Boat licensed in Delaware

M

MarkMuck

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
362
Messages
264
A friend of mine is looking at buying a boat that is located in Florida. But it is licensed in Delaware. The seller says there is no title because Delaware does not require this. Any input on this would be appreciated.
 
If never titled, he must have the COO (Certificate of Origin)
Does the boat have registration numbers? What state? If FL, he must have had a title.
To be clear, though, I have no clue what the DE requirements are. DE must have some sort of ownership documentation, IMHO
 
If it is located in Florida, I think 6 months, it has to be registered in FL. I think what you are saying, the boat is Coast Guard documented and the hailing port is listed as being in Delaware.
 
I believe DE is not a title state. The boat can spend 6 months a year in Fl without paying tax there and without being titled or registered in Fl. Is boat uscg documented? If so it is not subject to state title.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PascalG

I believe DE is not a title state. The boat can spend 6 months a year in Fl without paying tax there and without being titled or registered in Fl. Is boat uscg documented? If so it is not subject to state title.

Click to expand...


According to this , the grace period in FL is only 90 days:
https://www.dmv.com/fl/florida/boat-registration

But I suspect few if anyone whose registered boat from out of state which has been in FL for say 4 months has been cited for that unless they have had an accident or stopped for some other infraction.

I believe the regulation is 60 days in MA but I've never heard of anyone paying for new registration in a different state after each 2+ mo visit if they do not then stay year 'round. Presumably any new registration cancels the other state's.

(But in MA, documented vessels are not required to state-register.)
 
DE does not issue boat titles. Assuming it’s not a coast guard documented vessel, and DE is the primary usage state, they do require you to register your vessel there, and charge a registration fee. They issue stickers, and numbers, and give you a little card. But they don’t issue a motor vehicle title as some other states do.

And they don’t charge any sales tax, which is why many people register their boats in Delaware. The cops used to walk around the marinas in Maryland and NJ looking for DE stickers, then pull the contracts to see if the people had seasonal slip rentals, indicating ‘principal use’ in their state. Been a while since I’ve heard of that happening.

But back to your question, whoever told you that that DE does not issue boat titles is 100% correct. I bought a new boat which I registered in DE and still have, no title ever issued. I have turned in MD and NJ titles to the DE agent to get used boats I purchased registered in DE.

If you wanted to transfer ownership of a boat registered in Delaware, and keep it registered in Delaware, you would need to submit the current owners registration card, as well as a signed and notarized bill of sale. The state would then send you stickers with you registration number, and a little card. They used to be blue plastic cards, now they are cheapo paper ones for past 2 or 3 years.

I don’t rememebr what is involved in purchasing a DE boat and registering it in a state that does issue titles. All of my boats have been DE registered. I sold one to a guy in PA, we went to a license agency and filled out a bunch of forms. I assume he had a PA title isssued, but not sure.
 
If it’s registered in your name, that verifies ownership. There are ‘title states’ and ‘registration states’. Delaware is a registration state.
 
And no USCG documented vessel can be legally titled in any state unless documentation is withdrawn. Mark, you use the terms "licensed in Delaware"? Do you mean registered? No state I'm aware of issues a license to any boat or operator.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top