It's the Law: Before Going Out
Includes Registering and Titling Your Vessel, Display
of Registration Number, Where to Register, Fees
to Register and Title Your Vessel, Other
Facts About Titling and Registration, and How
to Apply for Registration or Title
All operators are required to obey laws that regulate your vessel's
registration and operation.
Registering and Titling Your Vessel
You must have a Washington title, registration, and registration
decals to navigate, operate, employ, or moor a
vessel on Washington’s waters. Exceptions are:
- Vessels that are not propelled by a motor (canoes,
kayaks, etc.) and sailboats under 16 feet in length
without a motor
- Vessels less than 16 feet in length with a motor of 10
horsepower or less if used only on non-federal waters
- Properly registered vessels owned by residents of
another state or country and
using Washington waters for
60 or fewer days
The registration must be on board
and available for inspection by
an enforcement officer whenever
the vessel is operated on the water.
If your vessel requires
registration, it is illegal to
operate it or allow others
to operate your vessel
unless it is properly registered
and numbered.
The registration number and
registration decals must be
displayed as follows.
- Number must be painted,
decaled, or otherwise affixed to the forward half of each
side of the vessel, placed to be clearly visible.
- Number must read from left to right on both sides of
the vessel.
- Number must be in at least 3-inch-high, bold, vertical, BLOCK characters.
- The color of the numbers must contrast with the background.
- Letters must be separated from the numbers by a space
or hyphen: WN 3717 ZW or WN-3717-ZW.
- No other numbers may be displayed on either side of
the bow.
- Decals must be affixed on each side of the vessel,
toward the stern of the registration number and in line
with the number.
Where to Register
You can submit your registration or
title applications and fees to:
Registration Questions?
Contact the Washington Department of Licensing by calling 360-902-3770 - option 4 or sending a fax to 360-902-4089. You also may e-mail
questions to the Title
Division of the Department of Licensing at titles@dol.wa.gov or
write to the address above.
Fees to Register and Title Your Vessel
| Type of Fee: |
Dollar Amount of Fee: |
Registration
(first time) |
$28.25 plus any other applicable fees and taxes |
Registration
(annual renewal) |
$16.25 plus excise tax based on vessel value |
Titling
(one-time fee) |
$5.00 |
Transfer of Title
(valid registration-includes $1.00 decal
transfer fee) |
$10.00 |
Transfer of Title
(expired registration) |
$9.00 |
| Duplicate Title |
$5.25 |
Duplicate Registration
(if expired) |
$5.00 |
Duplicate Registration
(if current) |
$5.00 |
Other Facts About Titling and Registration
- A vessel’s registration is valid through June 30. It must be
renewed beginning July 1 of each year. Courtesy renewal
notices usually are mailed to the owner’s address prior to
expiration.
- All vessels that require registration must be titled also.
Titles are obtained through the Washington Department
of Licensing.
- The owner of a registered vessel must notify the Department
of Licensing within 15 days of these events: the vessel
is abandoned, destroyed, lost, or stolen; the owner’s address
changes; or the registration card is lost or destroyed.
- The owner of a registered vessel must notify the
Department of Licensing in writing, on the appropriate
form, within 5 business days of the date of sale or
transfer of the vessel.
- Larger recreational vessels owned by U.S. citizens may
(at the option of the owner) be documented by the U.S.
Coast Guard. Call the USCG at 1-800-799-8362 for
more information. Documented vessels also must be
registered in Washington but are not required to display the registration number.
How To Apply for Registration or Title
To title or register your vessel, you need to provide:
- Vessel's model year and make
- Vessel's purchase price and purchase year
- Vessel's overall length (See how to
measure vessel length.)
- Vessel's hull identification number, if any
- Vessel's U.S. Coast Guard document number, if any. (If the vessel is documented by the U.S. Coast Guard, a
copy of the documentation papers is required. All owners
listed on the Certificate of Documentation must be
present to sign the vessel application.)
- Vessel’s ownership documents, such as out-of-state titles
or registration certificates
(if registration-only state);
Washington state certificate of title; or if vessel has not
been titled/registered before and was purchased new as
of July 1, 1985, the original Manufacturer’s Statement
of Origin
All owners must be present to sign a title application.
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