National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

What National Association of State Boating Law Administrators does

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association founded in 1960 and headquartered at 1020 Monarch Street, Suite 200, Lexington, Kentucky. It is the designated national body representing the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and operates through a national network of thousands of professional educators, marine law enforcement officers, and volunteers that ultimately reach over 76 million American recreational boaters. Its mission is to harmonize state boating laws, develop public policy, and reduce death, injury, and property damage associated with recreational boating.

NASBLA's product portfolio centers on training, community, and data platforms. The Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program establishes a U.S. Coast Guard-recognized national standard for the training, qualification, credentialing, and typing of marine law enforcement and emergency first responders. The NASBLA Connect community platform (built on Higher Logic), the eLearning Center (training.nasbla.org), the Lighthouse data and statistics portal, and the Vessel Identification System (VIS) national database collectively support member engagement, course delivery, and inter-state registration data sharing. Additional offerings include the NASBLA Course Approval service against National Boating Education Standards, the Operation Dry Water BUI enforcement campaign, the RBS Leadership Academy, and a library of model acts, resolutions, and policy products used to harmonize state law. The Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) is currently being modernized.

Commercially, NASBLA funds its operations through a blend of individual, maritime professional, associate, and nonprofit membership dues ($26, $59, $1,000, and $300 respectively), revenue from BOAT and eLearning course fees, annual conference registration and event revenue, and grants/channel support related to the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (which generates ~$600 million annually at the trust-fund level, not NASBLA's revenue). Its go-to-market is fundamentally membership-based and event-driven, anchored in its strategic partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard (CG-BSX) and a tiered corporate partner program (Mission, Strategic, Outreach, and Equipment partners including FLIR Systems, Raymarine, Safe Boats International, Kalkomey, Mustang Survival, and FirstWatch Gear).

Name

National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

Legal name

National Association of State Boating Law Administrators

Website

https://nasbla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NASBLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association representing the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and U.S. territories, delivering USCG-recognized training standards, policy harmonization, federal grant coordination, and national data systems that affect 76 million American boaters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Safety and Recreational Boating Regulation Services

NAICS

Boat Dealers (441222)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

National Governing Bodies (NGBs) (MPAKAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Naval Training, Simulation & Shore-Based Test Facilities (IMAJABAN)

Keywords

• Recreational boating safety
• Maritime law enforcement training
• Boating education standards
• Vessel identification database
• Boating safety policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund Grants: Federal funding through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund administered by U.S. Coast Guard. The Trust Fund generates approximately $600 million annually through excise duties on fishing tackle, motorboat fuel, and import duties on recreational boats and equipment. NASBLA supports states in managing these grants.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues: Individual Member $26, Maritime Pro $59, Associate $1,000, Nonprofit $300. Represents recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and U.S. territories.
3. Training Programs: Revenue from BOAT Program courses and training materials for marine law enforcement officers and first responders, including instructor credentialing.
4. Conference and Events: Annual Conference registration fees and related event revenue for professional development and networking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NASBLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership association that represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 U.S. states and territories. It develops national model acts, best practices, and policy positions, delivers U.S. Coast Guard-recognized marine law enforcement training through the BOAT Program, provides boating safety education standards and course approvals, and operates national databases (Vessel Identification System, BARD) and a data/statistics portal (Lighthouse) to harmonize state boating safety programs.

Product overview

NASBLA is a national nonprofit (501(c)3) organization that serves as a membership association for state boating authorities, NOT a technology product company. Its offerings consist of programs, services, and platforms for recreational boating safety: the BOAT Program (maritime law enforcement training), NASBLA Connect (member community platform), Lighthouse (data/statistics portal), NASBLA eLearning Center (online training), Operation Dry Water (BUI enforcement campaign), course approval services, Vessel Identification System, and policy products (model acts, resolutions). These work together to support state boating programs through training, education standards, policy harmonization, and data collection. The organization does not offer AI-powered products or public APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Operation Dry Water: A national year-round boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign run by NASBLA.
• BOAT Program
• NASBLA Connect

Products and services

• BOAT Program (Boat Operations and Training) Comprehensive training program establishing U.S. Coast Guard-recognized national standards for training, qualification, credentialing and typing of marine law enforcement and first responders. Offers multiple courses including Basic Crew Member, Pursuit and Stop, and specialized operations for marine law enforcement officers and first responders.
• NASBLA Connect Online community platform providing peer networking, discussion forums, document sharing, and member directory services for boating safety professionals across all 50 states and U.S. territories.
• Lighthouse Data and statistics portal containing incident reporting resources, national results dashboards, research publications, and recreational boating safety information, built and maintained by the ERAC committee.
• NASBLA eLearning Center Online learning management system offering webinars, on-demand courses, BOAT Program training, grants training, and professional development resources for members and state boating safety professionals.
• Operation Dry Water National year-round BUI (Boating Under the Influence) awareness and enforcement campaign with annual heightened enforcement weekend, law enforcement resources, and public outreach materials for law enforcement agencies and the boating public.
• NASBLA Course Approval Course review service that determines if boating courses meet National Boating Education Standards, enabling course providers to offer verified education programs to recreational boaters.
• Vessel Identification System (VIS) National database containing registration and ownership data from participating VIS states and USCG National Vessel Documentation Center for law enforcement and vessel documentation purposes.
• National Paddlesports Committee Honor (NPCH) Recognition program for businesses creating paddling-focused content that meets social media and website standards set by the National Paddlesports Committee.
• Seal of Safe Boating Certification program recognizing organizations that deliver boating safety education meeting national standards.
• RBS Leadership Academy Professional development program for emerging leaders in recreational boating safety.
• Policy Products (Model Acts & Resolutions) Developed model acts (suggested laws), resolutions, position papers, and policy recommendations for harmonizing boating laws across states since 1960.

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered mission partner, strategic partner, outreach partner, equipment partner and core.

• FLIR Systemsmission partnerTechnology or IntegrationFLIR Systems serves as a Mission Partner providing technology solutions for marine law enforcement and boating safety applications.
• Raymarinemission partnerTechnology or IntegrationRaymarine serves as a Mission Partner providing marine electronics and navigation technology for boating safety.
• Safe Boats Internationalmission partnerTechnology or IntegrationSafe Boats International serves as a Mission Partner providing specialized boats for maritime law enforcement.
• Kalkomeystrategic partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerKalkomey is designated as a Strategic Partner, likely providing online education and licensing technology solutions.
• Mustang Survivaloutreach partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerMustang Survival serves as an Outreach Partner providing personal flotation devices and survival equipment for boating safety outreach.
• FirstWatch Gearequipment partnerTechnology or IntegrationFirstWatch Gear serves as an Equipment Partner providing gear for training and operations.
• U.S. Coast GuardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASBLA works closely with USCG on recreational boating safety policy, Trust Fund administration, BOAT Program recognition, and incident reporting systems (BARD/VIS).
• U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety (CG-BSX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCG-BSX provides regulatory oversight, Trust Fund management, and strategic priorities for national recreational boating safety programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS): BoatUS is the largest recreational boating advocacy and member services organization in the U.S., offering towing, insurance, safety education, and legislative advocacy. It directly parallels NASBLA's recreational boating safety mission and national member base.
• US Sailing Association: US Sailing is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the U.S., providing training, certification, and safety standards for sailing instructors and programs. It mirrors NASBLA's national governing body structure for a related water-based recreational activity.
• National Safe Boating Council: National Safe Boating Council is a nonprofit focused exclusively on recreational boating safety education and awareness campaigns. It directly overlaps NASBLA's mission in boating safety messaging, education standards, and national awareness initiatives like Operation Dry Water.
• American Canoe Association: American Canoe Association is a national nonprofit membership organization that provides paddlesports instruction, certification, and water safety education. It directly parallels NASBLA's paddlesports safety work and recreational water recreation mission.

Others

• National Safety Council: National Safety Council is a broad nonprofit focused on eliminating preventable deaths through safety education across many domains. It shares the public safety mission and federal advocacy posture of NASBLA but operates at much greater scale.
• USA Swimming: USA Swimming is a national governing body for competitive swimming with similar committee-based policy structure, member training, and certification programs. It is a structural analog as a USOC-recognized NGB operating in a water-based recreation context.
• National Recreation and Park Association: NRPA is a national nonprofit serving park and recreation professionals across the U.S. It is a structural analog to NASBLA as a membership association serving state/local recreation and safety practitioners, though in a broader recreation context.
• Kalkomey Enterprises: Kalkomey is a private-sector provider of online recreational safety education (boating, hunting, off-road) and is a designated Strategic Partner of NASBLA. It is an enabling technology provider that competes in adjacent service lines.

Broad incumbents

• National Marine Manufacturers Association: NMMA is the leading trade association for the recreational boating industry, representing boat manufacturers and accessory makers. While broader in scope than NASBLA, it shares the same recreational boating ecosystem and federal policy advocacy footprint.
• U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety: The USCG Office of Boating Safety administers the federal Trust Fund that NASBLA helps distribute and sets national recreational boating safety policy. It is a core federal partner and functional counterpart to NASBLA at the federal level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nasbla
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NASBLASafeBoating
• Facebookfacebook.com/NASBLA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nasbla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Association of State Boating Law Administrators