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Straight Answers About Vessel Documentation, Title, Registration, and Tax

These guides exist because the same questions come up in transaction after transaction. Brokers, lenders, and dealers are welcome to send clients here.

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USCG Documentation

Why Is My USCG Documentation Taking So Long?

Submitting an application and having an application approved are two very different things. What actually causes delay.

Read Registration

Where Should My Boat Be Registered?

Your driver's license does not automatically decide where your boat belongs. Where you live and where your boat lives may be different places.

Read Sales & Use Tax

Florida Boat Sales & Use Tax

Sales tax, use tax, registration, title, and federal documentation are related but separate. Here is how they differ.

Read Sales & Use Tax

Buying a Boat in Florida but Taking It Out of State?

The nonresident removal exemption: 10-day and 90-day rules, the 5 net ton decal, the 90-day extension, and the proof Florida requires afterward.

Read Private Sales

Buying a Boat Without a Broker or Dealer?

Florida casual and private-party sales, and why buying from an individual does not automatically make a sale tax-free.

Read Liens & Mortgages

Abstracts, Liens & Mortgages

What a USCG Abstract of Title shows, why an old mortgage can still appear, and what a release actually requires.

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In progress

These articles are planned. Each will cite the applicable agency or statute before it is published.

Liens & Mortgages
Why Your Paid-Off Boat Loan May Still Appear on a USCG Abstract
Liens & Mortgages
The Bank on My Boat Mortgage Doesn't Exist Anymore. Now What?
Registration
Federal Documentation Does Not Automatically Mean No State Registration
Registration
I Live in Georgia but Keep My Boat in Florida. Where Should I Register It?
Sales & Use Tax
Florida's Boat Sales Tax Cap Explained
Private Sales
Private Boat Sales and Outboard Motors
USCG Documentation
What Is a USCG Abstract of Title?
Registration
Boat Title vs. Registration vs. USCG Documentation
Ownership & Entities
Why an LLC Operating Agreement Can Delay a Yacht Closing
Title Problems
What Happens When a Vessel HIN Doesn't Match the Title?

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Question not covered here?

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