If you have purchased a smaller boat like a tender or dinghy these generally do not qualify to be documented and will only have to be state titled.Ī documented vessel may not have a state certificate of title, but can be registered in the state in which it is primarily used. If you took out a loan for your vessel, the bank might require you to document your boat. Generally, boats that are 25 feet in length and bigger qualify to be documented, regardless of their weight. You can find the Initial Vessel Documentation instructions to document your boat here at the Coast Guard National Vessel Documentation Center site. The vessel you are trying to document must abide by the following criteria: the vessel is of at least five net tons, it has a hull number, the owners are US citizens, and the owners have filled out an application for documentation with the USCG. We are referring to recreational use vessels only.ĭocumenting your boat with the USCG means it is being titled on a national level. You ask yourself, “How the heck do I know if I need to state title or USCG document my boat?” There are certain criteria you can use to decipher if your boat needs to be documented by the United States Coast Guard or state titled. STATE TITLING YOUR BOAT The difference between the two optionsĬonfused about documenting or tilting your new boat? We are here to help clear up the confusion! So you have just purchased the boat of your dreams but don’t know what comes next.

List of documented vessels