Do Boats Have Titles in New York State? Rules and Exemptions

Yes, boats do have titles in New York, but only some of them. The New York DMV issues a certificate of title for a motorized boat that is model year 1987 or newer and at least 14 feet long and is registered in New York.¹ Boats that fall outside those limits don’t get a title; they use a transferable registration as their ownership document instead.

Which Boats Need a New York Title

Three conditions must all be true before the DMV will issue a certificate of title:

The boat is model year 1987 or newer.
The boat is at least 14 feet long.
The boat is registered in New York.¹

These rules come from Article 46 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, the state’s Uniform Vehicle Certificate of Title Act. For a boat that meets all three, the title becomes the legal ownership document, and you need it to sell or transfer the vessel.

Which Boats Don’t Get a Title

Under VTL Section 2102, the following vessels are excluded from New York’s titling requirement:

Any boat the manufacturer designated as model year 1986 or earlier, regardless of size or horsepower.
Any boat shorter than 14 feet, regardless of model year or engine.
Any vessel with a valid marine document issued by the U.S. government or a foreign government.
Any vessel not required to be registered in New York and not currently registered here.

For these boats, a transferable registration takes the place of a title and serves as proof of ownership.² Non-motorized vessels such as canoes, kayaks, and rowboats need neither a title nor a registration.

How to Apply for a Boat Title

The application starts with Form MV-82B, the Boat Registration/Title Application.³ You’ll fill in the Hull Identification Number, a 12-character code of letters and numbers stamped on the vessel,⁴ along with the manufacturer’s name, model year, and hull material.

The proof of ownership you submit depends on how you got the boat:

New boat from a dealer: a Manufacturer’s Statement or Certificate of Origin plus a bill of sale.³
Used boat with an existing title: the previous owner’s signed title, plus bills of sale covering every transaction in the ownership chain.
Used boat without a title: a signed transferable registration from the seller and a bill of sale.

You also need to prove your identity. A current New York State photo driver license, learner permit, or non-driver ID covers both name and date of birth on its own. Without one of those, you’ll need documents totaling at least six identity points under the DMV’s point system.⁵

A bill of sale should list the boat’s year and make, the HIN, the sale date, the purchase price, and both parties’ signatures.⁶ If the boat is a gift or sold below fair market value, the seller must also complete Section 6 of Form DTF-802.

Title and Registration Fees

The title fee is $50, billed separately from registration.¹ Registration lasts three years, and the fee is based on length:

Under 16 feet: $22.50
16 feet to under 26 feet: $45.00
26 feet or longer: $75.00

Sales tax on the purchase price is owed on top of these fees. The state rate is 4%, and combined state and local rates can reach as high as 8.875% depending on where the transaction takes place. After you apply, the DMV issues Form FS-6T as your payment receipt.⁷ Keep it; some other DMV filings require it.

Where to Submit and How Long It Takes

Bring the completed MV-82B, ownership documents, identity proof, and payment to a local DMV office, or mail the package in. The DMV accepts checks, money orders, and credit cards.

You won’t walk out with the title in hand. Titles are printed at the DMV’s Albany office and mailed to the address on your application, and the wait can run up to 45 days.⁸ You can track progress through the DMV’s online title status tool.

Check for Liens Before You Buy

Before paying for a used boat, confirm no one else has a recorded claim on it. A lien means a lender or creditor has a claim against the vessel, and buying a boat with an outstanding lien can leave you on the hook for someone else’s debt. The DMV offers a free online tool that lets you look up the lien status of any titled boat using the HIN and model year.⁸ It returns the number of liens, the lienholder’s name and address, and the date the title was issued. It won’t show personal information about the current owner.

If a lien appears, don’t close until the seller gives you proof the lienholder has released it.

If the Seller Can’t Produce a Title

This is where private boat sales most often break down. The DMV’s own guidance is blunt: don’t buy a boat unless you’ll receive acceptable proof of ownership at the time of sale.²

If you’ve already bought a boat without proper paperwork, start by asking the seller for a bill of sale and either a registration receipt or a completed Form MV-353 transferred to you. If that fails, send a certified letter. If the letter comes back unopened, take the following to a DMV office:

The returned certified letter in its sealed envelope
A pencil tracing, photo, or police statement showing the HIN
A notarized affidavit explaining how you got the boat and what you’ve done to obtain ownership documents
Any supporting evidence you have, such as a bill of sale, the previous owner’s registration documents, or a canceled check
A completed Statement of Ownership (Form MV-51B) if you’ve had the boat less than a year and it was never registered by the prior owner

The DMV will first issue a non-transferable registration, which lets you use the boat but not sell it. The Title Services Bureau then reviews what you submitted and either upgrades it to a transferable registration or tells you why it can’t.²

Transferring the Title When You Sell

If your boat has a New York title, sign the title certificate over to the buyer and give them a bill of sale. The bill of sale needs the year and make, the HIN, the sale date, the purchase price, and both signatures.⁶ A gift or below-market sale also requires Section 6 of Form DTF-802. The buyer then takes the signed title, bill of sale, and their own MV-82B to the DMV to put the title in their name.

For boats that don’t receive titles, you transfer the transferable registration and a bill of sale instead. The buyer’s steps at the DMV are otherwise the same.

Coast Guard-Documented Vessels

Larger boats used commercially or internationally may be documented through the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center rather than titled through the state. Federal law requires documentation for any vessel of at least five net tons engaged in coastwise trade or commercial fishing,⁹ and recreational boats that meet the tonnage threshold can document voluntarily.

A federally documented vessel is excluded from New York’s state titling requirement.¹ The Certificate of Documentation is the ownership record. Federal documentation also allows the owner to record a preferred ship mortgage, which gives a lender a federally recognized priority lien and can open financing options that state-titled boats don’t have. The cost is annual renewal fees and paperwork beyond what the DMV requires.

1
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Register a Boat
2
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Proof of Ownership is Not Available
3
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. MV-82B – Boat Registration/Title Application
4
eCFR. 33 CFR 181.25 – Hull Identification Number Format
5
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Proof Requirements for New York State Vehicle Registrations or Title Certificates
6
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Buy, Sell, or Transfer Vehicle Ownership
7
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Instructions for Obtaining a Receipt (Form FS-6T) for a Certificate of Title
8
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Check a Title or Lien Status
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 46 USC 12102 – Vessels Requiring Documentation