Illinois DNR Registration taking *FOREVER*

[irbaboon]

Hi All - purchased a brand new boat (I know I know... wife felt better with a boat where we were the only owners... I would have preferred used but hey, we can afford it and the new boat is all nice and shiny and new and I have come to terms with eating the depreciation).

Anyway - purchased a new boat. Dealer sent paperwork to IDNR on 3/25/2019. I still don't have a registration sticker, number, or anything. It has now been almost 8 weeks and my "temporary" permit (AKA, my copy of the registration form) says it expires after 60 days. So I called IDNR today and gave them my hull number and they said "nope, your boat isn't in our system yet". Called dealer and they verified that they sent the paperwork on 3/25. So... what do I do now?

Further complicating things is the fact that I need to take my new boat up to Ontario this weekend to go open up my fishing cabin. It's my only boat... so its not like I can take another one. But, I have no registration numbers on the hull because my idiot state government hasn't issued me a number yet.

Any advice? Am I ok going and just still using the temp permit? Or... what? Has any one dealt with this? Seems like IDNR is just super slow (like every other Illinois government office) and they aren't concerned about it at all despite being almost two months since sending in the registration.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[MTboatguy]

I would go to the agency in charge and see if they would issue a new temp permit so you can use it until they get their act together and get your regular registration issued.

 

[Scott Danforth]

go in person as MT mentioned.

 

[kpg7121]

Hi All - purchased a brand new boat (I know I know... wife felt better with a boat where we were the only owners... I would have preferred used but hey, we can afford it and the new boat is all nice and shiny and new and I have come to terms with eating the depreciation).

Anyway - purchased a new boat. Dealer sent paperwork to IDNR on 3/25/2019. I still don't have a registration sticker, number, or anything. It has now been almost 8 weeks and my "temporary" permit (AKA, my copy of the registration form) says it expires after 60 days. So I called IDNR today and gave them my hull number and they said "nope, your boat isn't in our system yet". Called dealer and they verified that they sent the paperwork on 3/25. So... what do I do now?

Further complicating things is the fact that I need to take my new boat up to Ontario this weekend to go open up my fishing cabin. It's my only boat... so its not like I can take another one. But, I have no registration numbers on the hull because my idiot state government hasn't issued me a number yet.

Any advice? Am I ok going and just still using the temp permit? Or... what? Has any one dealt with this? Seems like IDNR is just super slow (like every other Illinois government office) and they aren't concerned about it at all despite being almost two months since sending in the registration.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Call your state rep & explain your issue, maybe he/she can light a fire under their butts. I wouldn't launch a boat in Canadian waters unless it's registered. I'm no expert on their laws & for that reason I wouldn't risk it, especially with a brand new boat. You never know.......

 

[irbaboon]

Can’t “go in person” in Illinois. Our department of natural recourses handles watercraft registration and their office is in Springfield, and as far as I know not open to the public.

Im going to call around tomorrow to see if I can figure out where in the process they are. Spoke with dealership today and they said sometimes these take six months!

Im also going to call the Ontario provincial police to see if my temp permit is ok. My cabin is on an island in Ontario so the boat is sort of crucial and we have several trips planned over the next couple of months.

Ugh. Illinois. In other states you can just go to the DMV in person and get the registration same day!

 

[JASinIL2006]

We had a similar problem in Illinois and it turned out the dealer was dishonest and hadn’t actually submitted the paperwork! We explained our situation to the IDNR workers and they were super helpful in getting everything worked out. Try calling and asking for a supervisor. I also was planning a trip to Canada, and was freaked out about not having a permanent registration. I don’t know if this will help — our boat was used, not new — but here is a thread describing what we went through.

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/gen...s-not-engine-topics/559915-time-to-be-worried

Good luck!

 

[H20Rat]

One of two things happened. Either the dealer lost it and/or didn't send it, or it got lost in the mail and never delivered. (happens more than you would imagine) I highly doubt it is stuck at the state that long.

Call the IDNR and explain your situation, ask how long the processing time would have been if it were received around 3/27.

 

[irbaboon]

Just adding an update here to "close out" the thread. It took almost three months to get my registration. The dealership that I purchased the boat from didn't mail in the paperwork until almost a month after I took delivery of the boat. Then, the IDNR took another two months to process it.

I spoke with someone at the IDNR about their process and they said they get the packet (application and check). Then they send the check by mail to their bank for processing. The bank processes the check, and send back (by mail) a confirmation that it has been processed. Then, the application materials get put on MICROFILM (like... from the 1960s) and make their way around the IDNR for processing. THEN, the registration / title is assigned and mailed out.

Crazy how that works. But, it's all good now. I have numbers on my boat.

Coincidentally, I also spoke with the Ontario Provincial Police and they didn't seem to care that there weren't numbers on the boat. As long as I can show paperwork that checks out, they were fine with it. Took the boat to Canada, passed border patrol, spent the weekend on the lake, passed back into US, all with an un-numbered boat with no issues.

 

[JASinIL2006]

This wouldn't have been bought from a boat place in Peoria, would it? Sounds suspiciously like what I went through...

 

[BTL]

Glad it all worked out for your trip. I've had the same problem in VA all 3 times I've registered a boat here. Months go by, temporary registration expires, I email the department asking what is going on, they immediately send out my stickers. It's like your application just sits on a desk until you complain. Really frustrating.

 

[irbaboon]

This wouldn't have been bought from a boat place in Peoria, would it? Sounds suspiciously like what I went through...

Not the same dealership. But, it seems it's more common than I thought!
I was under the impression that legally they had to do it within 15 days. Also, I would think an actual dealership would be on top of this type of thing... but nope. Waited a whole month.

Oh well. In the end it's all worked out and I'm enjoying my new 18 foot deep V "fish and ski" boat which is WAY more family friendly than the 17 foot bass boat it's replacing.