast Guard app on the App Store, with state boating laws, a required-equipment checklist, float plans, the Navigation Rules, NOAA buoy weather, hazard reporting and an Emergency Assistance button. Its iOS version was last updated in October 2018, so test it before you rely on it.
The app's own App Store listing says it is not a replacement for a VHF-FM marine radio, an EPIRB, safe boating classes or common sense. Carry a VHF radio with DSC, leave a float plan with someone on shore, and add a few apps for specific jobs.
According to the Coast Guard boating site, the app lets you:
At the 2015 launch, Boating magazine reported that with location services enabled, the Emergency Assistance button calls the closest Coast Guard command center, and Soundings also reported that it calls the closest command center. We could not find a current official statement on whether the button still routes the same way.
According to the Coast Guard's app page, your personal information is stored on the phone and is not sent to the Coast Guard unless you choose to send it.
The app has aged, and the store listings show it:
Helm Boatingcom.coastguard) could not be found as of October 2026.Open the app on your current phone at the dock and tap through every screen you plan to use before you count on it.
In 2013, ABYC released a free iPhone app, Boat Essentials-USCG Safety Gear, to help boaters work out required safety gear. It stored up to three boats, saved float plans and sent maintenance reminders, and Ken Cook Co. built it with a Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Nonprofit Grant (NMMA). We could not find a current App Store listing for it.
If you searched "boater safety app" because you need a boater education card, check your state's requirements and take a NASBLA-approved course. The BoatUS Foundation offers a free online course. The App Store also has exam study apps such as USA National Boater Exam, which are study tools separate from the Coast Guard app.
The App Store listing says the Coast Guard app:
"is not a replacement for a VHF-FM marine radio, EPIRB, safe boating classes and common sense."
The Coast Guard monitors VHF-FM Channel 16 around the clock and treats cell phones as only an additional way to reach it (USCG NAVCEN). A Coast Guard boating-safety specialist told Sport Fishing that a radio "should have DSC capabilities and be properly registered."
In 2012, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Robert Day said 9 of 10 DSC distress alerts carried no position because the radio wasn't connected to GPS, and 6 of 10 had no MMSI registered (Power & Motoryacht). To avoid both problems:
Coast Guard guidance on cell phones, which dates from 1995, says (USCG NAVCEN):
Since about 2020, the Coast Guard has also used a program called i911 (BoatUS). It texts the caller a request to share the phone's location, and once you approve, it pulls that location. Depending on the carrier, this can work up to about 15 to 20 nm offshore (US Harbors). It needs coverage and location services on, so a VHF radio with DSC is still the main way to call for help.
Keep the phone charged and on, know your position so you can read out your latitude and longitude, and carry a full set of visual distress signals.
Before each trip, leave a float plan with someone on shore and include your cell number. The Coast Guard app can share one with up to three people, and it cannot be filed directly with the Coast Guard.
Add apps for the jobs the Coast Guard app doesn't do:
Helm, our navigation app, has charts and depth and can be one layer of this setup. It is an aid and does not replace official charts, required equipment, a VHF radio or good seamanship. It has no float plan, distress or emergency call features, so keep the radio, float plan and gear above.
Yes. The United States Coast Guard app is free on the App Store. It is built for iPhone and was last updated October 26, 2018. The Google Play listing was not reachable as of October 2026.
No. The app lets you share a float plan with up to three responsible parties, and it cannot be filed directly with the Coast Guard. Include your cell number in the plan you leave with your shoreside contact.
Not by homing in on the signal. Through its i911 program, the Coast Guard can text you a request to share your phone's location, which works only near shore, with coverage and with location services on. A VHF radio with DSC, a registered MMSI and a GPS connection is still the main way to call for help and send your position.
There is no official statement. A May 2025 App Store review reports that buttons don't work on current iOS, so test the app at the dock before relying on it.
Free to download. Free trial included.