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Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 31.176

This is the official text of Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 31.176, part of Texas’s Parks and Wildlife Code — governs state parks, hunting, and fishing.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 31.176. PARTY BOAT OPERATOR LICENSE.

Official statutory text

(a) The commission by rule shall establish, as necessary to protect the public health and safety, the requirements and procedures for the issuance and renewal of a party boat operator license under this subchapter.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the rules for obtaining a license as a party boat operator must require at a minimum that the applicant:

(1) be at least 21 years of age;

(2) observe for at least four hours a licensed party boat operator operating a party boat on open water;

(3) operate for at least four hours a party boat on open water while being supervised and observed by a licensed party boat operator; and

(4) pass a written examination covering onboard safety procedures and the applicable provisions of this chapter.

(c) An applicant is not required to comply with Subsections (b)(2) and (3) if the applicant has:

(1) at least 25 hours of experience operating a party boat as shown by appropriate documentation; and

(2) no record of boating violations.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.