You are standing next to a boat with cash in your pocket and the seller has just said there is no title, only a bill of sale. Whether that sentence is fine, expensive or fatal depends almost entirely on which state you are standing in. Seven states never issue a boat title at all. Several more only title hulls built after a cutoff year. A few will not let the boat change hands without one. This is every state and DC, with the agency that decides it named and linked in each row.
Why does the answer change at the state line?
There is no federal boat title. The Coast Guard documents large vessels and assigns the hull identification number rules, and everything else is a state matter, which is why the same 18-foot runabout can be a titled object in one state and a registration record in the next one over.
Four different questions hide inside "does it have a title", and they come apart differently in each state:
- Does this state title boats at all? Kansas, North Dakota and Tennessee do not. Arizona, Delaware, Maine and New Hampshire run registration systems and publish no title requirement. In those places a missing title is not a missing document.
- Which boats does it title? Most title states draw a line somewhere: at a length (14 ft in Massachusetts, South Dakota and North Carolina, 16 ft in Wisconsin and Vermont, 20 ft in Michigan), at a model year (1985 in Utah, 1987 in New York, 1997 in Pennsylvania, 2017 in Connecticut, 2020 in Arkansas), or at both.
- What can a bill of sale alone transfer? In Colorado and Mississippi it is the normal instrument for a private sale. In Hawaii it stopped transferring anything in 2021.
- What is the route when the title is missing? Duplicate, affidavit, bond or nothing. Texas, Nebraska and Georgia publish a bonded route. Most states publish a duplicate, which is the previous owner's errand rather than yours.
The trap for a buyer is not the strict states. It is assuming the rule you grew up with travels. A Kansas buyer who has never seen a boat title will not think to ask a Florida seller for one, and in Florida the title must issue before the registration does.
Ask which state the boat is titled or registered in, not which state you are buying it in. Those are frequently different answers, and the first one is the one that has to be unwound.
What are the boat title requirements in each state?
Seven states issue no boat title at all: Kansas, North Dakota and Tennessee do not title boats, and Arizona, Delaware, Maine and New Hampshire run registration systems that publish no title requirement. The rest do title, and most of them draw the line somewhere — at a hull length, at a model year, or at both — so the row below tells you which of those three answers applies to the boat you are looking at.
Each row was read off that agency's own published page or fact sheet on August 25, 2026, and the agency is named and linked so you can check any line before you act on it. Where an agency does not publish an answer, the row says so rather than filling the gap.
| State | Titles boats? | Which boats need one | What that means at the meetup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Alabama Department of Revenue |
Yes, newer hulls | Vessels built after December 31, 2023, or first brought in as a primary-use vessel on or after January 1, 2024. Under 18 ft only if the engine is 75 hp or more. | An older hull was never required to have one. A pre-2024 vessel of 26 ft or more can be titled voluntarily, which is worth doing before you sell it on. |
| Alaska Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, over 24 ft | Undocumented boats longer than 24 ft must be titled. At 24 ft and under it is optional. | Alaska issues a "No Title Issued" registration as the alternative, so a small boat with no title is a normal state of affairs rather than a problem. A duplicate title is a form B1 and a $20 fee. |
| Arizona Arizona Game and Fish Department |
No | Arizona issues a certificate of number and no title. | A used Arizona boat transfers on a bill of sale naming buyer, seller, hull number, length, maker and price. Coming from a title state, you need that state's title signed off by the seller. |
| Arkansas Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |
Yes, 2020 and newer | Boats manufactured in 2020 or later must be titled. | For anything older the proof of ownership is the current registration or a bill of sale carrying the hull number, year, make, horsepower, price and both signatures. Arkansas also wants verified proof of the hull number, either a photograph of the plate or a pencil rubbing. |
| California California Department of Motor Vehicles |
Yes | California calls it a Certificate of Ownership. Registration covers every motorized vessel and any sailboat over 8 ft. | A lost or damaged certificate is replaced on form BOAT 227, which is the same form used to transfer one. That is the seller's job, not yours. |
| Colorado Colorado Parks and Wildlife |
Optional in a private sale | A title is required on a dealer or auctioneer sale. Private party to private party it is optional. | Expect no title and do not read its absence as a flag. Proof of ownership is a bill of sale with both names, both signatures, the hull number, make, model, year and date, or the previous registration certificate. |
| Connecticut Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, 2017 and newer | Only model year 2017 and newer vessels are eligible for a Connecticut title. A Coast Guard or foreign documented vessel is not eligible at all. | For an older hull the registration runs on a bill of sale plus the prior paperwork, and there is no title to be missing. |
| Delaware DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife |
No | Delaware registers boats and its published registration requirements set out no certificate of title. | A used out-of-state boat needs a notarized bill of sale. A boat already registered in Delaware needs the old registration card plus a notarized bill of sale. If it comes from a title state, that state's original title is submitted and kept. |
| District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Harbor Patrol |
Yes | Every registered vessel principally used on District waters needs a Certificate of Title from the Harbor Master before a registration number is issued or renewed. All vessels under 26 ft must be titled. | The title is a precondition of the registration here, so a seller without one has not finished the job. Titling tax is 6 percent of the purchase price plus a $2 title fee. |
| Florida Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles |
Yes, all motorized | Every motorized vessel on public waterways must be titled and registered. The title has to issue before the registration does. | You have 30 days from the purchase, and past that operating it is a second-degree misdemeanor. Exempt: vessels used only on private lakes and ponds, government vessels and ships' lifeboats. Filed at a county tax collector or license plate agent. |
| Georgia Georgia Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, as an eTitle | Registered vessels hold a Georgia eTitle inside the registration system rather than a paper certificate. Registration covers every mechanically propelled vessel and sailboats over 12 ft. | A signed bill of sale or dealer invoice is accepted proof and does not have to be notarized. Where proof genuinely cannot be obtained there is an Affidavit of Vessel Ownership, and where the boat plus motors over 25 hp are worth more than $5,000 a Vessel Certificate of Bond goes with it. |
| Hawaii DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation |
Yes | Ownership is proven with a vessel title, which never expires. A certificate of number renews annually on top of it. | Since the 2021 change a bill of sale no longer transfers a Hawaii vessel at all. The transfer happens on the title itself, so a seller offering you a bill of sale and nothing else cannot hand over ownership. |
| Idaho Idaho Transportation Department |
Optional on older hulls | Model year 1999 and older may be titled optionally, unless the boat is financed, in which case it must be. Once a vessel has been titled, every later Idaho owner has to title it too. | A bill of sale is required unless the boat was acquired before January 1, 2000 and is already registered in the applicant's name. Title fee $14. Ask whether it has ever been titled, because that answer decides which rule you are under. |
| Illinois Illinois Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, over 21 ft | Titling is optional under 22 ft and required over 21 ft. Registration covers anything powered by machinery, trolling motors included, or by sail. | A duplicate title is $7 online. For an in-state sale where the seller has no title there is a watercraft power of attorney form. You have 15 days from the purchase to apply. |
| Indiana Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles |
Yes | All watercraft on Indiana waterways must be registered unless exempt. Non-motorized canoes, rowboats and paddleboats are exempt, but sailboats are not. | Where there is no certificate of title and the watercraft was never required to have one, ownership is affirmed on a Watercraft Ownership Affidavit, State Form 55100. |
| Iowa Iowa Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, 17 ft and longer | Every boat 17 ft or longer must be titled, except canoes, kayaks and inflatables at any length. Any boat carrying a lien must be titled whatever its length. | Register within 30 days of a private sale, through the county recorder rather than the DNR. A Coast Guard documented boat gets a registration and no title. |
| Kansas Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks |
No | Kansas does not title watercraft, and does not register or title motors either. | There is no title to be missing, on any boat, ever. Registration covers mechanically powered vessels and all sailboats; oar and paddle boats are exempt. |
| Kentucky Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |
Yes | Registration and titling both happen at the county clerk, in your county of residence or of principal use. Every mechanically powered vessel principally used in the state must be registered. | A transfer runs on the endorsed title taken to the county clerk. The seller has to notify the clerk within 15 days, which gives you a second way to check the sale was real. |
| Louisiana Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries |
Yes, in named cases | Financed boats, boats already titled, homemade boats and boats with an incorrect hull number must be titled. LDWF publishes no length or horsepower threshold beyond that. Louisiana titles outboard motors as well as hulls. | Registration needs original documentation of ownership for new and used boats alike, and covers every motorized vessel, sailboats 12 ft and longer, and non-motorized houseboats. |
| Maine Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife |
No | Maine's boating law issues a certificate of number and sets out no certificate of title. | The transfer procedure is registration-based: the seller destroys the validation stickers and notifies MDIFW within 10 days, and you register the boat and pay the fee. Residents register with their own town. |
| Maryland Maryland Department of Natural Resources |
Yes | Maryland titles vessels, and selling one without handing over the certificate of title issued in the seller's name is illegal. | If the seller has no title, the fix is theirs: a replacement is DNR form B-108. Register within 30 days of the purchase or of the boat entering Maryland waters. The seller must notify DNR within 15 days. |
| Massachusetts Massachusetts Environmental Police |
Yes, 14 ft and over | Every boat 14 ft or longer that is designed for use with a motor, or that uses one at any time, must be titled. | Under 14 ft the registration certificate is itself the proof of ownership. At 14 ft and over the title has to be signed over from seller to buyer, so there is no paperwork-free version of that sale. |
| Michigan Michigan Secretary of State |
Yes, 20 ft and longer | Watercraft 20 ft or longer, and watercraft with a permanently affixed engine at any length, require a title. | That second clause catches most inboards and sterndrives regardless of size. Registration covers everything except boats 16 ft and under propelled by oars or paddles, and non-commercial canoes, kayaks, rafts and boards. |
| Minnesota Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, over 16 ft | Certain watercraft over 16 ft must be titled. A dealer applies for the title on a new boat longer than 16 ft on your behalf. | A title is $15 plus a $7 issuing fee, and transfers, duplicates and lien entries run from $1 to $10 on top. Licensing is exempt for non-motorized watercraft 10 ft and under. |
| Mississippi Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks |
Optional | Titling boats and motors is optional in Mississippi. Registration is required for all sailboats and every undocumented vessel with propulsion machinery. | Expect no title on most private sales and do not treat it as a flag. Titles cost $10 for an original, a duplicate or a transfer, and are processed only at MDWFP headquarters. The trailer is titled separately at the county tax collector. |
| Missouri Missouri Department of Revenue |
Yes, hull and motor | Missouri titles boats, vessels and outboard motors as separate objects. | You have 60 days from bringing it into the state, then a $10 penalty on the 61st day rising by $10 every 30 days to a $30 maximum. A temporary permit of up to 30 days covers you while the paperwork moves. |
| Montana Montana Motor Vehicle Division |
Yes | Owners obtain both a certificate of ownership and a certificate of number, and pay the fees to the county treasurer where they live. | Registration covers sailboats 12 ft and longer and all motorboats and personal watercraft. A homemade boat or one built before 1972 needs a hull number affixed and an inspection by a peace officer before any of it can happen. |
| Nebraska Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, 1972 and newer | A title has to be obtained from the county clerk before the treasurer will issue a registration. Motorboats manufactured before 1972 are exempt from titling, but not from registration. | Nebraska publishes a motorboat bonded certificate of title route for a boat whose ownership documents cannot be produced. A post-1972 boat with no hull number needs one assigned by the DMV before anything else can proceed. |
| Nevada Nevada Department of Wildlife |
Yes | NDOW both registers and titles boats. Registration is required for all motorboats; non-motorized sailboats, canoes and kayaks need none. | Proof of ownership is the original bill of sale plus any later ones. Where the manufacturer's statement of origin is missing, or the boat comes from a state that does not title, NDOW inspects the boat instead. |
| New Hampshire New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles |
No | New Hampshire registers boats and issues a bow number. Its boat pages set out proof of ownership and no certificate of title, and boat exemptions sit in the boating statute rather than the title statute. | Registration needs the application plus documentation signed by both you and whoever sold it. Sailboats under 12 ft and human-powered boats need no registration at all. |
| New Jersey New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission |
Yes, over 12 ft | Every vessel longer than 12 ft must be titled. At 12 ft and under, and on a Coast Guard documented boat, no title is issued. | Ten working days from purchase or a $25 penalty. Title fee $60, plus $25 to add a lien. From a state that does not title, New Jersey accepts the seller's registration plus a notarized bill of sale. |
| New Mexico New Mexico Taxation and Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division |
Yes, 10 ft and longer | Vessels that require registration and are 10 ft or longer must also be titled. | The title application goes to MVD within 30 days of the sale and a late application draws a penalty. Registration runs in three-year periods. |
| New York New York Department of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, 1987 and newer | Non-documented boats of model year 1987 or newer that are at least 14 ft and carry a motor are eligible for a New York title. Nothing else is. | On an eligible boat the resident owner has to hold the title in their own name before they can transfer it to you, so a seller who never titled it has a step to complete first. On anything older the registration is the proof of ownership. |
| North Carolina North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission |
Yes, 14 ft and greater | Vessels 14 ft or longer and all personal watercraft must be titled at the time of registration, as must any vessel carrying a lien. | A transfer needs the original North Carolina title assigned with the seller's signature notarized in the transfer section, so this is one where the seller has to turn up rather than post it. |
| North Dakota North Dakota Game and Fish Department |
No | North Dakota is a registration state and issues no title for any watercraft, motor or trailer. | A boat bought out of state may still carry that state's title. Registration wants a purchase invoice, title or registration signed by the previous owner, and Game and Fish recommends a bill of sale covering boat, motor and trailer with both parties named and signed. |
| Ohio ODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft |
Yes, most powered boats | Some boats need a title and some do not. A watercraft under 14 ft with a permanently affixed motor of 10 hp or more may not be bought or sold without an Ohio title, and personal watercraft must be titled. | For a boat that is not titled, including canoes and kayaks, a notarized affidavit of ownership serves as proof. Registration certificates run three years. |
| Oklahoma Service Oklahoma |
Yes, hull and motor | Boats capable of being used for transportation on Oklahoma waters must be titled, registered and taxed within 30 days of ownership. Boats and outboard motors are registered separately. | Form BM-26 plus ownership documentation. Where the boat comes from a state that does not title or register, a bill of sale is the accepted proof. With no lien on it the title is posted within two business days. |
| Oregon Oregon State Marine Board |
Yes | Watercraft propelled by a motor, and sailboats 12 ft or longer, must be titled and registered. | An initial title application is $75 plus a $6 registration fee, and an agent may add $6 to $12. Processing runs four to six weeks, and up to twelve in spring and summer, so start it before you need the boat on the water. |
| Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission |
Yes, 1997 and newer | A title is required on inboard-powered boats and personal watercraft of model year 1997 or newer, and on outboard-powered boats 14 ft or longer of model year 1997 or newer. Once a boat is titled it stays titled for every later owner. | On an older or shorter hull, acceptable proof is a title or registration from another state, the manufacturer's certificate of origin, or a bill of sale carrying both addresses, the date, the description and the hull number. |
| Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management |
Yes, over 14 ft | Rhode Island is a title state. Vessels 14 ft and under are not required to be titled; kayaks and canoes over 14 ft are, even unpowered. | A title application needs a pencil tracing of the hull number and has to be signed and notarized, and DEM Law Enforcement inspects the boat. From a state that does not title, the current registration certificate stands in. |
| South Carolina South Carolina Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, hull and motor | All motorized boats and watercraft other than exempted vessels and sailboats must be titled, and so must every outboard motor of 5 hp or more. | You may use the boat for 60 days from purchase on the temporary certificate number and copies of the title or bill of sale. Property taxes are tied to the title record, which is why SCDNR wants the seller to report the sale within 30 days. |
| South Dakota South Dakota Department of Revenue |
Yes, 14 ft and longer | Vessels 14 ft or longer must be titled. | Registration and transfers happen at the county treasurer in your county of residence, not where the boat is kept, and you have 45 days from the purchase. |
| Tennessee Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency |
No | Boats are not titled in Tennessee. The state runs a registration system only. | There is no title to be missing. Registration covers everything powered by a motor, a trolling motor or a sail, and the Department of Revenue wants proof the sales tax was paid before a first registration issues. |
| Texas Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
Yes, and motors too | All motorized vessels at any length, all non-motorized vessels 14 ft or longer including sailboats, and all internal-combustion outboard motors unless 40 years or older and 25 hp or less. | Texas publishes a bonded title route for a boat or motor that cannot be titled normally, including an abandoned one. The applicant has to notify the owner of record and other interested parties, the title is posted 21 days after the transaction, and the bond stays on file with TPWD for three years. |
| Utah Utah Division of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, 1985 and newer | Every 1985 or newer watercraft used on Utah waters must be titled, except canoes and inflatables powered by an outboard of 25 hp or less. Outboard motors of 1985 or newer are titled too unless rated 25 hp or under. | A boat titled in another state needs a VIN inspection before Utah will title and register it. From 2026 an uninsured motorboat that ignores the notices loses its registration. |
| Vermont Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, 16 ft and longer | Vermont titles vessels 16 ft or longer, shuttlecraft included. | On a non-titleable boat the proof is a bill of sale describing it by hull number, make, year, date, price and the seller's signature, or that signature in section 5B of the registration application. Title fee $27, plus $14 per lien. |
| Virginia Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources |
Yes | Every watercraft propelled by machinery needs both a certificate of title and a certificate of number. A sail-powered vessel with no motor of 18 ft or more is titled only, with no registration. | Boats used only on private waters need neither. There is a 2 percent watercraft sales tax on the boat and motor, capped at $2,000, and the original title has to be posted to DWR even though the application starts online. |
| Washington Washington State Department of Licensing |
Yes | Every vessel that requires registration must also be titled through the Department of Licensing. | Fifteen days from buying it if you live in Washington, or 60 days from moving there with it. The application has to be notarized unless you sign it in front of a licensing agent. Human-powered boats and low-output electric boats under 10 mph are exempt. |
| West Virginia West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles |
Yes, motorboats | Motorboats of at least 3 hp or 70 lb of thrust must be titled and registered. Non-motorized vessels need neither. | For a boat that was never titled, West Virginia will take other proof that you own it, naming five years of tax receipts or an insurance policy covering the boat as examples. From another state without the registration, a letter of clearance from that state plus a sole owner affidavit. |
| Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |
Yes, 16 ft and greater | The owner of a boat 16 ft or longer must hold a certificate of title whether or not the boat is used on state waters. | Boats under 16 ft are exempt from titling, as are voluntarily registered boats and boats a non-resident intends to register elsewhere. Registration covers all motorized boats, trolling motors included, and sailboats over 12 ft. |
| Wyoming Wyoming Game and Fish Department |
Yes, at the county | The title is issued by the county clerk, not by Game and Fish, and a motorized watercraft purchased or transferred after January 1, 2010 has to be titled in your name before it can be registered. | Without a valid 12-digit hull number you need a law enforcement inspection and a state-assigned number from Game and Fish before the county will issue a title, which is a two-agency errand worth starting early. |
How do you use your state's row before you drive out?
The row tells you which of four conversations you are about to have, and all four can happen over Messenger before anyone gets in a truck. Read your own state first, work out whether it titles nothing, titles above a threshold or titles everything, and check the hull number yourself in all three cases.
If your state does not title boats, stop worrying about the title and start on the bill of sale. Get the hull number, the year, the make, the horsepower, the price and both signatures onto one piece of paper, because that document is now the whole chain of ownership. Several states spell out exactly what has to be on it, and those lists are worth copying even where they do not apply to you.
If your state titles above a threshold, find out which side of the line this boat falls on before you negotiate. A 15-foot aluminum boat in Massachusetts needs a title and a 13-foot one does not, and that difference decides whether "no title" is a five-minute problem or a dead end.
If your state titles everything, the seller has one job and it is not optional. Ask whose name is on the title and whether that person will be at the meetup. A seller who has the title in hand answers instantly. The paperwork guide covers what "no title" actually means when a seller says it, and it is worth reading before the message you send. Read the answer you get, though. Sellers who say the title is coming in the mail are answering a different question from the one you asked. Ask for the title in the seller's own name instead, which is one of the three requests that filters most of what goes wrong on Marketplace.
In every case, check the hull number yourself. The Coast Guard's construction rules put the primary hull identification number on the starboard outboard side of the transom, and a second identical one hidden elsewhere on the hull. It has to match the paperwork you are being handed. That check is the first item in the used boat inspection guide for a reason: it is the only one that can turn a purchase into a loss with nothing to show for it.
Remember the trailer is usually a separate title in its own right, on its own timetable, and it is where a lot of otherwise clean sales come apart. The trailer guides cover the rest of that half of the purchase.
Which situations can no state fix?
Bonded titles, ownership affidavits and duplicate applications exist because paperwork gets lost, and states expect it. None of them is a way around a hull number that is gone or altered, a lien still sitting on the record, or a seller who is not the owner of record and cannot produce them.
The hull number is gone, ground off or altered. Every state builds its record on that number. Arkansas wants a photograph or a pencil rubbing of the plate, Rhode Island wants a pencil tracing, Montana and Wyoming send a law enforcement officer to look at it, and Nebraska will not issue a title on a post-1972 boat until a number is assigned. A hull nobody can identify cannot be titled or registered anywhere, whatever the seller is willing to sign.
There is a lien on the record. A bond is not a lien release. The Texas bonded title process specifically requires notifying the owner of record and other interested parties before it will issue, and Maryland makes selling without the certificate of title illegal outright. The lender does not stop being owed money because the boat changed hands in a parking lot.
The seller is not the owner of record and cannot produce them. This is the one that gets described in the friendliest language: it is in a father's name, an ex-partner's name, an estate nobody wants to discuss. Georgia's affidavit and bond route and Texas's bonded route both start by trying to contact that person. If the seller will not, you are being asked to buy a dispute.
None of the three is rare and none of them is subtle once you know to ask. The question that surfaces all three is the same one: whose name is on the record, and can I see the hull number match it?
Cite this page
Every row was read on August 25, 2026 off the named agency's own published page, fact sheet or statute, and that page is linked in the row so any line can be checked without taking our word for it. Nothing here comes from DockSnipe's own data, and no figure has been carried over from a secondary source. Where an agency publishes no answer to one of the four questions, the row says so rather than filling the gap. Titling rules change by statute and several states in this table moved their cutoff year within the last five years, so treat the collection date as part of the figure and check the linked agency page before acting on a row that matters.
You may republish these figures with attribution and a link to https://docksnipe.com/blog/boat-title-requirements-by-state.
