Boat title

Ok, I have never owned a boat or a trailer before so I have a couple questions. I have a buddy that has a 15ft flatbottom boat that he is willing to give to me, but he told me it doesnt have a title. I live in TX and of course your boat has to be titled and registered, yadda yadda. My question is when I get this boat, how big of a problem will it be to get a title for it? I have no clue who the original owner is and if it has even been titled before. I dont mind waiting a couple months and paying a couple fees, but is there a chance the boat wont be able to get titled? Or is there always a way to get it done somehow?

Id appreciate it if you guys have any information on this, or experience.

Thanks

Pretty easy here in KY. You just go to the court house and apply for a title.

They don't care, they just want the property taxes. :lol:

Same here in TN...

You can title it - you will need:

1. Complete a boat application form PWD 143;

2. Pencil Tracing of the Serial number (PWD 504);

3. Bill of sale;

4. Affidavit of Fact (PWD 314);

5. Verification of No Records from a Government Agency


You can get all the info here:

https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/owner/titles_and_registration/

Captain Ahab said:

You can title it - you will need:

1. Complete a boat application form PWD 143;

2. Pencil Tracing of the Serial number (PWD 504);

3. Bill of sale;

4. Affidavit of Fact (PWD 314);

5. Verification of No Records from a Government Agency


You can get all the info here:

https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/owner/titles_and_registration/

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Thanks Ahab! :beer:

I think it can always be done, but depending on the state can be a PITA. I bought my boat from KY and had no problem registering the boat in Indiana, but trailer was another story. KY doesn't require trailers to be registered so I had to take it to the Police station for them to look at ID numbers. They couldn't find any on the trailer so I had to send off paper work to the state and they gave me VIN number that I had to get put on the trailer. Well over the winter while I was doing the project I found the ID numbers on the trailer in a place that was not easily visible until the boat was off the trailer. HERE IS WHERE I MADE THE BIG MISTAKE... I should have just put the new vin numbers on trailer tounge and been done with it. I went and told the people at DMV and they sent me back to police station for them to verify. When I came back to dmv to register they said I needed a bill of sale (the one they took when I first registered the boat).. so I was like I gave that to you over a year ago and I have no contact info for the guy I bought it from now. Finally the lady prints out a bill of sale form and says take it and have somebody sign his name and bring it back. :twisted: :twisted: :evil: :evil:

in florida a title is required. in alabama(where i live now)a bill of sale is all that is needed. at one point many years ago i had a florida title for my boat but it was misplaced. when i moved here to bama i went to register and they said they needed a bill of sale with the hull id #. so i made one up. of course my boat was made sometime in the early sixties so there is no hull id or capacity plate. and isnt a great coincidence that my 196? sears jon had the same exact hull id as my cell phone number? also when i showed up with my "homemade" bill of sale the lady at the counter told me that i need to have 2 witnesses on it. so i turned to the person in line behind me and had him and his wife witness. it was great. also here they dont prorate registrations so i spent 25 bucks to register for 4 months just to have to do it all over agin in my birth month.

i had to go through the same thing with my boat the easiest way to get a title is to go to tag and title office and tell them you want to file a title 42 on the boat after you file a title 42 they will send the original owner a notice of the lein on the title after 30 days the title becomes yours and they send you a new title all prices and times for a new title will vary from state to state hope this helps

bobessary said:

i had to go through the same thing with my boat the easiest way to get a title is to go to tag and title office and tell them you want to file a title 42 on the boat after you file a title 42 they will send the original owner a notice of the lein on the title after 30 days the title becomes yours and they send you a new title all prices and times for a new title will vary from state to state hope this helps

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What is "a Title 42"? I saw no mention in the Texas Code about that?

In Texas, boats are titled and registered through the Parks and Wildlife Department, not a Title and Tag office.

I need a bill of sale even though it was given to me?

thanks for all the info guys.

Did the guy that gave it to you ever have the title in his name? Also has the boat ever been registered? Does it have a TX number on the side? I have gone through this in Texas on an old boat that I bought several years ago and depending on the answer to above questions it can be a headache.