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Your vessel, whether commercial or recreational, must be registered in Maryland if it is:

• Equipped with any kind of primary or auxiliary mechanical propulsion; and
• Used in Maryland most in a calendar year.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

“State of principal use” means the jurisdiction on whose waters a vessel is used or to be used most during a calendar year, which is the period from January 1 through December 31.
“Use” means to operate, navigate, or employ a vessel. A vessel is in use whenever it is upon the water, whether it is moving, anchored, or tied up to any manner of dock or buoy. A vessel is also in use if it is kept in any structure in readiness for use.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

Vessel excise tax must be paid within 30 days of Maryland tax liability to avoid the assessment of penalty (10% of vessel excise tax due) and interest (1.5% per month).

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

If you are given a boat because it is no longer operational or is in very poor condition, or the purchase price is much lower than fair market value because of the boat’s current condition, be sure to title the boat in your name within 30 days of purchase. Refer to the What documents will I need? section on this webpage to ensure you have all of the required documents. The certified bill of sale should detail the condition of the boat and list the items that are not operational on the vessel. Photographs of the poor vessel condition may be required to confirm a much lower Fair Market Value. If you wait to title until work on the vessel is completed, vessel excise tax will be assessed against the higher value of the restored boat.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

When a vessel is purchased via the Internet, and is shipped with a manufacturer’s certificate of origin (MCO) that contains no signature or a preprinted signature, or purchaser is directed to a website to create the MCO, the following is required to establish ownership:

Vessels 12’ in length and smaller

• DNR Form B-240
• Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin
• Pencil tracing or photograph of Hull identification number
• Evidence of payment

Vessels greater than 12’ in length

• DNR Form B-240
• Original Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin
• Fully executed by the manufacturer
• Original Certified / Notarized Bill of Sale if the

Certificate of Origin does not contain the purchaser, purchase price and date of sale and signature of all owners.

A certified bill of sale is a bill of sale that contains the following statement: “I declare and affirm under penalty of perjury that the facts in this bill of sale are true and correct”. A bill of sale must include the names of the buyer and the seller, date of sale, seller’s signature, purchase price and vessel description (year, manufacturer, hull identification number and/or current registration number).

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

Vessel is registered in a title state:

• DNR Form B-240
• Original title (properly assigned – purchaser name, seller’s signature and date, purchase price)
• Original Certified / Notarized Bill of Sale if purchaser’s name, sale date or price is missing from assignment of title
• A bill of sale must include the names of the buyer and the seller, date of sale, seller’s signature, amount of sale and vessel description (year, manufacturer, hull identification number and/or current registration number).
• Original lien release if seller’s title shows a recorded lien.

Vessel is registered in a non-title state:

• DNR Form B-240
  Copy of out-of-state registration card or a true test copy of that state’s official vessel record
  Original Certified / Notarized Bill of Sale
• A bill of sale must include the names of the buyer and the seller, date of sale, seller’s signature, amount of sale and vessel description (year, manufacturer, hull identification number and/or current registration number).
• Original lien release if card or record shows a recorded lien.

When previously U. S. Coast Guard documented

• DNR Form B-240
• Original/Certified Notarized Bill of Sale
• A bill of sale must include the names of the buyer and the seller, date of sale, seller’s signature, amount of sale and vessel description (year, manufacturer, hull identification number and/or current registration number).
• Photocopy of seller’s Certificate of
• Documentation
• USCG Abstract of Title (contact U. S. Coast
• Guard at 1-800-799-8362)
• Release of ship’s mortgage (if applicable)

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

8-722 of Maryland’s State Boat Act prescribes the process by which an individual may claim title to a vessel that has been abandoned on their property for more than 180 days (complete DNR Form B-117).
Instructions for Abandoned Boat Process
This process is not a remedy for an individual who has lost a vessel title or was not given a title when the vessel was purchased. In those instances, the purchaser should (a) contact the owner of record to secure a replacement title, which can then be duly signed over to the purchaser, or (b) contact a DNR Service Center for further instructions.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

Complete DNR Form B-104 and DNR Form B-240

Note:

The department has established the following criteria for the registration of floating platforms:

• Structures built on devices generally known as modular, floating portable docks will not be titled.
• Devices generally known as pontoons are an acceptable flotation alternative to standard vessel hull designs:
  • Diameter of 12” or greater
  • Length 12’ or greater
  • Buoyancy of 700 lbs or greater per pair
  • Tapered or sloped at one end
• When built on an existing hull:
  
  • The existing hull identification number must be used, and
  • A duly transferred title will be required if hull was previously titled.
• An outboard motor bracket must be permanently installed on the transom.
• Perimeter railing
• Minimum width – 12’

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/Pages/registrationplatform.aspx

8-722 of Maryland’s State Boat Act prescribes the process by which an individual may claim title to a vessel that has been abandoned on their property for more than 180 days (complete DNR Form B-117).
Instructions for Abandoned Boat Process
This process is not a remedy for an individual who has lost a vessel title or was not given a title when the vessel was purchased. In those instances, the purchaser should (a) contact the owner of record to secure a replacement title, which can then be duly signed over to the purchaser, or (b) contact a DNR Service Center for further instructions.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents

Please give us a call for more information! Our office is located in Glen Burnie MD.

Please give us a call for more information! Our office is located in Glen Burnie MD.

Vessel owners must notify the department within 15 days if a vessel is sold or destroyed. Notification should include date and circumstances (purchaser name and address, amount of sale) and be forwarded to a Licensing & Registration Service Center either in person, by fax, or by mail. Registration decals should be removed from the vessel if you will be requesting a refund of the second year’s registration fee ($12). Contact any Licensing & Registration Service Center for Form 158-A Application for Refund, and submit along with the registration card and both decals to any Licensing & Registration Service Center in the first year of the vessel’s two-year registration.

Source: https://dnr.maryland.gov/boating/pages/registration.aspx#documents