No Title State

[criscolumbus]

So in the state of Mississippi there is no boat title registration department. Only a boat trailer title department.

To register a boat here, you apply for registration with a proof of ownership which most commonly is a bill of sale and the state then issues a registration based on the proof of ownership.

The system has worked ok here with most of the locals understanding that a bill of sale is all you need.

The problem this causes is that the title is not re-issued into the new owners name so it usually gets lost along the way or if it is available it is still in the original owners name and signed to the second owner but no way to re-issue it to the current owner for further transfer.

I have bought and sold several boats here and would guess 70% or more of the used boats in Mississippi are like this.

How does a fellow then convince an out of state buyer that he is the owner if the title is no longer available?

 

[GA_Boater]

That's why when a boat is sold in any state, title or non-title state, the seller has the responsibility to notify the state the that the boat has been sold. Very important in non-title states since only the registration is proof of ownership. In title states a title transfer takes care of that.

A title can be surrendered to the issuing state once the boat is sold to a non-title state buyer.

If a buyer doesn't believe that, not much you can do.

 

[criscolumbus]

That's why when a boat is sold in any state, title or non-title state, the seller has the responsibility to notify the state the that the boat has been sold. Very important in non-title states since only the registration is proof of ownership. In title states a title transfer takes care of that.

A title can be surrendered to the issuing state once the boat is sold to a non-title state buyer.

If a buyer doesn't believe that, not much you can do.

So, maybe a better approach is trying to educate the potential buyer that the State registration serves as "proof of ownership"?

 

[southkogs]

Whomever you register your boat with in MS (here in TN it's the county clerk), should be able to issue you a document that will serve like a title for another state (forget what they call 'em here in TN).