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Float Plan: What to Include and Who to Leave It With
Last reviewed May 2026 · Reviewed by the West Marine Technical Team — boating safety specialists with hands-on experience advising recreational boaters on pre-departure safety planning across all vessel types and water conditions.
A float plan is a written document left with a responsible person on shore before every boat trip. It tells someone on land where you are going, when you expect to return, what your vessel looks like, and who to call if you do not come back on time. Filing a float plan is not a USCG requirement for recreational boaters — it costs nothing, takes five minutes, and is the single most effective action you can take to ensure a rapid search and rescue response if something goes wrong. This guide covers what a float plan should contain, who to leave it with, what a boater should do with a float plan, and a complete float plan template you can print and use before every trip. For required safety equipment to include in your pre-departure check, see the boat safety equipment checklist. For emergency signaling guidance, see the visual distress signals guide.
What Is a Float Plan
Float plan definition
A float plan is a written pre-departure record that describes your vessel, your crew, your intended route, your departure and expected return times, and the emergency contacts and procedures your shore contact should follow if you do not return as planned. The term comes from the practice of leaving a plan that tells rescuers where to look — the float plan describes the area of water where the vessel should be at any given time, which narrows the search area dramatically if a distress signal is received or an overdue vessel is reported. A float plan is not filed with the Coast Guard — it is left with a private individual ashore who agrees to take action on your behalf if you do not return.
A float plan is not filed with the Coast Guard
The USCG does not accept or hold float plans for recreational vessels. Filing a float plan means leaving it with a private person — a family member, friend, marina operator, or any responsible adult who will be reachable during your trip and who understands what to do if you do not return on time. The Coast Guard's role begins when your shore contact calls them to report an overdue vessel — at that point the float plan information becomes the foundation of the initial search area determination. The USCG provides a standard float plan form on their website that covers all required fields and can be printed and completed before departure.
What Is the Purpose of Filing a Float Plan
Narrowing the search area
The primary purpose of a float plan is to give search and rescue coordinators the information they need to determine where to look if your vessel is reported overdue. Without a float plan, the Coast Guard's initial search area is defined only by the vessel's last known departure point and the general operating range of the vessel type — potentially hundreds of square miles of open water. With a float plan that includes your intended route, waypoints, and destination, the search area can be narrowed to a specific track and sector. Every hour saved in the initial search phase is time that matters to survivors in the water.
Reducing response time
A float plan ensures that someone on shore knows when to be concerned. Without a float plan, there is no defined trigger for calling the Coast Guard — a family member may not know whether to wait one hour or six before reporting a vessel as overdue. A float plan with a specific return time and a clear instruction — "if I have not called by [time], call the Coast Guard at [number]" — removes that ambiguity and ensures the distress call is made at the right time rather than after hours of uncertain waiting. Early reporting is consistently one of the factors that most improves survival outcomes in recreational boating incidents.
The benefit of having a float plan
Beyond search and rescue, a float plan provides practical benefits on every trip: it forces a pre-departure review of your route and timing, it ensures someone on shore has your vessel description and registration number ready to provide to authorities, and it creates accountability for return. Boaters who file float plans consistently report that the habit of completing the form prompts them to think through contingencies — alternate ports in bad weather, fuel stops, communication check-in times — that improve the trip regardless of whether anything goes wrong.
What Information Should Be Included in a Float Plan
Vessel information
A float plan should contain a complete description of the vessel so that search and rescue personnel can identify it visually from an aircraft or vessel. Include: vessel name, hull color and trim colors, vessel type (powerboat, sailboat, kayak, etc.), hull material, length, manufacturer and model if known, registration number and state of registration, documentation number if documented, and any distinctive features — radar arch, outriggers, bimini color, hull graphics. A photograph of the vessel attached to the float plan is more useful to aerial searchers than any written description.
Crew and passenger information
List every person aboard: full name, age, physical description (height, weight, hair color), and any relevant medical conditions that could affect a rescue — heart conditions, medications, mobility limitations. Include the name and contact information of an emergency contact for each person aboard separate from the shore contact holding the float plan. Note whether each person is an experienced swimmer and whether they are likely to be wearing a life jacket.
Trip and route information
A float plan should contain the full intended route in enough detail that a searcher could reconstruct it: departure marina or launch point with address, planned waypoints or anchorages in order, intended destination with address or coordinates, and alternate destinations or ports of refuge if weather forces a change of plan. Include your VHF working channel, your check-in schedule if you plan to make contact during the trip, and the radio watch schedule — when you will be monitoring Channel 16.
Departure and return timing
Record the actual departure time when you leave — not just the planned departure time — and your expected return time at the departure point. Include a specific trigger time: the time at which your shore contact should call the Coast Guard if they have not heard from you. This trigger time should account for reasonable delays — weather, slower-than-planned progress, a stop at an unplanned anchorage — but should not be so generous that it delays the search call by hours. A trigger time of two hours past your expected return is a reasonable starting point for a day trip; longer trips may warrant a check-in call from the boat at a midpoint.
Safety equipment on board
List the safety equipment carried on the vessel: number and type of life jackets, whether an EPIRB or PLB is aboard and its registration number, flare types and expiration dates, VHF radio type (fixed or handheld), whether a GPS chartplotter is aboard, fire extinguishers, and any other emergency equipment. If the EPIRB or PLB is registered, note the hex ID — the Coast Guard can cross-reference this against the NOAA beacon database to confirm a distress signal came from your vessel. See the EPIRB vs. PLB guide for beacon registration information.
Vehicle and trailer information
If you trailered your vessel to the launch, include your tow vehicle make, model, color, and license plate number, and the trailer registration number. If your vessel is overdue and your vehicle is still at the launch ramp at the end of the day, a marina operator or law enforcement officer who finds it can confirm the vessel launched and provide this information to the Coast Guard — but only if the float plan connects the vehicle to the trip.
With Whom Should a Float Plan Be Left
Choosing a shore contact
Leave your float plan with a responsible adult who will be reliably reachable by phone for the entire duration of your trip and for at least several hours past your expected return time. The shore contact must understand their responsibility: if you do not return by the trigger time and have not called to extend it, they call the Coast Guard immediately. A shore contact who is unreachable, who forgets to check the time, or who waits "a little longer" before calling has undermined the entire purpose of the float plan. Choose someone who takes the responsibility seriously and brief them explicitly on what to do.
Marina operators as shore contacts
If no suitable private contact is available, some marina operators will hold a float plan and initiate a call if a vessel does not return by the stated time. This arrangement should be confirmed explicitly with the marina before departure — a float plan left at a marina office without a specific agreement is not the same as a committed shore contact. For frequent users of a specific marina, establishing a standing float plan protocol with marina staff is a practical alternative to relying on the same private contact for every trip.
Do not file with the Coast Guard
The Coast Guard does not accept float plans from recreational vessels before departure — their role begins when an overdue vessel is reported to them by your shore contact. Calling the Coast Guard to "file" a float plan before departure is not standard procedure and does not improve search response. Leave the float plan with your private shore contact and ensure they have the Coast Guard's non-emergency number — (800) 424-8802 — and their local sector's contact information to use when reporting an overdue vessel.
What Should a Boater Do With a Float Plan
Complete it before every departure
Complete the float plan before leaving the dock — not the night before when plans may change, and not on the water where conditions may have already shifted. The act of completing the form is a pre-departure safety check: it confirms your route is planned, your return time is realistic, your safety equipment is listed and therefore checked, and your shore contact is briefed and available. Make float plan completion a standard part of your pre-departure routine alongside the equipment check and fuel calculation.
Update if plans change
If your plans change after departure — a different destination, an extended stay at an anchorage, a weather diversion to an alternate port — contact your shore contact as soon as possible and update the float plan information. A shore contact working from an outdated float plan will direct the Coast Guard to search the wrong area. If you have a working VHF radio or cell service, calling your shore contact to update the plan takes sixty seconds and can redirect a search by miles. If you cannot reach your shore contact, transmit your updated position and intentions on VHF Channel 16 so that nearby vessels have a record of your revised plan.
Close the plan when you return
When you return safely, contact your shore contact immediately and close the float plan. A shore contact who does not hear from you at the trigger time is obligated to call the Coast Guard — if you have returned safely but forgotten to close the plan, you will trigger a search for a vessel that is already at the dock. Closing the plan is a one-minute phone call. Make it the first thing you do when you tie up, before unloading gear or securing the vessel.
Float Plan Template
Complete float plan fields
Print and complete this template before every trip. Leave a copy with your shore contact and keep a copy aboard.
VESSEL INFORMATION
Vessel name: ___________________________
Registration number: ___________________________
Documentation number (if applicable): ___________________________
Vessel type: ___________________________
Hull color: ___________________________ Trim color: ___________________________
Length: ___________________________ Manufacturer/model: ___________________________
Engine type and horsepower: ___________________________
Distinctive features: ___________________________
CREW AND PASSENGERS
Number of people aboard: ___________________________
Person 1 — Name: ___________________________ Age: ___ Description: ___________________________
Person 2 — Name: ___________________________ Age: ___ Description: ___________________________
Person 3 — Name: ___________________________ Age: ___ Description: ___________________________
(Add additional persons as needed)
Emergency contact for crew (separate from shore contact): ___________________________ Phone: ___________________________
TRIP INFORMATION
Departure point (name and address): ___________________________
Departure date and time: ___________________________
Intended route and waypoints: ___________________________
Destination (name and address or coordinates): ___________________________
Alternate destination if weather requires: ___________________________
Expected return time: ___________________________
TRIGGER TIME — call Coast Guard if not heard from by: ___________________________
COMMUNICATIONS
VHF radio aboard: Yes / No — Fixed / Handheld
Working channel: ___________________________ Monitor Channel 16: Yes / No
Cell phone number (aboard): ___________________________
Planned check-in time (if applicable): ___________________________
SAFETY EQUIPMENT ABOARD
Life jackets: ___ total — Types: ___________________________
EPIRB: Yes / No — Registration hex ID: ___________________________
PLB: Yes / No — Registration hex ID: ___________________________
Flares: Yes / No — Expiration date: ___________________________
Fire extinguisher: Yes / No
Anchor and rode: Yes / No
First aid kit: Yes / No
Other survival equipment: ___________________________
VEHICLE AND TRAILER (if trailered)
Vehicle make, model, color: ___________________________
Vehicle license plate and state: ___________________________
Trailer registration number: ___________________________
Launch ramp location: ___________________________
SHORE CONTACT INSTRUCTIONS
Shore contact name: ___________________________
Shore contact phone: ___________________________
If I have not contacted you by [TRIGGER TIME] and cannot be reached by phone, call the U.S. Coast Guard at (800) 424-8802 or your local Coast Guard Sector at ___________________________ and report an overdue vessel. Provide them with this float plan.
RETURN CONFIRMATION
I will contact you immediately upon safe return to close this float plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
A float plan should contain what information?
A float plan should contain: complete vessel description including hull color, type, length, and registration number; the name, age, and physical description of every person aboard; your full intended route including departure point, waypoints, and destination; departure time and expected return time; a specific trigger time at which your shore contact should call the Coast Guard if you have not returned or been in contact; the safety equipment carried aboard including EPIRB or PLB registration numbers; and your shore contact's name and phone number. Vehicle and trailer information should be included if you trailered the vessel to the launch.
What is the purpose of filing a float plan?
The purpose of a float plan is to ensure that a responsible person on shore has enough information to direct a search and rescue response if your vessel is overdue. Without a float plan, search and rescue coordinators have no way to know where to look, what vessel to look for, or how many people are aboard. A float plan narrows the initial search area to your intended route, gives rescuers a vessel description to search for, and establishes a clear trigger for when the search call should be made. It is the single most effective pre-departure safety action a recreational boater can take.
With whom should a float plan be left?
Leave your float plan with a responsible adult on shore who will be reliably reachable by phone for the entire duration of your trip and for several hours past your expected return time. This is typically a family member or trusted friend who understands their responsibility: if you do not return by the trigger time and have not called to update the plan, they call the Coast Guard immediately. Do not leave a float plan with the Coast Guard — they do not accept float plans from recreational vessels before departure. Their role begins when your shore contact calls them to report an overdue vessel.
What should a boater do with a float plan?
Complete the float plan before departure, leave a copy with your shore contact, keep a copy aboard, update your shore contact if your plans change during the trip, and call your shore contact immediately when you return safely to close the plan. A float plan that is completed but never closed will trigger a search for a vessel that has returned safely — closing the plan is as important as filing it. Make float plan completion and closure a standard part of your pre-departure and post-return routine on every trip.
What is a benefit of having a float plan?
The primary benefit is a faster search and rescue response if your vessel is overdue — a float plan gives the Coast Guard the vessel description, route, and crew information they need to begin a targeted search immediately rather than working from a large undefined area. Secondary benefits include forcing a pre-departure review of your route and timing, ensuring your safety equipment is confirmed before departure, and creating a clear trigger for when your shore contact should call for help rather than waiting and hoping you are simply running late.
Is there a USCG float plan form?
Yes. The U.S. Coast Guard provides a standard float plan form on their website at uscgboating.org. The USCG form covers all the essential fields — vessel description, crew information, route, timing, safety equipment, and shore contact instructions — and is designed to provide search and rescue coordinators with the information they need in a standard format. The template in this guide covers the same fields. Either form is appropriate — the critical factors are that the plan is completed accurately before departure, left with a committed shore contact, and closed when you return.