Permission will now be required for people to investigate the medieval fishing boat and two 18th Century merchant vessels in Devon.
Causing deliberate damage to the wrecks will also be classed as illegal.
Historic England said the status did not prevent people from "building sandcastles next to them".
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Head of listings, Joe Flatman, said the three wrecks on the west side of the Axe River and off Westward Ho! were a "small number of really significant wrecks" with two accessed by a walk down the beach creating a "perfect day out".
He said the status "won't stop people from walking over them and building sandcastles next to them, but will stop them from hacking off some wood for a barbecue".
Bill Horner, Archaeologist at Devon County Council said: "While these wrecks have been known about for some time and we have been monitoring their condition, it's great that Devon's maritime past is now being recognised."
The shipwrecks
The Axe Boat
Sally
A Severn Trow
Public access to three "really significant" shipwrecks will not be affected by government protection for the sites, Historic England has said.