Buying a Boat in Another State: Survey, Paperwork, Taxes, Registration and Getting It Home

• Ask for the HIN, the engine serial numbers and the trailer VIN, plus clear photos of the HIN plate, the title (or documentation) and the registration. Compare names and numbers before going further.
• Talk on the phone or on a video call. Ask the seller to show the HIN plate, start the engine (on muffs or in the water) and walk around the boat live.
• Watch for bait listings. BoatUS's writer found several too-good-to-be-true ads whose "owners" never answered; the photos were often pixelated and the registration numbers hidden or erased. Those ads may exist just to harvest email addresses, or as a lead-in to a scam.

BoatUS warns buyers about counterfeit cashier's checks or money orders, sellers who want your PayPal details, and sellers who push their own escrow service. Its scam article adds: cheap boats with photos copied from real ads, a seller who never talks on the phone and is always "overseas" or "deployed," and a slick shipping or escrow site that takes your money and disappears. A seller with no interest in discussing the title, registration or HIN isn't really selling a boat. Pay only through a method that leaves a record, to the person on the title, after the boat and paperwork are verified.

You don't have to drive 800 miles to find out the photos lied.

• Preliminary inspection ("quick look"): BoatUS describes surveyors who, for a modest fee, check the hull, deck, interior, engine and trailer, run the engine on muffs to check starting, shifting, steering and cooling, take photos, and tell you whether the boat matches the ad. It's not a full survey.
• Full pre-purchase (condition and value) survey: the deep inspection lenders and insurers often want. BoatUS's surveyor recommends members of SAMS or NAMS, and using your own surveyor, not one suggested by the seller or broker.
• Ask the surveyor to confirm the HIN and that the seller's name matches the title. BoatUS notes a surveyor on site can check the paperwork too.
• Ask for an engine compression test or oil analysis by a marine mechanic if the engines are a big part of the price.
• Tell the surveyor they can stop early (and bill less) if the boat is obviously wrong.

• Titled in the seller's state? Get the original title, signed by everyone listed as owner, plus a lien release if a loan was ever recorded. Search the title and registration with the seller's state agency, as BoatUS recommends.
• Seller's state doesn't title boats? BoatUS suggests asking for the seller's own bill of sale from when they bought it, plus the registration card. Call your home agency before you pay and ask exactly what it will accept as proof of ownership from that state.
• Documented with the Coast Guard? Check the Certificate of Documentation and get an Abstract of Title showing recorded liens. Documented boats are not state-titled, but BoatUS notes most states still require a use decal and sales tax.
• Engines: some states title outboards separately. Texas, for example, titles boats and outboard motors.
• No title and a missing or unreadable HIN? This is one of the most common paperwork traps owners ask about. Don't pay until your home agency tells you the path. Many states can assign a state HIN, but it takes an application, an inspection and proof of ownership. New York's process, for example: apply to State Parks with photos of the boat, the local marine law enforcement agency (usually the sheriff) inspects it where it sits, you show receipts and proof of ownership, and only then can you register and title it at the DMV. A HIN that looks ground off or altered is a reason to walk away.

See our used-boat paperwork guide for HIN checks, liens and the bill of sale.

BoatUS says most states title and register trailers separately from boats, usually through a different agency, and some require safety inspections. Get the trailer's title or registration signed over and the VIN written on the bill of sale with its own price. Ask your home DMV whether you need an in-transit or temporary trailer permit to tow it home before it's registered in your name, and whether its current plate can legally stay on during the trip. Some states let the old plate stay; many don't.

List the date, price, buyer and seller names and addresses, the boat's make, model, year and HIN, engine serial numbers, the trailer VIN and its separate price, and everything included. Texas's guidance also asks for the trailer's price to be listed separately, which matters for tax. Pay with a traceable method. For larger boats, use a closing or escrow service that both sides trust, chosen by you, not by the seller.

Arrange insurance that starts the moment you pay, wherever the boat is, including while it's on the road.

Tax usually follows where the boat will be kept and registered, not just where you bought it.

• Many states charge use tax when you register a boat bought elsewhere and give credit for sales tax already paid to another state. California's DMV handbook is a good example: use tax is due on boats brought in within 365 days of purchase, and if you paid tax in another state, California collects only the difference.
• Some sellers' states charge their own sales tax at purchase; others exempt buyers who take the boat out of state promptly. Ask the seller's state agency or a tax advisor before you pay.
• Keep proof of any tax you paid, or you may pay twice.
• Deadlines matter. Texas, for example, wants transfers filed within 45 working days or penalties and interest apply. Your state's deadline may differ.

• Federal law (repeated in 33 CFR 173.17) says that when a boat moves to a new state of principal operation, the new state must honor the old state's number for 60 days. After that, register it in your state. The old certificate becomes invalid 60 days after the boat stops being principally used in the old state, and it also becomes invalid as soon as the owner listed on it transfers ownership (33 CFR 173.77).
• That second rule matters to a buyer: the seller's registration is in the seller's name, so it doesn't make the boat legal for you. Ask your home agency how to operate legally right away. 33 CFR 173.15 recognizes temporary certificates issued by your state, and many agencies issue one at registration or let you carry the dated bill of sale for a short time.
• Expect a HIN verification. Texas, for example, requires out-of-state boats and motors to verify the HIN or motor serial number with a pencil tracing or photograph. Federal rules (33 CFR 174.16) require states to verify a boat's HIN before registering it. Florida shows how much the details vary: a county tax collector's guidance there says HIN verification isn't required every time a boat comes into Florida, but a boat built after 1972 whose out-of-state title or registration shows only a partial HIN (fewer than 12 properly formatted characters) needs a pencil tracing. A boat from a non-title state transfers on its registration plus a notarized bill of sale, and a visiting non-resident with a valid out-of-state registration can use a pleasure boat in Florida waters for 90 days before Florida registration is required. Check your own state's version of each rule.
• Remove the old state's numbers and decals once you register, and put on your new numbers and decal. See our registration numbers guide.

Towing yourself:

• Confirm your vehicle's towing capacity covers the real loaded weight of boat, trailer, fuel and gear. BoatUS's long-haul advice: weigh the rig as packed, travel with tanks low and top off at the destination, and keep more than half, but not more than about 75 percent, of the load weight ahead of the trailer axle.
• Check the trailer like it's been sitting for years: tires (age and pressure), wheel bearings, lights, brakes, coupler, safety chains, winch strap and transom tie-downs. Carry a mounted spare and a jack that fits the trailer.
• Learn the rules of every state you'll cross. Trailer brakes, mirror, speed limits for trailers and whether "triple towing" (a boat behind a camper) is allowed all vary by state.

Width and oversize loads:

• On the federal National Network of highways, states must allow vehicles up to 102 inches (8.5 feet) wide (Hawaii allows 108), and they may issue special permits for wider loads (23 CFR 658.15).
• A boat wider than the legal limit generally needs an oversize permit from each state on the route, and may need signs, flags, lights, escort vehicles or travel-time limits. That's usually a job for a professional boat transporter who handles the permits.

Hiring a transporter: get a written quote with pickup and delivery dates, ask for proof of the hauler's insurance (and what it covers), and have your own policy in force for transit. Photograph the boat at pickup.

Many states now inspect boats arriving from out of state for invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels, and some require a decal or inspection before launch. Drain all water, clean off plants and mud, and let everything dry. Check your destination state's rules before you go.

Even with a good survey, treat the first outing as a test: check the bilge for leaks, watch temperature and oil pressure, test steering, shifting and the kill switch, and stay close to the ramp. Follow our sea trial after service checklist, and change fluids and impeller if there are no records.