Do Boats in Georgia Require a Title? eTitle, Costs, and Transfers

Yes, boats in Georgia do require a title, but not the paper kind most people picture. Every vessel registered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources receives an electronic title, called an eTitle, that lives in the DNR’s vessel registration system. A physical paper title exists and can be requested, but the DNR does not print and mail one automatically. That surprises a lot of buyers coming from states where a paper certificate shows up with the registration.

How the eTitle Works and When Paper Matters

When you register a boat in Georgia, the DNR creates an electronic ownership record instead of issuing a paper certificate. Under state law, the DNR maintains that record and will furnish a physical certificate of title to the owner or lienholder on request.¹ You can confirm that an eTitle exists by logging into your account through the Georgia DNR vessel lookup portal.²

For most recreational owners, the eTitle is enough. The electronic record proves ownership the same way a paper title would. Paper becomes useful in two situations: when a lender wants documentation of a lien in hand, or when you plan to sell or move the boat to a state that requires a paper title to register it. Recording a security interest on the eTitle costs $10, and a lienholder who wants a printed title showing that lien pays another $10.³

One detail worth knowing: outboard motors over 25 horsepower are included on the same title record as the boat. If you sell the motor separately, or buy a used motor by itself, the title record follows.³

Which Boats Get a Title

Because the title is created through registration, the titling requirement matches the registration requirement. All mechanically propelled vessels and any sailboat 12 feet or longer used on Georgia’s public waters must be registered with the DNR.⁴ Size does not matter for motorized boats. Even a small skiff running a trolling motor needs registration, and therefore has an eTitle. Registration runs for three calendar years and expires on the last day of your birth month in the third year.²

Boats That Don’t Get a Georgia Title

Georgia law exempts several categories of vessel from the numbering (registration) requirement, which means these boats also do not receive a Georgia eTitle:⁵

Non-motorized canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and rubber rafts. Sailboats 12 feet or longer are not exempt, even without a motor.
Boats used exclusively on privately owned bodies of water, except on lakes licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Vessels validly registered in another state or country, for up to 60 consecutive days in Georgia waters.
Government-owned vessels used exclusively for non-recreational public service.
A vessel’s lifeboat used solely for lifesaving. Dinghies and tenders used for other purposes are not exempt.
Boats used exclusively for racing.
A vessel operating temporarily for up to 60 days while a registration application is being processed.

The 60-day window for out-of-state boats is firm. If you keep a boat registered elsewhere on a Georgia lake past that mark, you will need Georgia registration and will pick up an eTitle in the process.⁶

Federally Documented Vessels

Larger boats, generally five net tons or more, may be documented with the U.S. Coast Guard instead. Georgia exempts vessels documented by the United States from the state numbering requirement, so they do not carry a Georgia eTitle or GA number.⁷ A federally documented vessel uses its federal documentation number, and the Certificate of Documentation should stay on board.

Getting the Title on a New or Used Boat

Because the eTitle is created when you register, the paperwork for titling and registering is the same package. You submit a signed Georgia Vessel Registration/Title Application plus proof of ownership.²

What counts as proof depends on where the boat is coming from:

Brand-new boat that has never been registered anywhere: the original Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO) from the dealer.
Used boat already in Georgia: a signed bill of sale identifying the vessel and both parties, along with the seller’s existing vessel registration card.
Boat coming from a state that issues paper titles: the original title, properly endorsed to you.
No documentation available: a completed Affidavit of Vessel Ownership form, which the DNR will accept in place of standard proof.

You will also need the Hull Identification Number, make, model, year, length, and propulsion type. If an application sits incomplete for 60 days because requested information hasn’t been provided, it expires and you start over with a new application and fee.¹

What the Title Costs

Georgia does not charge a separate title fee. The registration fee covers the three-year period and the eTitle that comes with it:²

Under 16 feet: $35
16 feet to under 26 feet: $70
26 feet to under 40 feet: $140
40 feet and over: $210

Online registrations carry a $10 transaction fee. Recording a lien on the eTitle is $10, and requesting a paper title showing that lien is another $10.³

Transferring the Title When You Sell

When ownership changes, both sides have work to do. The seller must notify the Georgia DNR of the sale or transfer within 15 days, using the DNR’s Notification of Sale form.¹⁸ Skipping that step is a bad idea. The old registration becomes void once you transfer your interest, and an unreported sale can leave you tied to problems the new owner creates.

The seller hands the buyer a signed bill of sale and the existing vessel registration card. The buyer then files a fresh Georgia Vessel Registration/Title Application with that bill of sale and the applicable fee, which creates a new eTitle in the buyer’s name and starts a new three-year cycle tied to the buyer’s birth month.² If the boat is coming from a paper-title state, the buyer submits the endorsed original title in place of the Georgia registration card.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 52-7-5 – Numbering of Vessels; Requirements
2
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Georgia Boat Registration
3
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Boat Registration FAQs
4
Georgia.gov. Register a Boat
5
Justia. Georgia Code 52-7-6 – Exemptions from Numbering Requirements
6
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Registering Your Boat or Personal Water Craft
7
Justia. Georgia Code 52-7-4 – Requirement as to Numbering of Vessels
8
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Notification of Sale, Theft, Recovery, Destruction or Abandonment or Moved From State for a GA Registered Vessel