How to Register a Boat in Florida: Fees, Titling, and Renewals

To register a boat in Florida, take proof of ownership, a completed Application for Certificate of Vessel Title (Form HSMV 82040-VS), and payment for sales tax and length-based fees to your county tax collector’s office within 30 days of purchase.¹ Almost every motorized boat used on public waters must be titled and registered, and operating one without a valid registration is a $50 civil infraction.

Does Your Boat Need to Be Registered

Every motorized vessel operated on Florida public waters must be registered and titled, regardless of size. Non-motorized boats need registration only if they are 16 feet or longer. Canoes, kayaks, racing shells, and rowing sculls are exempt at any length as long as no motor is attached. The moment you clamp a motor onto a kayak, the exemption is gone and the vessel has to be registered.²

Boats used exclusively on private lakes and ponds, U.S. Government vessels, and craft used only as ship’s lifeboats are also exempt.³

Boats Registered in Another State

A vessel properly registered in another state can operate in Florida waters for up to 90 consecutive days without Florida registration. Once it has been in the state more than 90 days, you must register and title it here.³

Coast Guard Documented Vessels

If your boat holds a federal Certificate of Documentation, it’s exempt from Florida titling and does not receive a state registration number. You still pay the state registration certificate fee and get a decal, which goes on a window or the windshield on the port side. Keep both the Certificate of Documentation and the Florida registration certificate aboard whenever you’re on the water.³

What to Bring to the Tax Collector

Initial registration and titling has to be done in person at your local county tax collector’s office or a license plate agency. The core form is HSMV 82040-VS, available at any of those offices.⁴ You’ll fill in your name, address, date of birth, and driver’s license number, along with the vessel’s Hull Identification Number, make, model, year, length, propulsion type, and primary use.

Proof of ownership depends on how you got the boat:

New boat from a dealer: the Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin.
Used boat already titled in Florida: the seller’s signed Florida title.
Used boat from a state that doesn’t title vessels: the current out-of-state registration plus a signed bill of sale.
Private-party purchase: a bill of sale with both parties’ names, addresses, signatures, and the date of sale.

If there’s a lien on the vessel, bring the lienholder’s name, address, and loan account details. Proof of sales tax payment, or a valid exemption, has to be shown before the county will process the registration.

Sales and Use Tax

Florida charges 6% sales tax on all boat purchases, plus a discretionary county surtax that applies only to the first $5,000 of the price. The total combined tax on any single boat purchase is capped at $18,000.⁵ For anything priced below the cap, expect to pay the full 6% plus your county’s surtax.⁶

Bought your boat out of state? If you bring it into Florida within six months of purchase, Florida’s 6% use tax applies. You get a dollar-for-dollar credit for sales tax already paid elsewhere, but you owe Florida the difference if the other state’s rate was lower. If you paid 4% out of state, for example, you’ll owe Florida the remaining 2% plus any county surtax. Boats brought in more than six months after purchase are generally not subject to use tax under this provision, though registration and titling are still required.⁶

Registration Fees by Vessel Length

The state registration fee is set per 12-month period and scales with vessel length:⁷

Class A-1 (under 12 feet): $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 more): $189.75

Counties may add an optional local fee on top, ranging from roughly $1.75 for the smallest vessels to about $93 for the largest.

Titling Fees

On top of the registration fee, you’ll pay a one-time titling fee the first time you title the boat in Florida:⁸

Electronic title: $5.25
Paper title: $7.75
Expedited title: $11.00
Lien recording: $1.00 per lien
Out-of-state transfer surcharge: $4.00 for vessels previously registered elsewhere

When ownership changes on a boat already registered in Florida, the new owner pays a $3.25 transfer fee to update the registration.⁹

How the Process Works

Bring the completed HSMV 82040-VS, proof of ownership, proof of sales tax payment, and payment for all applicable fees to your county tax collector’s office. Staff will verify the documents, assign a registration number, and issue your decals.

During the 30-day window between purchase and registration, you must keep the bill of sale on board as a temporary certificate of number.¹ That bill of sale needs to include the vessel’s make, length, propulsion type, and Hull Identification Number; the buyer’s and seller’s names and signatures; the sale date; and a statement that Florida is where the vessel will primarily be used. If any of those details are missing, your temporary authority to operate the boat may not hold up.

Displaying the Number and Decal

Your assigned registration number goes on each side of the forward half of the vessel, placed where it’s clearly visible. The characters must be block style, at least three inches tall, and in a solid color that contrasts with the hull. Letters have to be separated from numbers by a hyphen or a space equal to the width of one letter.¹⁰

The registration decal is placed within six inches of the registration number on the port (left) side. Keep the registration certificate on board whenever you operate the boat.²

Renewals and Reporting Changes

For individually owned vessels, the registration period runs from the first day of your birth month through the last day of the month before your next birthday. You can choose a one-year or two-year term, and the renewal window opens up to three months before expiration.⁹ Vessels registered to businesses or corporations run July 1 through June 30.

Renewals don’t require another in-person trip. You can renew through FLHSMV’s MyDMV Portal or the MyFlorida mobile app, with a $2.00 non-refundable convenience fee for online transactions,¹¹ or at any motor vehicle service center.¹²

If you sell, transfer, or destroy your vessel, notify FLHSMV within 30 days. For a sale, complete the Notice of Sale on the back of your certificate of title or submit Form HSMV 82050 to your county tax collector.¹³ Address changes carry the same 30-day notification requirement.

Penalty for Operating Without Registration

Operating a vessel without valid registration is a noncriminal infraction, not a criminal offense. The civil penalty is $50, and you’ll be cited to appear before the county court. If you can show the vessel actually had valid registration at the time of the citation, the clerk can dismiss the case.¹⁴ The bigger practical problem is that the officer can stop you from continuing to operate the boat until the situation is fixed, so register inside the 30-day window and set a reminder tied to your birthday for annual renewal.

1
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.46 – Operation of Registered Vessels
2
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Boating Regulations
3
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 328 – Vessel Registration and Titles
4
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Certificate of Vessel Title
5
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Boats – Information for Dealers and Brokers
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Boats – Information for Owners and Purchasers
7
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.72 – Vessel Registration Fees andடitles
8
Santa Rosa County Tax Collector. Vessel Titles
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.72 – Vessel Registration Fees and Titles
10
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 328.48 – Registration Certificates and Numbers
11
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. GoRenew
12
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Renew or Replace Your Registration
13
Florida Senate. Florida Code 328.64 – Change of Interest and Address
14
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 327.73 – Noncriminal Infractions