Free boat bill of sale

A boat sale often covers three things: the hull, the motor and the trailer. List each one so the buyer can register all of them:

• The boat: hull identification number (HIN), builder, model, model year, length and hull color
• Its registration: the state number shown on both sides of the forward half, or the vessel name and official number for a documented boat
• The motor: make, model, horsepower and serial number, plus engine hours if you know them
• The trailer: maker, year and VIN, if it's part of the sale
• The deal: sale date, price, payment method, and anything else included, like electronics, covers or safety gear
• Both parties: names, addresses and signatures, plus a notary block if needed

Boats have no odometer disclosure. Engine hours are the closest thing, so record them if the buyer asks. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal rules require two identical HINs on every boat a manufacturer builds or imports:

• The primary HIN is on the starboard (right) outboard side of the transom, within two inches of the top of the transom, gunwale or hull-deck joint, whichever is lowest.
• No transom? It goes on the starboard outboard side of the hull, within one foot of the stern and within two inches of the top. Catamarans and pontoon boats with replaceable hulls carry it on the aft crossbeam, within one foot of the starboard hull.
• The duplicate HIN is hidden in an unexposed spot inside the boat, or under a fitting or piece of hardware.

Each HIN is carved, burned, stamped, molded or otherwise fixed so that changing it leaves obvious damage, in characters at least a quarter inch tall. Check the transom HIN against the title or registration before money changes hands. A ground-down, patched or mismatched HIN is a reason to stop.

Every HIN uses the same 12-character layout, with no slashes, hyphens or spaces:

• Characters 1 to 3: the manufacturer identification code the Coast Guard assigns to the builder or importer.
• Characters 4 to 8: the builder's serial number. The letters I, O and Q aren't used.
• Characters 9 and 10: the month and year the boat was certified or built. The month is a letter, A for January through L for December, and the year is its last digit.
• Characters 11 and 12: the model year.

So a HIN ending in K526 was certified or built in November 2025 and is a 2026 model. You may see US- in front of the HIN: that's the country code, not part of the 12 characters. To split a HIN into its manufacturer code, serial number and model year, use the boat HIN lookup.

Boats change hands through one of two systems, and the paperwork differs.

State-numbered boats. Federal rules generally require a state number on any boat with propulsion machinery unless it's documented with the Coast Guard. The number is displayed on both sides of the forward half of the boat, and the owner has a certificate of number. When you sell, that certificate becomes invalid once you've transferred all your ownership, and you must notify the state within 15 days, in the way the state sets. Some states also title boats. Florida, for example, issues vessel title certificates, and its Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale form (HSMV 82050) covers vessels as well as cars. In New York, the Statement of Transaction for a private sale or gift, form DTF-802, covers boats too.

Coast Guard documented boats. A boat of at least five net tons, wholly owned by U.S. citizens, can be documented with the Coast Guard's National Vessel Documentation Center instead. Documented boats don't carry state numbers. They're identified by a name and hailing port marked on the outside of the hull and an official number marked inside it. A change of ownership makes the Certificate of Documentation invalid, so the new owner has to apply to exchange it.

For a documented boat, a state-style bill of sale isn't enough on its own. Coast Guard rules say the transfer must be shown by a bill of sale that meets their filing and recording standards, and they name forms CG-1340 and CG-1356 for it. That bill of sale must:

• identify the boat by its name and official number
• be signed by every seller
• give each seller's and buyer's name, address and share of ownership
• be dated and acknowledged before a notary public or another official who can take acknowledgments

The new owner files it with an application to exchange the Certificate of Documentation. The forms and instructions are on the National Vessel Documentation Center's forms page. Keep the bill of sale from this page as your detailed record of the deal, the motor, the trailer and the price, alongside the Coast Guard form.