eFoil rules in Europe, the Caribbean and the USA: where the law names them, and where it does not

France and Greece have rules written for eFoils: France allows them by day within 2 miles of shelter, Greece keeps them 200 metres from swimmers and requires a helmet and impact vest. St Barths bans electric surfboards in its reserve, Italy hydrofoils at Punta Campanella. Elsewhere, the closest category applies.

For guests, that means the same board can be clearly regulated in one bay and legally unnamed in the next. This guide compares what we found in the official texts; the full rules for each destination are in our guides for the Balearics, the Côte d'Azur and Monaco, Italy, Croatia and the Caribbean.

Disclosure: Toys & Crew is published by Lakeberg GmbH, which trades as E-SURFER and sells Aerofoils, Lift Foils and Awake eFoils. This article covers the rules only and names no eFoil brands.

Which countries name eFoils in their rules?

What applies in the USA?

In US waters, an eFoil is a boat. The US Coast Guard calls it a "mechanically propelled personal hydrofoil" that is subject to all rules for powered recreational vessels (Policy Letter 22-02). According to E-SURFER's US guide (October 2026), that means registration with the state in practically every state, one approved life jacket per person, with children under 13 wearing theirs (33 CFR 175), a sound signal, and lights when riding at night. There is no federal licence or minimum age; boater education depends on the state.

For yachts, three states matter most:

• Florida: every motorised vessel must be registered (F.S. 328.48). Anyone born in 1988 or later needs a boater education course for motors of 10 hp or more, and manatee zones carry speed limits. Florida defines jet skis by water-jet propulsion, so a propeller-driven eFoil does not qualify by wording, E-SURFER's US guide (October 2026).
• California: registration with the DMV, which names eFoils explicitly (California DMV), and since 2025 the California Boater Card for every operator, E-SURFER's US guide (October 2026). In the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, eFoils may only be used in four designated zones (15 CFR 922, Subpart M).
• Hawaii: the only state with its own eFoil page. eFoils must be registered regardless of motor power, and slow-no-wake speed applies within 200 feet of the shore, surfers and swimmers (DOBOR).

In US national parks, the jet ski definition requires a combustion engine, so electric boards are not covered by its wording (36 CFR 1.4).

Where are eFoils banned or restricted?

• Port-Cros and Porquerolles: motor boards may not be used within 600 metres of the islands without permission from the national park (Prémar arrêté 117/2023, Art. 2.8; Prémar arrêté 116/2023, Art. 2).
• Punta Campanella: craft with a "hydrofoil" may not be used in the marine protected area (Disciplinare 2025, Art. 7(2)). The document states it is valid for 2025; no 2026 version was found.
• St Barths: the whole nature reserve bans electric surfboards (ATE).
• Saint-Martin and Sint Maarten: the Marigot mooring field and the Man of War Shoal Marine Park ban motorised water sports, which is worded broadly enough to include electric boards (ZMEL regulation, Art. 18; Nature Foundation).
• Bathing zones: in Spain, no boats in marked swimming zones and 3 knots within 200 metres of beaches (Real Decreto 876/2014, Art. 73); in Croatia, no vessel in managed bathing areas (NN 72/2021, Art. 50(2)).

Do you need a licence for an eFoil?

In the destinations covered here, a typical eFoil needs no licence. In France, a boating licence is required above 4.5 kW (French Ministry of the Sea); according to E-SURFER's country guide (July 2026), this applies to motor boards too, so common models of about 3.7 kW ride licence-free. Italy requires no licence but mandatory third-party insurance and a minimum age of 16, according to E-SURFER's country guide (July 2026). In Spain, motorised boards need no licence from 18 (Real Decreto 875/2014, Art. 10). In the UK, we found no licence or age rule for watercraft, though no official source confirms there is none (MGN 684). For jetboards, the same question is covered country by country in our jetboard licence guide.

What is still open?

• Italy's local coastguard ordinances, which may regulate boards near beaches, could not be read.
• An official text for Greece's eFoil rule and for France's 4.5 kW threshold for motor boards: both come from E-SURFER's country guide, not from a document we read ourselves.
• Whether Croatia's "electric sailing board" and Italy's "tavole autopropulse" include eFoils, and which reading of Croatia's 300-metre zone applies.

Sources

All rules come from official texts used in our regional and jetboard guides, checked on 4 October 2026 (Côte d'Azur, Monaco, Italy, Balearics) and 7 October 2026 (Spain update, Croatia, Greece, UK, Caribbean), and are linked at each point above. Where marked, practical and legal points come from E-SURFER's country guide "Where are eFoils allowed?" (July 2026), written by our editor Andreas Lakeberg. The USA section is based on E-SURFER's US guide (October 2026), "Are eFoils legal in the USA?", by the same author, and links the official sources it cites.