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Vessel Title Information

All motorized vessels, commercial and private must be titled and registered before they can be used in Florida waters. Titling and registration fees are separate charges.

Applications for vessel registration and title certificates are to be filed by the vessel owner with the county tax collector's office where the vessel is located or in the county where the vessel owner resides.

Unless a vessel is exempt from titling, it must be titled at the same time it is registered. Both of these actions can be accomplished at all of our 6 locations.

The registration certificate must be on board the vessel when in operation. The purchaser of a new or used vessel has 30 days to apply for registration and title. During this 30-day grace period, the owner is required to have aboard his vessel proof of date of purchase. Operation of an unregistered vessel after 30 days is a second-degree misdemeanor.

The following vessels are exempt from titling:

• Non-motor-powered vessels less than 16 feet in length

• Vessels owned by the United States Government

• Federally documented vessels

• Vessels used exclusively on private lakes and ponds

• Vessels used solely for demonstration, testing or sales promotional purposes by a dealer or manufacturer

•  Vessels owned and operated by the state or its political subdivisions

•  Vessels from a country other than the U.S., temporarily using the waters of this state for not more than 90 days

•  Vessels already covered by registration numbers awarded according to a federally approved numbering system of another state or by the US Coast Guard in a state without a federally approved numbering system, provided that the vessels are not operated in Florida waters more than 90 consecutive days.

Back to Vessel Title Main Page

Motor Vehicle and Vessel E-Mail: tags@hillstax.org

Telephone: (813) 635-5200, Fax: (813) 612-6707

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records.  If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity.  Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

Updated: August 07, 2008
Page URL: http://www.hillstax.org/motor/vessel01.asp