National Recreational Boating Safety Surveys (NRBSS)

2018 Survey

In December 2020, the Coast Guard released the results of the 2018 Participation and Exposure surveys** that make up the NRBSS. In follow-up--and much as it had done when the 2012 NRBSS became available in 2014--a charge team of NASBLA's Engineering, Reporting & Analysis Committee (ERAC) explored the survey findings and methodologies in partnership with the Coast Guard. The goals were to help the states better understand and apply the most recent data to their Recreational Boating Safety programs (see Webinars, below) and to determine how the committee could best provide input to the next iteration of the NRBSS on behalf of the states.
 
**See also, an errata sheet for the 2018 survey reports
 

2026 Survey 

In 2023, ERAC conducted initial brainstorming on data wants and needs for the 2026 NRBSS; but for a good part of the year, formal charge work was put on pause pending the Coast Guard's identification of a survey vendor. Given the committee's familiarity with the past surveys, however, by the time the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago was selected and a December 2023 stakeholder engagement session conducted (see Webinars, below), ERAC had positioned itself to offer input on behalf of the states for questionnaire development, survey methodology, and the preferred products resulting from the survey findings. 
 
In 2024, on behalf of NASBLA, ERAC coordinated the collection and submission of comments to the 60-day Federal Register Notice of the Coast Guard's intent to submit and Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of the 2026 survey (Nov. 1, 2024), and to the OMB/Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) (April 23, 2025) during a 30-day public review period--the final step in seeking OMB approval of the collection. 
 
See NASBLA's Federal Register section for more detail and the status of OMB approval of the 2026 National Recreational Boating Safety Survey.
 

Webinars (2022 and 2023)

Exploring the National Recreational Boating Safety Surveys (May 12, 2022 session recording; and PDF of May 12 slides and presenter notes) 

On May 10, 2022, with a repeat on May 12, national webinars sponsored by the Engineering, Reporting & Analysis Committee (ERAC) presented background on the 2018 surveys, how they were conducted, and some of the major findings. But the panelists--state and Coast Guard members of ERAC--also wanted to give states and other stakeholders a better understanding of the risk ratios generated via the exposure hours collected as well as the overall benefits of using the surveys' findings. A set of "quick polls" conducted during the webinars gathered feedback on attendees' familiarity with and use of the surveys, thoughts on what might improve future products, and degree of interest in delving into the methodology and application of the survey data. 

NRBSS Stakeholder Engagement Session, Dec. 12, 2023 recording and PDF of presenter slides and notes, and results from the interactive polls and Q&A. 

page last updated Aug. 1, 2025

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