Title and paperwork

Frankls31

Cadet
Joined
Mar 17, 2017
Messages
11
So after finally getting a water trial i am pumped to make the purchase of my first boat. 1997 18ft outboard. My questions are about the paperwork I should get when i make the purchase and take the boat . What is confusing me the most is that i live in New York and i am buying the boat in Ohio. The current owner has the title which he says he signed and had notorized so its ready to be handed over. Im just wondering if that is all i need or from what i was researching is there a separate title for the trailer? title for the outboard motor? or is the one title for the boat enough? Thanks for the help
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
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47,297
Ohio may not have registration for trailers. contact the Ohio DMV.

regarding the boat, title, registration and a bill of sale listing boat HIN, Trailer VIN and engine SN should be all you need.

Ohio may not have titles for the motors either. some states do, some dont.

regarding the requirements for NY, contact your local boat registration place there and ask as well. if its like florida, each office is slightly different in their requirements.
 

Old Ironmaker

Captain
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Dec 28, 2015
Messages
3,050
I read here it can be very confusing registering an out of State boat depending on the States involved, more bureaucrats justifying their jobs maybe . Much simpler here in Canada.

Congrats on the new boat.
 

JASinIL2006

Vice Admiral
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Feb 10, 2012
Messages
5,524
Find out what NY requires in terms of boat and trailer titles, registrations, etc. Call the place where you willl be registering your stuff. Buying from out of state can be tricky; here in Illinois, trailers need titles and registrations. If we buy a trailer from a neighboring state that doesn't require these, it can be a real headache to get plates and registration in IL. Find out from your DMV or DNR what is required BEFORE you buy.
 

boatman37

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May 14, 2015
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1,273
i live in PA but bought my boat in Ohio. the boat transfer was easy. he signed the title and had it notarized. i brought the boat home with the title and went to a local notary and signed it into my name. done! the trailer is another story. my trailer was custom built for the previous owner in 1986 but had no title as ohio doesn't require titles for trailers. i had a signed bill of sale and the registration renewal that he had and the original manufacturers statement of origin (notarized in 1986 and had all the relevant weights written on it). when i tried to transfer the trailer the notary just said i didn't have everything. he couldn't tell me what i needed, only that i didn't have everything. after 2 years i decided to get this done so went to a different notary who said the bill of sale needed to be notarized and that i needed to bring the trailer with me. i asked why and she said she needed to see the VIN tag on the trailer. i told her there wasn't one and she said she could not transfer it and that i had to jump through hoops. i called the DMV and they told me what form i needed so i took that form to a PA enhanced inspection station (these are the guys that can re-title a totaled car after inspecting it). they signed off on the weights then i had to take it to a police officer to have him sign off that it didn't have a VIN tag and that it wasn't stolen. after that i took it to the notary and met the PO who showed ID for them to notarize his signature then they sent all paperwork into the state. that was 2 weeks ago and i haven't heard anything back yet but they are supposed to be sending me a title, new stick on VIN plate and a new license plate.

so if there is no trailer title find out if there is a VIN tag on it then contact your DMV in NY to see what else you need to do. a notarized bill of sale from the PO in Ohio should be enough if there is no title but i would contact a notary in your state to be sure first
 

briangcc

Commander
Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Messages
2,089
Well....

Title for the trailer - maybe. Depends on whether or not the registration transferable or not. In NY the trailer for my Bayliner, single axle no brakes, was transferable so I did not receive a title for it. Only thing I had to do was sign it over to the next person. The FourWinns trailer, tandem with single axle surge brakes, was not transferable and had a title.

Boat - definitely a title.

Motor - NY couldn't care less, not required to register the boat.

To save yourself some grief at the DMV, print out the Bill of Sale form available on the NY DMV website and have the seller sign it. The name on the BOS needs to match that of the person on the title otherwise it's title jumping and NY isn't impressed by that.


**Went through something similar buying a car out of PA and titling in NY. Had a few hoops to jump through but ended up with the title.
 

Starcraft5834

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,677
Make sure you get the NY registration in hand for transfer... boat title signed and notorized.. your good to go there.... trailer reg transfer can be signed off on by him...
 

Old Ironmaker

Captain
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Dec 28, 2015
Messages
3,050
After reading all that I am so happy registering in Canada is simple. Boat is federal, trailer is Provincial. Even a boat and trailer with a lost title and a home made trailer is 2 stop shopping and you will get a new title in 10 business days usually. Any boat with less than a 10 HP, thus the 9.9 rating, needs no registration, trailer is titled by the province and 1 plate for as long as you own it.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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47,297
registration in Canada may be easy, but the boats in Canada are 3x the price of the boats down here.
 

JoLin

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Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
Go to a NY DMV office and ASK THEM. Get all the paperwork you need and have the current owner fill out his part. NY issues both a (transferable) title and a (non-tranferable) registration for powered boats. Trailers are issued a transferable registration only- no title. Motors have nothing- no title, no reggie.

The whole thing goes easier if you show up with the required forms filled out by both parties, along with any other 'paper' you might need, like a bill of sale.
 
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