I know this may depend on state regulations but then again maybe not....

lets say you buy a used boat and the person you bought it from did not have a title for it....

what do you do?  you have to have a title in order to register it......right?  how do you show a title that does not exist?

i am still shopping for a boat but i have seen a lot of people selling boats that have no title.........wanted to know what i was getting into before committing.

In the state of Texas, you can still buy boats from yesteryear that never had a title,,,don't know what year tx started titles for boats (late 70, early 80;s) if you happen to buy an untitled boat,,the state will run a check on serial no.s,,if not reported as stolen, then will issue a new title,,,once titled the first time,,,then forever more..

is there additional cost for having to obtain a new title?

i wouldnt buy it, ive seen police take the boat before because the guy who bought it did not know that it was stolen.

any time you involve government agency's,,,their is additional costs..just like any other titled item you buy,,,title transfer, taxes, etc...the trick is to get the no's,,run them,,then buy,,,be smart,,,buying a large ticket item is a process...

Some states will accept a notarized bill of sale in lieu of a title.

We just have registration here in Arizona. If you need a lost registration you go to Game and Fish and apply for a lost registration. They check it and issue you a new one.

We just have registration here in Arizona. If you need a lost registration you go to Game and Fish and apply for a lost registration. They check it and issue you a new one.

Same in Tennessee........

In some states the boat isn't titled but the TRAILER is.

Here in Florida a Bill of sale along with a form from the DMV works as long as the boat has never been registered. They looked at the VIN and made sure it came back legit and they titled it no problem at all.

I bought a pond jumper boat that was only used on a private lak  and never was registered so it was no problem at all.

They told me if it had been registered before that it would be alot harder and costly to get a title for it. They have to try and make contact  with the previous owner to verify it was sold and not stolen. If they get no response then they would free up the title and you could apply for it. But it did cost more, Just not sure how much.

In some states the boat isn't titled but the TRAILER is.

Yep, that's Arizona law. Trailer titled by DMV and boat registered by Game and Fish.

I just went through this exact thing with a boat I bought from TN and registered in AR

I got a bill of sale with the motor, boat and trailer, serial numbers signed by both parties. I then got the boat registration signed by the original owner. I also asked for the release of lien from the bank where they were paid off and this he did not have but went to the bank and had them mail it to me... The DMV looked it all over and just the other day i got a title in for the trailer. The boat is registered by Game and Fish...

hope that helps

Be careful with those. In NC my bud went through royal hell.

They would not give him a title without the previous owners notarized signature. He bought the boat at an estate sale so the previous owner was not available (to say the least). Even with a death certificate of the previous owner it took a lawsuit against the state to get them to get their head out of their backsides to get it settled.