How to Complete the Texas Boat Title Transfer Form (PWD 143)

To transfer a Texas boat title, complete form PWD 143 (the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Vessel/Boat Application), attach the ownership document that fits how you acquired the boat, and file it with the $27 title fee, the registration fee for your vessel’s length, and 6.25 percent sales tax at a TPWD office or a participating county tax assessor-collector. You have 45 days from the date of sale to file.¹

The 45-Day Deadline

Texas law gives the buyer of a vessel 45 days from the date of sale to apply for a certificate of title. If you bought from a dealer, the dealer is responsible for filing the title application in your name within that same window. TPWD will not issue the title until any sales tax due has been paid.¹

You use the PWD 143 for more than a straight purchase. The same form handles transfers between private parties, boats brought into Texas from another state or country, registration of USCG documented vessels for Texas waters, replacement of a lost or destroyed title, and sales-tax-only filings on vessels 115 feet and under.²

Filling Out the Form

Download the PDF from the TPWD website and save it to your computer before typing in it. Filling it inside a browser can scramble the formatting. If you print and complete it by hand, use blue or black ink.²

Owner Information

Enter the owner’s full legal name (or company name and EIN for a business), date of birth, and an identification number. TPWD accepts a driver’s license, state ID, or other government-issued ID. Give your principal residence address, plus a separate mailing address if it differs.³

Vessel Description and Hull ID

The most important field is the hull identification number (HIN) affixed to the boat. Copy it from the hull exactly. A single transposed character can delay processing or create ownership problems later. The form also asks for the make, model year, hull material, length, and propulsion type.³

Tax Affidavit (Section N)

Section N collects the sales price, date of sale, and any trade-in information, and the seller signs it as a tax affidavit. A separate bill of sale or invoice signed by the seller can substitute for the seller completing Section N directly. If the boat is a gift, check the gift box and complete items 11 through 16 instead of a sales price.³

Lienholder

If you financed the vessel, list the lienholder’s name and mailing address. TPWD records the lien on the certificate of title, and the lienholder generally keeps the physical title until the loan is paid off.

What to Attach

The supporting document depends on how you got the boat.

New from a dealer or manufacturer: the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin, plus the completed PWD 143 with sales price and seller’s signature.
Used, private sale: the original Texas title signed over by the seller on the back, plus a bill of sale or the completed tax affidavit section of the PWD 143.
Out-of-state boat: the current out-of-state title and most recent registration, along with proof that any applicable sales tax has been paid.
Replacement title: no ownership document is needed. You pay the $27 title fee, and an expedited “quick title” is available for an extra fee, printing one day after processing.⁴

A bill of sale should show the purchase price, date of sale, a description of the vessel, and the signatures of both buyer and seller. TPWD accepts the PWD 143 itself as a bill of sale when the sales price, date, and trade-in information are completed and the seller has signed.¹

Gifts

No sales tax is owed on a gift. To claim the exemption, complete items 11 through 16 in Section N and mark the gift box.³ The prior owner still signs the title over to you, and the $27 title transfer fee still applies. Do not label a sale as a gift to dodge the tax. Knowingly making a false entry on a government record is a third-degree felony under Texas Penal Code Section 37.10, carrying up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Inherited Vessels

Transferring a boat from a deceased owner requires either probate paperwork or a TPWD-specific affidavit. If the estate has been probated, the executor submits a certified copy of the probate proceedings or Letters Testamentary with the PWD 143. If no probate was filed, the heir uses the Affidavit of Heirship for a Vessel/Boat and/or Outboard Motor (PWD 738), which asks for a description of the vessel, information about the deceased owner, and notarized signatures from the qualifying heirs.⁵

Which heirs must sign depends on who survived. A surviving spouse alone can sign when there are no children born outside the marriage. When the deceased had children from another relationship, both the spouse and those children sign. With no surviving spouse, all surviving children sign, and the chain continues through parents and siblings if no closer relatives survive.⁵

Fees

Registration fees run by vessel length and are due at filing:

Class A, under 16 feet: $32
Class 1, 16 to under 26 feet: $53
Class 2, 26 to under 40 feet: $110
Class 3, 40 feet or more: $150

The certificate of title fee is $27, whether the application is for an initial title, a transfer, a replacement, or a correction.⁶

Sales Tax and Late Penalties

Texas imposes a 6.25 percent sales tax on the purchase price of vessels and outboard motors. TPWD collects it at registration or title transfer for vessels 115 feet and under.¹

Tax is due within 45 working days of the sale or the date the vessel came into Texas. Missing that deadline triggers penalties:

1 to 30 days late: 5 percent of the tax owed
Over 30 days late: 10 percent
61 or more days late: interest accrues on top of the penalty

⁷

On a $30,000 boat the base tax is $1,875, and two months of delay tacks on $187.50 before interest starts.

Where to Submit

File the completed PWD 143, supporting documents, and payment in person at a TPWD office or a participating county tax assessor-collector, or by mail to TPWD headquarters at 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744. All submissions need original signatures; photocopied or digitally signed forms will not be processed.²

Filing in person at a county tax office is usually fastest. You walk out with your registration, and the title application is forwarded to TPWD for processing. Mailing to Austin works, but expect a longer round trip.

After You File

Standard titles print 21 days after TPWD processes the application and go out by USPS First-Class Mail. If you need it faster, the “quick title” option prints one day after processing.⁴ Keep a copy of your submitted application as temporary proof of registration while you wait.

Displaying the TX Number and Decal

Once registered, your vessel receives a TX registration number that must be painted on or attached to each side of the forward half of the hull, in block characters at least three inches tall, in a color that contrasts with the hull, reading left to right with hyphens or spaces between the prefix and suffix (for example, TX 1234 AB). The validation decal goes in line with the TX number, three inches toward the stern, on both sides of the bow. Antique boats may display the decal on the left portion of the windshield instead.⁸

A Few Situations the PWD 143 Does Not Cover

Outboard motors are titled separately. That filing uses the PWD 144, not the PWD 143.³

USCG documented vessels still need Texas state registration, in effect since January 1, 2004. You use the PWD 143 to register, but documented vessels display only the validation decal on both sides of the bow, not a TX number. Commercial tugboats, vessels over 115 feet, and pilot or crew boats that transport freight, supplies, or personnel to cargo ships, freighters, or offshore oil platforms are exempt from Texas registration entirely.⁹

Some watercraft do not need registration at all: non-motorized canoes, kayaks, punts, rowboats, and rubber rafts of any length, and other non-motorized vessels under 14 feet that are paddled, poled, oared, or wind-powered. Attaching any motor, including a trolling motor, ends the exemption.⁹

1
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Tax and Bill of Sale Requirements
2
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. References, Tools and Forms for Boat Titling/Registration
3
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. PWD 143 Texas Vessel/Boat Application
4
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Boat Registration and Titles – FAQ
5
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Affidavit of Heirship for a Vessel/Boat and/or Outboard Motor
6
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Fee Chart for Boats and Outboard Motors
7
Texas Comptroller. Boat and Boat Motor Taxes
8
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Numbers and Decals on Vessels
9
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Registration Requirements