WA State Boater Education Card

My wife has been putting off getting her WA Boater Education Card.....She recently discovered that you can no longer just take and pass the test on-line in order to get your card like I did when I got my card several years ago (however, if you have the experience necessary, the State will mail the exam to you and you can mail it back to them to grade which obviously takes a lot of time given that this is a Government organization). Why the State won't let you take the exam on-line is a mystery to me......

If you want to get your card TODAY.....then you need to take a course on-line. It will take you about 3 hours to complete (you can do this at your own pace and it doesn't have to be a solid 3 hour block of time) and then you can take the test. However, the State will refer you to about 5 private vendors who will be happy to charge you $25-35 to take the course on-line. There is only one organization that does NOT charge for the course and that is BoatUS. You don't need to be a member of BoatUS to take advantage of this free course. You only need to sign up at their website. DON'T pay the private vendors to take the class when you can do it for free at BoatUS!!!! Why the State doens't publicize this free service from a reputable boating orginzation is another usolved mystery (unless they get a cut of the fees generated from the for-profit companies who offer the Boaters Education Course).

Here is the link to the Website where you can sign up : https://elearning.boatus.orgw

Jeff Madera