A Title is a legal document establishing a person or business as the legal owner of a vehicle or vessel. When a vehicle or vessel is sold from one Kentucky resident or business to another in Kentucky, the title must be transferred to the new owner within 15 days. In the case of Boats, all parts of the boat (e.g., body, motor, etc.) are, together, one titled vessel.
ELIGIBLE VESSELS
According to KRS 235.040, every motorboat on the waters of this state shall be numbered and currently registered per the provisions of this chapter. No person shall operate or permit the operation of any motorboat on such waters unless the motorboat is registered and numbered per this chapter or per a federally approved numbering system of another state and unless:
The certificate of number awarded to such motorboat is in full force and effect, and
The identifying number outlined in the certificate of number is displayed on each side of the bow of the motorboat.
Kentucky does not title the motor on a boat.
APPLYING FOR A TITLE
If you have moved out of state, you must contact your county clerk and provide your new, out-of-state address on form TC96-184 if the boat is going to be docked in Kentucky.
REPLACEMENT / DUPLICATE KENTUCKY BOAT TITLES<
To get a Replacement Title, you will need the following:
Form
TC96-184, properly completed, including the owner and the motorboat identification sections.
Title number OR KY Number
$6.00 (US) plus the cost of a notary (free at One Stop Shop)
Picture ID or driver's license
UPDATING OR CORRECTING ERRORS
If you have not received your title within 45 days of application, contact your
County Clerk's office.
HIN VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION GUIDELINES
As of January 1, 2017: Federal law 33 CFR § 174.16 (b) dictates that all boat Hull Identification Numbers (
HIN) are valid/formatted correctly and can be verified during renewal registration. For all 1972 or newer manufactured vessels without a
HIN or with an incorrectly formatted
HIN, it will be necessary for your boat to comply before the 2018 renewal period.
Identify your
HIN
To find out if your boat's HIN is recorded in Kentucky's database, please examine your registration certificate/receipt at the time of your last renewal. If no HIN is printed on the renewal receipt, you must physically look on your boat to find the HIN. A HIN number must not be attached to parts of the boat that are removable
Verify HIN Formatting
Once you have physically located your HIN, you must ensure it is correctly formatted. A valid HIN must contain 12 characters uninterrupted by slashes, hyphens, or spaces. You can use our HIN Validation Tool to verify the formatting of your HIN is valid.
Examples of a valid HIN format:
- SER25A67H809 (as illustrated on the HIN site)
- SB2X3461H595
- YAM43789C010
HINs beginning with KYZ are Kentucky-issued HINs and are also valid.
The Model/Year format is acceptable with additional characters within 2 inches when separated by a border or label.
- BAY68240M83E 2987
- BAY68240M83E 2987
If you do not have a valid
HIN on your boat, like described above, you must apply for a state-issued
HIN.
HIN VALIDATION AND VERIFICATION WALKTHROUGH
MY BOAT IS MISSING A HIN
All boats registered in Kentucky must have an HIN recorded in the state's title and registration database. Even though this is law, some records currently do not have a HIN recorded. If your boat does not currently have a valid HIN, you must apply for a Hull Identification Number.
APPLYING FOR A KENTUCKY-ISSUED HIN
If you have determined that your HIN is missing or does not meet the format requirements, you must apply for a Kentucky-issued hull identification number. All Kentucky-issued HINs begin with the letters KYZ, followed by nine additional letters and numbers. HINs issued by Kentucky comply with federal law, 33 CFR § 174.16 (b.)
CALL BEFORE YOU HAUL
To prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species, and others are making information available to boat haulers, auctioneers, marinas, manufacturers, and brokers to make it easy to comply with state, provincial and federal laws, prevent costly delays in transporting or selling boats, and help reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Call Before You Haul is intended to prevent unnecessary delays for boat transporters and to help ensure boat transport companies will not be violating state or federal laws on unlawful transport of aquatic invasive species (e.g., quagga or zebra mussels). All Pacific Northwest states have regulations that make it illegal to transport aquatic invasive species (dead or alive) within their respective states, including penalties up to and including a no-bond felony. By calling the toll-free number, 1-844-311-4873, before hauling and providing some basic information about the watercraft being transported, the destination state representative will reach out to boat transporters directly and provide them with information to facilitate and expedite inspection of the watercraft and if needed, decontamination. Locate more information here.
COMMON TAX QUESTIONS