Florida Boat Title Requirements, Fees, and Transfers

A Florida boat title is a certificate of ownership issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) for most vessels operated, used, or stored on state waters. If you buy a boat or bring one into Florida as its state of principal use, you have 30 days to apply.¹ Miss that window and you’re looking at a second-degree misdemeanor, so don’t let the paperwork drift.²

When You Need a Florida Title and When You Don’t

The default rule is broad. Every vessel operated, used, or stored on Florida waters must be titled unless it falls into one of the exemptions written into Chapter 328:¹

Vessels carrying a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation (still need Florida registration).
Vessels documented by another country that are in Florida for 90 days or fewer.
Barges.
Vessels being built or completed under contract before delivery.
Dealer inventory held for sale, lease, demonstration, or testing.
Vessels used exclusively on private lakes and ponds.
U.S. Government vessels.
Vessels already numbered under another state’s approved system, as long as they stay in Florida fewer than 90 consecutive days.

One exemption trips people up: a non-motorized vessel under 16 feet needs no title and no registration. Attach a motor and both obligations snap into place.

How to Apply for the Title

You apply at a county tax collector or license plate agent office, not at FLHSMV headquarters. The form is HSMV 82040 VS, the vessel version of the title application. A different form shares the same base number for motor vehicles, so confirm you’ve got the “VS” document before filling anything in.³

The application asks for a full description of the boat: hull identification number (HIN), make, manufacturer, model, year, weight, and length. You also have to prove ownership. Any of these documents will do: a bill of sale, a manufacturer’s statement of origin, a builder’s contract, or a federal marine document.⁴

Titling and registration are separate obligations. A titled vessel still has to be registered annually, and registration fees scale with length. Sales or use tax is a third item on the bill at the counter if you haven’t already paid it elsewhere.

Titling Fees

Set by FLHSMV and the same across every tax collector’s office in the state:²

Electronic title: $5.25
Paper title: $7.75
Expedited (fast) title: $11.00
Lien recording: $1.00 per lien
Out-of-state surcharge: $4.00 additional if the vessel was previously registered outside Florida

Most owners choose the electronic title. It’s the cheapest option, and there’s no paper document to misplace.

Sales and Use Tax

Florida applies sales tax to boat purchases, capped at $18,000 per vessel. That cap covers state sales tax and any local discretionary surtax combined, and the local surtax itself doesn’t apply above $5,000 on a single item like a boat. A nonresident who buys through a registered Florida dealer or broker and takes delivery here can qualify for an exemption; the exemption covers accessories sold with the boat but not boat trailers.⁵

Buying or Selling a Titled Boat

Both sides of a private sale run on a 30-day clock. The seller signs the certificate of title in the assignment area and hands it to the buyer. If the title is held electronically rather than on paper, the handoff runs through the tax collector’s office instead of a physical signature.⁶

The buyer has 30 days from the purchase date to apply for a new title. Bring the endorsed title, complete Form HSMV 82040 VS, and pay the titling fee at a county tax collector or license plate agent office.² While that window is open, keep proof of the purchase date aboard the vessel if you’re operating it.

Before the money changes hands, check the title for liens. A lien recorded on the title means the seller still owes money secured by the boat, and that debt has to be resolved before the title can transfer cleanly into your name. Either run a title check through FLHSMV or require the seller to produce a lien satisfaction from the lender.

Homemade Boats

If you built the boat yourself and it has a motor, you have to title and register it before using it on Florida waters. Instead of a manufacturer’s statement of origin, you file Form HSMV 87002 (Vessel Statement of Builder) along with copies of bills of sale or receipts for the construction materials, and you certify that sales tax was paid on those materials.⁷

Because a homemade boat has no factory HIN, FLHSMV assigns one. A vessel built from a kit or finished from an unfinished hull still counts as homemade. A rebuilt or reconstructed vessel does not.⁷

Out-of-State and Coast Guard Documented Boats

Moving a boat to Florida or buying one titled elsewhere starts the same 30-day clock. Florida becomes your state of principal use, and from that date you have 30 days to apply for a Florida title.¹ Bring the out-of-state title properly completed for transfer, pay the standard fee plus the $4 out-of-state surcharge, and expect Florida use tax if you paid less than Florida’s rate in the original state.²

A boat with a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation is a different story. Documented vessels are exempt from Florida state titling, though they still have to be registered with the state if operated here.¹ Vessels of five net tons or more used commercially (chartering, fishing) must carry Coast Guard documentation; pleasure yachts of the same size may be documented but aren’t required to be. Documentation makes financing easier because it allows a Preferred Ship Mortgage, which most lenders require, and clears customs more smoothly abroad.

What Happens If You Don’t Title the Boat

Operating a vessel that requires a title without having obtained one is a second-degree misdemeanor, as is operating an unregistered vessel after the 30-day grace period.² A second-degree misdemeanor in Florida carries up to 60 days in jail, up to a $500 fine, or both. A late fee applies on top when a buyer files a title transfer after the 30-day window has closed. Selling a vessel without delivering a properly assigned title to the buyer is also a second-degree misdemeanor.

Fraud is treated far more seriously. Applying for a title on a vessel you know or have reason to believe is stolen is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. The same classification applies to possessing, selling, or counterfeiting a forged or stolen title, registration, or bill of sale; to making false statements on a title application; and to using a fraudulent title to obtain goods, services, or credit.

A separate tier of noncriminal fines targets owners who fail to report a vessel that has been destroyed or dismantled: $5,000 for a first offense, $15,000 for a second, and $25,000 for each one after. Insurers that fail to report total-loss claims face the same schedule.

None of this is hard to avoid. File within 30 days, keep registration current, and sign only paperwork you know to be accurate. The $5.25 to $11 titling fee is trivial next to what a missed deadline or a bad signature can cost.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 328.03 – Certificate of Title Required
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vessel Titling and Registrations
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Certificate of Vessel Title
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 328.48 – Vessel Registration, Application, Certificate, Number, Decal, Duplicate Certificate
5
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Boats
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 328.01 – Application for Certificate of Title
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vessel Statement of Builder HSMV 87002