Florida Statutes Chapter 328: Vessel Titling, Fees, and Penalties

To title and register a boat in Florida, you file an application with your local county tax collector or license plate agent within 30 days of buying the vessel, provide proof of ownership along with the boat’s hull and owner details, and pay an annual registration fee that runs from $5.50 to $189.75 depending on length. The Florida vessel title and registration system is run by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) under Chapter 328 of the Florida Statutes, and it applies to almost every motorized boat used, stored, or operated on state waters.

Which Boats Must Be Titled and Registered

If your boat has a motor, assume it needs a Florida title and registration. The law reaches broadly, and the exemptions are narrow:

Non-motorized vessels under 16 feet, including canoes, kayaks, and small sailboats
Vessels documented with the U.S. Coast Guard (these still need a Florida registration decal, just not a state title)
Boats used only on private water
Boats owned by the United States, the State of Florida, or a Florida political subdivision
Out-of-state or foreign boats visiting for up to 90 consecutive days with a valid home registration
Amphibious vehicles that already carry a Florida motor vehicle title
Dealer or manufacturer boats used solely for testing, demonstration, or promotion

After you buy a boat that needs a title, the 30-day clock starts. Keep proof of the purchase date on board whenever you take it out during that window.¹

Where to File and What to Bring

Applications go to your county tax collector’s office or a license plate agent. You can file in person or by mail with the required fees.²

For yourself, bring:

Your full legal name, residence address, and mailing address if different
A valid Florida driver license or ID card, an out-of-state license, or a passport
If applying as a business, your federal employer identification number and proof you are authorized to operate in Florida

For the boat, the application has to include:

The hull identification number, or a request to have one assigned
Any existing registration number or U.S. Coast Guard official number
Manufacturer or builder, model year, overall length, vessel type, hull material, propulsion type, engine drive type, and fuel type
Every known lien, with each secured party’s name and address
Any title brands, such as prior hull damage
If the application involves a sale: seller’s name and address, sale price, and transfer date

You also need proof of ownership. For a new boat, that is usually the manufacturer’s statement of origin. For a used boat, it is the prior owner’s signed-over title or a bill of sale.³

Office staff review the paperwork, verify fees, and calculate sales tax from the purchase price. Once everything clears, they issue a registration certificate, a registration number, and a validation decal on the spot. FLHSMV prints and mails the permanent paper title separately, which usually takes several weeks.

What It Costs

Florida sets the annual registration fee by vessel class, which is based on length:

Class A-1, under 12 feet (and motorized canoes of any length): $5.50
Class A-2, 12 to under 16 feet: $16.25
Class 1, 16 to under 26 feet: $28.75
Class 2, 26 to under 40 feet: $78.25
Class 3, 40 to under 65 feet: $127.75
Class 4, 65 to under 110 feet: $152.75
Class 5, 110 feet or longer: $189.75

Counties can tack on an optional local fee. A Class 1 boat, the most common recreational size, can owe up to an extra $13.38 in county charges.⁴

You can trim the fee by equipping the boat with an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), or by personally owning a personal locator beacon. The discount matters most on larger boats: Class 2 drops from $78.25 to $57.50, and Class 5 falls from $189.75 to $141.15.⁴

Sales Tax at Purchase

Florida charges sales tax on boat purchases but caps the total at $18,000 no matter how expensive the vessel is. The cap includes both state sales tax and any local discretionary surtax, and it takes effect once the calculated tax would exceed that figure (roughly at purchase prices above $300,000). The purchase price you report on the title application drives the tax calculation, so get it right. If a private-sale price looks unusually low, the state can assess tax on fair market value instead.⁵

When Your Registration Expires

For an individual owner, the registration period runs from the first day of your birth month through the last day of the month before your next birthday. The renewal window is 30 days long and closes at midnight on your actual date of birth. If two or more people own the boat together, the birth month of the owner listed first controls the cycle.

For companies, corporations, and government entities, the year runs July 1 through June 30, with renewal opening June 1. Dealer registrations follow the same corporate schedule.⁴

Hull Identification Numbers

Every boat on Florida waters has to carry a hull identification number (HIN), the vessel equivalent of a VIN. The HIN must contain at least 12 characters, each at least a quarter-inch tall, and must be permanently fixed to the outboard side of the transom. On a boat without a transom, it goes on the outermost starboard side at the stern, above the waterline. The attachment has to be permanent enough that tampering would be visible.

Boats built before November 1, 1972, can have the HIN stamped, impressed, or shown on a permanently mounted plate. Boats built after that date carry a HIN assigned by the manufacturer under U.S. Coast Guard standards.⁶

Homemade Boats

If you built the boat yourself, there is no manufacturer to assign a federal HIN, so FLHSMV assigns one. A vessel counts as homemade if it was built after October 31, 1972, and the Coast Guard did not require a HIN from the builder. Kits and unfinished hulls finished at home also qualify, but a rebuilt or reconstructed boat does not.

You file Form HSMV 87002, the Vessel Statement of Builder, at your county tax collector’s office. The form asks you to certify that you built the boat, describe its specifications (length, hull material, propulsion type, fuel type, where it was built), and supply receipts or bills of sale for the materials used. You also confirm that sales tax was paid on those materials and that the boat has never been titled or registered anywhere else. A law enforcement officer or designated official then inspects the vessel before the state issues a HIN.⁷

Liens on a Financed Boat

If a lender financed your purchase, that lender records a lien on the certificate of title. The lien is public record and prevents the owner from selling the boat free and clear until the loan is paid off. FLHSMV keeps an electronic database of these liens, so anyone can check before buying a used boat.

Lienholders are generally required to use the department’s electronic titling program and transmit lien filings and releases digitally. Individuals and lienholders who do not regularly finance vessels can still use paper. When you pay off the loan, the lienholder has 10 days to send a satisfaction of lien to FLHSMV, and if no other liens remain, the lienholder also has to deliver the certificate of title to whoever paid off the debt.⁸

Out-of-State and Military Owners

Bringing a boat already registered in another state or with the Coast Guard? You can operate it on Florida waters for up to 90 consecutive days without a Florida registration. After that, you have to record the existing registration number with FLHSMV and go through standard registration. The state will not issue a new registration number as long as your out-of-state registration stays current.⁹

Active-duty military personnel stationed in Florida get a wider exemption. If your boat carries a valid registration from another state, you do not need to register it in Florida while that registration remains current. Once it expires, you have to title and register the boat in Florida.¹⁰

Penalties for Skipping the Rules

Operating an unregistered or unnumbered vessel is a noncriminal infraction, with a $100 civil penalty and a citation to county court. If you get cited for an expired registration but can show the registration was actually valid at the time, the clerk can dismiss the case, though you will still owe a dismissal fee.¹¹

Hull identification is treated far more seriously. Altering, removing, or defacing a HIN is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and the boat itself can be seized.¹²

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 328.03 – Vessels Subject to Titling
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vessel Titling and Registrations
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 328.01 – Certificate of Title Application Requirements
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.72 – Classification, Registration, Fees and Charges
5
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Boats
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 328.07 – Hull Identification Number Required
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vessel Statement of Builder – Form HSMV 87002
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 328.15 – Notice of Lien and Satisfaction of Lien on Vessel
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 328.58 – Reciprocity of Nonresident or Alien Vessels
10
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 328 – Vessels
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.73 – Noncriminal Infractions
12
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.07 – Hull Identification Number Required