If someone has left an abandoned boat on your property in Florida, you have the right to have it removed at the vessel owner’s expense, but only after you report it, wait 60 days, and follow the notice steps in Florida Statute 823.11. The law puts almost every obligation on the boat’s owner rather than on you, and it treats shortcuts like stripping parts or hauling the vessel off early as potential crimes. The waiting period is annoying. Skipping it is worse.
Call Law Enforcement First
Your first move is to report the vessel to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or your local law enforcement agency. Both conduct inspections and take action on derelict vessels across the state.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Derelict and At-Risk Vessels Reporting creates an official record and starts the process of tracking down whoever owns the boat.
There is no statutory deadline for filing that report, but delay works against you. A boat that leaks fuel, breaks loose, or drifts into a neighbor’s dock becomes a bigger problem the longer it sits.
Once you file, officers try to identify the registered owner. If the hull has a hull identification number or registration markings, they can run those through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to find the owner and any lienholders.2The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 705.103 – Procedure for Abandoned or Lost Property For federally documented vessels, the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center keeps ownership records and recorded liens, and you can request an Abstract of Title through their online portal.3United States Coast Guard. National Vessel Documentation Center
Is the Boat Legally Derelict?
The 60-day removal right only exists if the vessel qualifies as derelict under Section 823.11. A boat docked, grounded, or beached on someone else’s property without the property owner’s permission meets that definition on its own.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 823.11 – Derelict Vessels; Relocation or Removal; Penalty So does a vessel that is wrecked, junked, or substantially dismantled.
“Substantially dismantled” has a specific meaning: at least two of the vessel’s three core systems (steering, propulsion, or hull integrity) are missing or broken. Bolting an outboard onto an otherwise gutted hull does not rescue the boat from that classification.
The 60-Day Removal Right
Once the vessel qualifies as derelict, Section 823.11 gives you the right to remove it at the owner’s expense, but only after a 60-day waiting period and compliance with the notice requirements in Section 328.17(5).4Florida Senate. Florida Code 823.11 – Derelict Vessels; Relocation or Removal; Penalty Notice generally involves contacting the registered owner and any lienholders by certified mail, giving them a chance to retrieve the vessel.
During those 60 days, you cannot interfere with reasonable efforts by the vessel owner or the owner’s agent to remove the boat. If they arrive with a trailer or tow service, you have to let them take it.
After 60 days pass with no action from the owner, you can hire a contractor to remove the vessel and pursue the owner for reimbursement of what you spent. Costs vary widely with size, condition, and any contamination, so it is worth getting quotes from licensed marine salvage contractors before you commit.
What You Cannot Do Yourself
The temptation to strip a valuable outboard off an abandoned hull, or to have the whole thing towed away the day it appears, is the fastest way to turn a nuisance into a criminal charge. Taking parts off a vessel you do not hold title to is theft, no matter how abandoned the boat looks. The FWC states this plainly in its guidance on the claims process.5Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Abandoned Vessel Claims Process
Removing a vessel before the 60-day period expires also undermines your ability to recover costs from the owner. Damaging it in the process can trigger claims against you. The statutory procedure exists because it protects you, not just the vessel owner.
Who Pays
Florida law puts removal costs on the vessel owner. All expenses incurred in relocating, removing, storing, destroying, or disposing of a derelict vessel are recoverable from the owner or from whoever is legally responsible for the boat being in derelict condition.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 823.11 – Derelict Vessels; Relocation or Removal; Penalty If you arrange removal yourself after the 60 days, you can pursue the owner for what you paid.
When the owner cannot be found or cannot pay, the FWC runs a Derelict Vessel Removal Grant Program that reimburses state, county, and local governments for 100% of eligible removal costs. Private citizens cannot apply directly, but your local government can.6Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Derelict Vessel Removal Grant Program If your city or county is willing to take on the case, the state’s grant money can cover the bill.
If You Want to Keep the Boat
If the vessel looks worth having and you want to claim title, there is a legal path, but it runs through law enforcement rather than through anything you can do on your own. According to the FWC, the process works like this:
- You report the suspected abandoned vessel to a law enforcement agency, which triggers a formal investigation under Section 705.103.
- The agency collects an investigation fee, typically between $300 and $600, and searches for the owner. The investigation usually takes 45 to 120 days, sometimes longer.
- If the vessel goes unclaimed through the full investigation, law enforcement may allow transfer to you with a Lost or Abandoned Property Certificate.
- You take that certificate to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and apply to have the title transferred into your name.5Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Abandoned Vessel Claims Process
Once title transfers, the boat is legally yours, including the responsibility for it. If it later slides into derelict condition, you face the same civil and criminal penalties as any other derelict vessel owner. Only vessels that are not already derelict qualify for this claims process.
When the Boat Is Leaking or Actively Dangerous
If the vessel is leaking fuel or oil, or otherwise poses an imminent environmental threat, say so clearly when you call law enforcement. Section 823.11 authorizes the FWC to act immediately when a derelict vessel threatens the environment, rather than working through the slower administrative timeline.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 823.11 – Derelict Vessels; Relocation or Removal; Penalty Officers who act under that authority are protected from liability for damage to the vessel unless the damage results from gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Environmental urgency also changes the queue. Agencies handle hundreds of derelict vessel cases, and the ones with active contamination or navigation hazards tend to get worked first. You are not the target of enforcement for pollution caused by someone else’s boat, but reporting it fast limits the damage to your property and to the water around it.
A Boat You Agreed to Let Dock for Repairs
One situation looks like abandonment but is treated differently. Florida’s at-risk vessel rules under Section 327.4107 do not apply to a boat moored at a private dock or wet slip with the owner’s consent for the purpose of receiving repairs.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.4107 – Vessels at Risk of Becoming Derelict on Waters of This State If you knowingly let someone tie up a struggling boat at your dock so they can work on it, that arrangement is protected.
The protection ends when the repairs stop happening and the vessel deteriorates. At that point you are back inside the derelict vessel framework, and the 60-day process is what you use to get the boat off your property.