Terms of Use

These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of americanboatingfoundation.com and the online boater safety courses offered on it. They form a binding agreement between you and American Boating Foundation, a Texas limited liability company ("ABF," "we," "us").

By using the site or purchasing a course, you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the site.

If you purchase a course for another person, you accept these Terms on that person's behalf as well as your own and are responsible for their compliance.

State boater education requirements apply to minors, and students under 18 regularly enroll in our courses. A parent or legal guardian must complete the purchase and accept these Terms on behalf of any student under 18. Students under 13 may be enrolled only by a parent or legal guardian.

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information in your student profile. Your legal name, date of birth, and address are reported to the state boating agency as entered. Inaccurate information may result in a rejected submission or an incorrectly issued certificate. Contact us to correct any error before your course is reported.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and must notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.

Course prices are stated in U.S. dollars and are subject to change. The price displayed at checkout governs your purchase. Where a state imposes its own fee, that fee is collected in addition to the course price and is remitted to that state.

Course access is provided for the period stated at the time of purchase. Students may retake the final examination as permitted by the requirements of the applicable state.

Single-student license. A purchase covers one named student. Course access, examinations, and certificates may not be shared, resold, or transferred. Certification obtained by any person other than the named student is invalid and constitutes fraud under applicable state law.

Upon successful completion, we report the student's certification to the boating law administrator of the state for which the course was purchased.

We do not control state agencies. We make no representation as to the time required for an agency to process a submission or issue a card, and we are not responsible for a state's refusal to accept a submission where the student's information was inaccurate or the student did not satisfy that state's eligibility requirements. Certification is valid only in the state for which the course was purchased and in states that recognize it. Completion of an online course does not by itself establish competence to operate a vessel, and a state may require additional steps, such as applying for a card, carrying proof of certification aboard, or meeting age and supervision requirements. Boating law varies by state and changes; you are responsible for confirming and completing the requirements applicable to you.

We do not warrant uninterrupted availability of the site or course.

a. Payment. Payments are processed by our third-party payment processor. We do not receive or store complete payment card numbers. By completing a purchase you represent that you are authorized to use the payment method presented.

b. Seven-day refund. A full refund of the course price is available upon request within seven days of purchase, provided the course has not been completed. A course is considered completed once the final examination has been passed.

c. Processing. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method and are processed within seven to ten business days. The time required for funds to appear on your statement thereafter is determined by your card issuer.

d. Non-refundable items. The following are not refundable:

e. Requests outside the seven-day period. Requests received after seven days are considered individually.

f. How to request a refund. Refund requests must be submitted by email to support@americanboatingfoundation.com and must include the name on the order, the email address used at checkout, and the order number, which appears on your emailed receipt.

g. Chargebacks. Please contact us before initiating a dispute with your card issuer. Where a charge is disputed with the cardholder's bank, we may suspend course access and withdraw any pending state submission for the duration of the dispute.

You may not:

We may suspend or terminate access, withhold or revoke certification, and notify the applicable state agency upon reasonable belief that this section has been violated. No refund is due where certification is revoked for misuse.

The site, course content, examination materials, and ABF name and logo are ours or our licensors'. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access the course for your own certification during your access period. No other rights are granted. Certain course material is derived from state and federal agency publications and remains the property of those bodies.

Any chat feature offered on the site may be operated by an automated artificial intelligence assistant rather than a person. Automated responses may be incomplete or inaccurate and are provided for convenience only. They do not modify these Terms, the course material, or the requirements of any state, and you should not rely on them in place of those sources or of written confirmation from us.

We rely on third-party providers for payment processing, course delivery, email, hosting, analytics, and advertising, and we link to external sites including state agency resources. We are not responsible for the content, availability, or practices of third-party services.

Our courses provide boating safety education. They do not substitute for judgment, experience, current local knowledge, or compliance with applicable law. Information on the site is provided for general educational purposes and may not reflect the most recent changes in state or federal law. Nothing on the site constitutes legal advice.

Certain jurisdictions do not permit these limitations, in which case they apply to the maximum extent permitted.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ABF and its members, officers, and employees from any claim, loss, or expense, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from your misuse of the site or a course, your breach of these Terms, or information you provided that was inaccurate.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws provisions. This Section is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms, the site, or a course shall be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court to protect its content or prevent unauthorized access to the site.

All claims must be brought in an individual capacity. Neither party may participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. If this waiver is held unenforceable as to a claim, that claim shall be heard exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Williamson County, Texas, and the parties consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

You may reject this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to the address in Section 18 within thirty days of your first purchase, stating your name and the email address on your account. This Section survives termination.

Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, the site, or a course must be brought within two years after the claim arises, except where applicable law does not permit a shortened limitations period. A claim not brought within that time is permanently barred.

Nothing in these Terms limits any right you may have under the consumer protection law of your state that cannot be waived by agreement.

We may modify these Terms. Revisions take effect upon posting, and we will update the effective date above. Continued use of the site following a revision constitutes acceptance. The version in effect at the time of your purchase governs that purchase.

You may discontinue use of the site at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access for breach of these Terms or as required by law. Sections 6 through 12 survive termination, and Section 12 survives as provided in that Section.

No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created by these Terms or by your use of the site. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a sale or transfer of the business. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the site and the courses.

a. Electronic communications. You consent to receive communications from us electronically, including receipts, sign-in links, course notices, and certificates. You agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that a communication be in writing. You are responsible for keeping the email address on your account current. We are not responsible for communications you do not receive because the address on your account is inaccurate or out of date.

b. Text messages. If you provide a mobile telephone number and consent to receive text messages, we may send you messages relating to your course, your certification, and the renewal of your certification. Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of purchase. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to stop receiving them, or HELP for assistance. Neither we nor your carrier are liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

If you have difficulty accessing any part of the site or a course, contact us at support@americanboatingfoundation.com and identify the page or course section involved. We will work with you to address the issue.