The sun is sliding toward the Gulf, the cooler is packed and your whole group is waiting on the dock. Paperwork is the last thing on anyone’s mind. But on Siesta Key and around Sarasota, as everywhere in Florida, not every boat advertised for hire is running legally, and the difference matters most on the day something goes wrong. The good news: checking takes about five minutes, and you can do most of it before you pay.
Full disclosure: Siesta Key Things To Do is written by the team behind Barefoot Tiki Tours, a licensed charter operator in Sarasota. This guide follows the U.S. Coast Guard’s own advice to passengers. More about us.
Why it matters
An illegal charter is not just a technicality. The Coast Guard warns that these trips bypass federal safety, inspection and credentialing rules and often lack the right safety gear. Its Southeast District, which covers Florida, says its crews stopped more than 100 illegal charters between January and late August 2026. And if the Coast Guard ends an illegal trip mid-voyage, the money you paid may not come back to you. It happens close to home, too: in May 2026, a Coast Guard Station Cortez crew, with help from the Sarasota Police Department, stopped an illegal charter near Big Sarasota Pass, at the north end of Siesta Key. The boat had no valid Certificate of Inspection and was cited for not having an adult life jacket for every person aboard.
The six-passenger line
The rules turn on one number: six.
- Six passengers or fewer: a boat can carry paying guests without a federal inspection, but the captain still needs a Coast Guard license. These are often called six-pack charters, and plenty of good small-boat operators around Siesta Key and Sarasota run them.
- More than six paying passengers: the boat must be inspected by the Coast Guard and carry a Certificate of Inspection, or COI. The COI sets how many passengers the boat may carry and what safety equipment it needs, and the boat is re-inspected regularly.
Inspection is expensive and demanding for the operator, and that cost is part of why a legitimate trip for a big group is priced the way it is.
The bareboat loophole
Some operators try to carry more than six people without an inspection by calling the trip a bareboat charter. In a real bareboat charter, you rent the boat itself and take full responsibility for it, including choosing and hiring your own captain and crew. The owner is not supposed to run the trip. For a deeper look at inspected boats, six-pack charters and bareboat charters, see this guide from Barefoot Tiki Tours.
The Coast Guard’s advice is blunt: review the contract and ask whether the owner let you choose your captain and crew. If the company hands you a rental agreement and then supplies its own captain, or sends you to a captain it picks, treat that as a red flag.
Red flags before you book
- The price is far below everyone else’s. The Coast Guard says a trip that costs much less than the competition may be too good to be true.
- More than six guests on a small boat, with no COI. Ask to see it before you pay.
- You are asked to sign a boat rental or bareboat agreement for what was advertised as a captained tour.
- The price is split into a boat rental plus a separate captain fee, with the captain chosen by the company.
- Nobody will show you credentials. Operators who paid for licenses and inspections are usually happy to show them.
- No safety briefing once you are aboard.
What to ask for
- The captain’s license. The Coast Guard calls it a Merchant Mariner Credential, and every captain carrying paying passengers needs one.
- The Certificate of Inspection, if more than six passengers are going. It is usually posted on the boat as a sticker or a framed certificate.
- A safety plan: life jackets for everyone, including the right sizes for kids, and a briefing before you leave the dock.
- Proof of compliance on the website. Legitimate operators usually say they meet Coast Guard requirements.
If an operator cannot produce the right credentials, the Coast Guard’s advice is simple: do not get on the boat.
How to report a suspected illegal charter
If you believe a boat is carrying passengers illegally, you can report it to the Coast Guard Investigative Service through its online tip form or the CGIS Tips app. You can read the Coast Guard’s full warning in its August 2026 press release.
Frequently asked questions
How many passengers can a Siesta Key or Sarasota charter boat carry without a Coast Guard inspection?
Six paying passengers. Above six, the boat needs a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection, and the captain still needs a Coast Guard license either way.
What is a Certificate of Inspection (COI)?
A COI is the Coast Guard’s approval for a boat to carry more than six paying passengers. It lists how many passengers the boat may carry and the safety equipment it must have, and it is usually displayed on the boat.
Is a bareboat charter legal?
A true bareboat charter is legal, but you take over the boat and choose your own captain and crew. If the owner rents you the boat and also supplies the captain, the Coast Guard treats that as a red flag.
What happens if the Coast Guard stops an illegal charter near Siesta Key?
The Coast Guard can end the trip on the spot, and according to the Coast Guard, passengers may not get their money back from the operator.
Booking with confidence
Most Siesta Key and Sarasota charter operators do this right, and the five-minute check above tells you who they are. For a side-by-side look at boarding spots, group sizes, restrooms and prices, see our guide to Siesta Key and Sarasota boat tour operators. If you’d like a tiki boat for a bigger group, Barefoot Tiki Tours carries up to 16 guests on a Coast Guard–inspected boat with a licensed captain.
Leave a Reply