Preparation

BOAT REGISTRATION & NUMBERING

All undocumented vessels equipped with propulsion machinery must be registered in the state of principal use. A certificate of number will be issued upon registering the vehicle. These numbers must be displayed on your vessel. The owner/operator of the vessel must carry a valid certificate of number whenever the vessel is in use. When moving to a new state of principal use, the certificate is valid for 60 days. Check with your state boating authority for registration requirements.

Numbers must be painted or permanently attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel. The validation stickers must be affixed within six inches of the registration number. With the exception of the vessel fee decal, no other letters or numbers may be displayed nearby. Lettering must be in plain, vertical block characters of not less than three (3) inches in height. Spaces or hyphens between letter and number groupings must be equal to the width of a letter other than i or a number other than 1.

The owner of a vessel must notify the agency which issued the certificate of number within fifteen (15) days if the vessel is transferred, destroyed, abandoned, lost, stolen or recovered, or if the certificate of number is lost, destroyed or the owner's address changed. If the certificate of number becomes invalid for any reason, it must be surrendered in the manner prescribed to the issuing authority within 15 days.