Do you need a title to sell a boat?

Only if your state titles that boat. Many states title boats above a certain length or with a motor and only register smaller ones. If your boat was never titled, you sell it with a bill of sale and the registration. If it was titled and the title is lost, get a duplicate first.

How do I sell a boat if I lost the title?

Apply for a duplicate title from the agency that issued it, usually the motor vehicle office or the state natural resources agency, before you sell. Selling first and promising the title later leaves the buyer unable to register the boat and invites a dispute.

What paperwork do I need to sell an untitled boat?

A bill of sale listing both parties, the date, the price, and the boat by make, model, year, length, and hull identification number, plus the current registration and any motor serial numbers. If the trailer is included, list it separately with its own VIN.

Selling a boat without a title: what to do when there is no title to sign

Boat owners hit this more than car owners do. A small fishing boat may never have been titled at all. An older boat may have a title that went missing two owners ago. A larger boat may carry Coast Guard documentation instead. Each of those sells differently, and the first job is figuring out which one you have.

Which situation are you in?

Never titled. Many states title only boats over a set length or with a motor and simply register the rest. Michigan, for example, titles boats 20 feet or longer and any boat with a permanently attached engine. See Michigan boat titles.
Titled, but the title is lost. The state still has a record. You need a duplicate.
Documented with the Coast Guard. Recreational boats of at least five net tons can be documented federally instead of titled by a state. Ownership moves through the National Vessel Documentation Center, not the state title office.
Bought without a title, and it should have had one. This is the hard case. You may need a bonded title or another state process before you can sell cleanly.

Your registration card and your state's boat titling rules usually settle which one applies. See boat title versus registration.

Create a Boat Bill of Sale ($5) Boat Title vs Registration

Selling an untitled boat

When the state never titled the boat, the bill of sale is the ownership record, so make it complete: both parties, the date, the price, and the boat by make, model, year, length, and hull identification number, plus motor make and serial numbers. Hand over the registration and follow your state's registration transfer step. Sell as-is in writing. See how to sell a boat.

When the title is lost

Replace it before you list the boat. The agency that titled it, usually the motor vehicle office or the natural resources agency, can issue a duplicate with ID and a fee. A buyer who pays without a title has no way to register the boat in a titling state, and a sale that stalls there turns into a refund argument. If there's still a loan, the lender holds the title and has to release it first; see selling a boat that still has a loan.

Documented vessels

A documented boat may have no state title at all. The Coast Guard documentation is the ownership record, and the transfer is filed with the documentation center using a bill of sale and the center's forms. Some states also require the boat to be registered locally even when it's documented. Allow extra time; federal filings aren't processed at a counter.

The hull identification number ties it together

Federal rules require manufacturers to mark every boat with a hull identification number. Without a title, that 12-character number is how a buyer and the state confirm the paperwork matches the boat. Check it against the registration and bill of sale, and look for signs it was altered. A trailer sold with the boat has its own VIN and its own paperwork; see selling a boat with its trailer. Buyers should read buying a used boat privately, and if a titled boat has no title anywhere, see bonded titles.

Create Your Boat Bill of Sale ($5) →