How can I get a title for my boat?

-I recently bought a boat with no title. Is it possible to get a title for it?You will need to check with your state marine board or department of motor vehicles, whichever handles boat titles in your state. Every state has different laws on this subject, and anything posted on this site may or most likely won't apply to your state.



My state won't accept Bill of Sales as transfer documents because anyone can fill out a Bill of Sale on any vehicle. You must have the title to transfer ownership. In my state, the only way a private individual can create a title is to go through a lien sale company, where you turn the vehicle / boat over to the company, and the lien sale company does the title search in all 50 states to see if the boat is stolen or has a owner on file in some state. They then place a lien against the vehicle / boat for services rendered, and after due notices in the paper, etc. they hold a Sheriff's auction and the sheriff will issue the paper work to the lien sale company which sells the paper work to you for their cost. You can take the sheriffs sale paperwork to the state marine board and get a title.
not all states issue titles for boats, so the first thing to do is to check with your states boating registration dept to verify status of boats. have you tried to register your boat in your name? if you were able to transfer the registration, then your state probably doesn't issue titles.



if you live in a state that does issue titles and requires one to transfer ownership, then you will need to contact the previous owner and discuss with him how he plans to get you the title. usually he will either have to apply for a replacement title. if you have not registered the boat, then the easiest way to transfer the ownership is to arrange to go to the state title transfer office with the previous owner, and have him complete the title replacement and transfer documents while you apply for the registration. this saves a lot of time.



hopes this helps