How to Fill Out and Submit the SCDNR Boat Registration Form (BTR-1)

The SCDNR Watercraft/Outboard Motor Application, Form BTR-1, is what South Carolina requires whenever you buy, sell, or transfer a motorized boat or an outboard motor rated at five horsepower or more. You submit it to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources with proof of ownership, a paid property tax receipt, and the applicable fee. You have 30 days from the date you acquire the boat or motor to file. Miss that window and a late penalty is added on top of the regular fees.¹

Who Has to File the BTR-1

South Carolina requires titling for all motorized boats and watercraft held or principally used in the state, plus every outboard motor of five horsepower or greater. Sailboats with any form of installed propulsion, including a trolling motor, are covered as well.²

A few situations sit outside the BTR-1 process. Vessels documented by the U.S. Coast Guard do not need a state title or registration number. Sailboats and paddle boats with no propulsion machinery are exempt from state numbering. Water skis, surfboards, and windsurfers are not considered watercraft here. A boat registered in another state can operate on South Carolina waters for up to 60 consecutive days before the owner has to obtain state credentials.³

One thing the BTR-1 does not cover: your boat trailer. Trailer registration runs through the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, not SCDNR, and you’ll need to handle that separately before towing on public roads.⁴

Documents to Gather Before You Start

What you attach to the BTR-1 depends on how you acquired the vessel. Assemble the package first. An incomplete submission gets rejected or delayed, and the 30-day clock keeps running.

Bought from a Private Owner in South Carolina

You need the original South Carolina title with the assignment section on the back fully completed and signed by the seller: printed name, signature, sale date, and purchase price. Nothing on the title can be crossed out or whited out. An altered title is invalid and won’t be accepted unless you also submit a signed, notarized bill of sale along with a $5 duplicate title fee.⁵ You also need a paid property tax receipt in your name for the coming year from your county of residence.

Bought from a Dealer

Dealers are required to complete the title application in the buyer’s name before delivering the boat or motor.¹ For a new watercraft, the dealer provides a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. You should leave with a completed BTR-1 and an invoice showing sales tax paid. Buying from an out-of-state dealer that didn’t collect South Carolina tax? You owe the use tax directly to SCDNR when you submit the application.

Brought in from Another State

If the boat or motor was last titled in a state that issues titles, you need that state’s original title. If the other state does not issue watercraft titles, a bill of sale takes its place.¹ Include the dealer invoice or private-party bill of sale showing the purchase price, plus any receipt for sales tax paid to the other state. SCDNR will credit taxes already paid elsewhere against the South Carolina use tax you owe.⁶

Filling Out Form BTR-1

The application is a downloadable PDF on the SCDNR boating forms page, and you can also pick one up at a regional office. Print it as two separate pages rather than front and back.⁷ The form has a built-in bill of sale section and a tax-exempt certification, so a separate bill of sale isn’t always required.

Applicant Information

Enter your full legal name or business name, date of birth, physical address, and mailing address. The current BTR-1 does not ask for a Social Security Number or Federal Employer Identification Number.⁸

Watercraft Details

Fill in the make, model year, overall length, and the 12-character Hull Identification Number stamped on the transom. Check the hull material from the list on the form (wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, inflatable, rubber/vinyl/canvas, or other) and select the propulsion type (manual, propeller, sail, water jet, or other).⁸ Copy the HIN carefully. A typo creates a mismatch between your registration and the physical hull, and that turns into a problem during a law enforcement stop or a future sale.

Outboard Motor Details

For a motor, enter the manufacturer, model year, horsepower rating, and serial number. Every outboard rated at five horsepower or greater gets its own title, separate from the boat’s. A boat-and-motor package goes on the same BTR-1, but you receive two separate title documents.

Liens and Security Interests

If a lender has a security interest in the boat or motor, list the lienholder’s name and address and the date of the security agreement. The lien is perfected when the lienholder delivers the existing title (if any), the application, and the fee to SCDNR, and it then appears on the certificate of title.⁹

Buying a boat whose title shows an old lien no one can verify? You can send a certified letter to the lienholder of record. If there’s no response within 30 days, the lien becomes unenforceable and the department will issue a clean title.⁹

Signature and Certification

Sign and date the application. Your signature certifies the information is true and that no liens exist beyond those listed. A false statement is a misdemeanor and can bring a fine of $50 to $500 or up to 30 days in jail.³ In a private sale, the seller’s signature in the assignment section of the title serves as the release of interest; no separate seller signature on the BTR-1 is required when the title itself is properly completed.

Taxes You’ll Owe

Two tax obligations come due at registration.

The casual excise tax is 5 percent of the purchase price, capped at $500. That cap kicks in at $10,000; a $15,000 boat-and-motor package still owes $500, not $750. A separately purchased motor carries the same rate and the same ceiling.⁵ Sales tax you already paid in another state is credited against what you owe, up to the 5 percent or $500 maximum.⁶

Property tax must be paid to your county of residence before SCDNR will process the application. Call your county treasurer’s office, pay the tax, and include the paid receipt in your submission. If you’re buying a boat already titled and registered in South Carolina, the property tax receipt in your name is required before the title can transfer.⁶

Where to Submit and What It Costs

You can mail the completed package or hand-deliver it. By mail:

SCDNR, ATTN: T&R
P.O. Box 167
Columbia, SC 29202-0167¹⁰

For in-person service, three SCDNR offices handle full titling and registration: West Columbia at 260 D Epting Lane, Charleston at 217 Fort Johnson Road, and the Horry County office in Aynor.¹¹ Initial titling still requires the paper BTR-1 with original documents; the online Go Outdoors South Carolina portal handles renewals, not new titles.

Fees are set by transaction type, not by the size of the boat:¹²

New SC boat registration and title (never previously registered in SC): $20
In-state change of ownership, boat registration and title: $10
New outboard motor title (never previously titled in SC or transferred from another state): $10
In-state change of ownership, outboard motor title: $10
Duplicate or corrected title: $5

A typical private sale of a boat with a separately titled motor comes to $20 for an in-state transfer ($10 boat, $10 motor), or $30 for a vessel entering South Carolina for the first time ($20 boat, $10 motor).¹³ Payment is by check or money order made out to SCDNR.

The 30-Day Deadline and Late Penalties

You have 30 days from the date of acquisition to submit the application. After that, the penalty stacks on top of the regular fee:

Operating a boat that should be titled and registered but isn’t is a misdemeanor. The general penalty for violating the watercraft titling chapter is a fine of $25 to $500, up to 30 days in jail, or both. Attempting to obtain a title through fraud or misrepresentation carries a $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.³

What Arrives After Processing

Allow four to six weeks.¹⁴ If everything checks out, you should receive:

The South Carolina certificate of title for the boat, and a separate title for the motor if you titled one. When there’s a lien, the title goes to the lienholder instead.
A registration card, which has to be carried aboard the vessel whenever it is in operation.¹³
Watercraft validation decals, affixed to the hull near the registration number.
A separate decal for the outboard motor, if one was titled.

From there, registration renews annually. Since 2021 your county bills the $10 renewal fee alongside your property taxes, timed to the expiration month on your current decals. If the county has determined the boat no longer has taxable value, SCDNR sends the renewal notice to you directly.¹⁵

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 50-23-60 – Application for Certificate; Late Penalty
2
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Boating – Title and Register a Watercraft or Outboard Motor in SC
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 50 Chapter 23 – Watercraft and Outboard Motors
4
SCDMV. Boats and Jet Skis
5
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Title and Register a Watercraft or Outboard Motor in SC – Purchased from an SC Owner with SC Titles
6
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Boating – Title and Register a Watercraft or Outboard Motor in SC – FAQ
7
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Boating – Forms
8
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. SCDNR Watercraft/Outboard Motor Application
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 50-23-140 – Priority and Validity of Liens and Other Encumbrances; Discharge of Liens
10
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. West Columbia SCDNR Office Fully Operational, Public Access Remains Restricted
11
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. SCDNR – Boating Offices
12
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Boating – Fees – Title and Register a Watercraft or Outboard Motor in SC
13
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. SCDNR Watercraft/Outboard Motor Application – Out of State from a Titling State
14
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. West Columbia SCDNR Office Fully Operational, Public Access Remains Restricted
15
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 2020 Boat Registration Renewal Changes