How to Get Through Aquatic Invasive Species Boat Inspection Stations

For each state you'll launch in or drive through, check:

• Whether stations are mandatory and where they are (many are at state lines and major ramps)
• Whether you need a decal or sticker, a course or both
• Whether a boat coming from out of state, or from an infested lake, must be decontaminated before launch
• Station hours. Some only run in the main season.

BoatUS notes some states, such as Montana, also require inspection when you cross the Continental Divide, even if you were already inspected entering the state.

"Boaters" means more than powerboats. Oregon, for example, says everyone transporting a boat, motorized or not, must stop at an open roadside station, including kayaks and canoes on a roof rack. Its inspections take about 10 to 15 minutes, and paddlers there may also need their own permit.

Many western states charge an AIS fee and ask you to show a decal on the boat. Some examples (check current prices):

• Idaho: an Invasive Species Fund sticker is needed on motorized boats registered elsewhere and on non-motorized boats; Idaho-registered boats have it built into registration. Idaho lists inflatable non-motorized craft under 10 feet as exempt.
• Utah: every boater, resident or not, must take the annual mussel-aware boater course and keep proof in the launch vehicle. Motorized boats also pay an annual AIS fee and get a decal.
• Colorado: motorized boats and sailboats need an Aquatic Nuisance Species stamp.

Inspections and decontaminations at stations are usually free; the decal fees fund them. Idaho says its sticker covers the hot wash if your boat is rated high-risk.

The fastest inspection starts at the last ramp. Pull off every plant, weed fragment, mud clump and shell from the hull, motor, trailer bunks, rollers, axles and lights. Colorado reminds boaters that plant fragments and animals can survive many days out of water in mud. Rinse the boat and trailer with fresh water if you can; BoatUS suggests hot water if it's available. Put what you pull off in the trash, and wash away from storm drains, ditches and waterways; Oregon's Marine Board suggests a lawn, gravel pad or self-serve car wash. Empty bait buckets on land, not into the lake.

Drain the bilge, livewells, baitwells, ballast tanks and the engine's water before you leave the ramp area. Utah tells Lake Powell boaters to remove all drain plugs, and sea strainers where fitted, at the ramp and leave them out, and to pump ballast both on the ramp incline and again on flat ground. Minnesota law requires drain plugs and similar devices to be removed or opened while you transport the boat, and the civil penalty is $100 under its statute.

Lower the outboard or drive to let water run out of it. Don't run an outboard or stern drive out of the water to blow it dry. Personal watercraft are different: Colorado tells PWC riders to run the engine for 5 to 10 seconds on the trailer to clear water, so follow your PWC owner's manual.

Sponge or vacuum leftover water from bilges, wells and compartments. Leave hatches open at home. Utah treats a full clean, drain and dry as one of its two decontamination options (the other is a professional decontamination) for boats coming from out of state or from an infested lake in the last 30 days; check the state's page for the required drying time. A boat that's truly dry passes faster everywhere.

Colorado's list is a good model for any station:

• Plug out and in hand, ready to put back at the end.
• Tarps, covers and straps off.
• Anchor and ropes out of their lockers.
• Battery switch on so the motor can be lowered and the pumps run.
• Any live bait receipt and your last seal and receipt ready.

Follow the signs and cones, park, turn off the engine and get out to help.

Idaho uses two inspectors: one asks about where the boat has been (which lakes and when), and one looks the boat over. Expect them to:

• Look and feel along the hull, transom, trim tabs, motor or drive, prop and intakes
• Check the trailer, bunks, rollers and lights
• Open hatches, livewells, baitwells, bilges and anchor lockers
• Ask you to run pumps (bilge, livewell, ballast) to see if water comes out

Answer the questions honestly. A boat that's clean, drained and dry is usually rated low-risk and done quickly.

Colorado lists these triggers, and other states use similar ones:

• Mussels (or any suspected invasive species) found on the boat, or bumps the inspector can't identify
• Water on or in a boat that came from a lake known to have invasive species
• Plants stuck to the trailer that can't be pulled off by hand
• Live bait without a valid receipt

Colorado adds that ballast tanks, inboards and inboard/outboards can't be fully drained, so they always get decontaminated if the boat has no valid seal and receipt or is going from an infested lake to a clean one. Idaho requires out-of-state boats to be inspected and decontaminated before launch, and any boat that was in a mussel-infested lake in the last 30 days must have proof of inspection or decontamination.

Colorado describes the process: hot water (120 to 140°F), a high-pressure spray on the outside of the boat and trailer, a low-pressure hot-water flush of interior compartments and the engine, and hot water through enclosed ballast tanks. Expect it to take a while; Colorado suggests getting a decontamination on a weekday if you know you'll need one.

Worried about hot water in your engine? You're not alone. BoatUS reported that engine makers raised the same concern, which pushed the industry toward standard flushing connections. Since 2021 models, major sportboat builders agreed to include engine flush kits as standard equipment, partly to speed up decontamination. Ask the inspector how they'll flush your engine, and tell them about any special drain points.

After a successful inspection, many stations put a seal between the boat and trailer and give you a matching receipt. In Colorado, an intact green seal with a matching white receipt (clean water) speeds up your next launch, and a blue receipt means the boat came from water with invasive species and will be re-checked. If the seal is broken or the receipt is lost, expect a full inspection. Keep receipts with the boat's registration.

States take this seriously:

• Minnesota's statute sets civil penalties of $100 for transporting with drain plugs in, $250 for not following a decontamination order when a unit is on site, and $500 for transporting a prohibited invasive species. Amounts double for repeat offenders, and the state can suspend a boat's registration for up to a year if the owner refuses inspection.
• Colorado says it's illegal to knowingly transport aquatic nuisance species, and a boat with mussels can't leave the station until it's decontaminated.
• Many states also cite boaters who drive past an open station.

Clean, drain and dry every time you leave any water, even if there's no station. BoatUS's trailer-washing article adds spots people miss: the outdrive, prop, intakes, trim tabs, bilge and docklines. A boat that's always clean, drained and dry gets through stations in minutes.