Other Facts About Registering Your Vessel
Here are some additional facts about registering your vessel.
- A Certificate of Boat Registration is valid, for the current owner only, for three years and expires on the last day of the owner's month of birth.
- The expiration date is on the certificate and decals.
- The owner may renew online or by phone at 1-800-366-2661.
- If a vessel owner changes addresses or sells the vessel, he or she must give written notice to the DNR Boat Registration Office within 15 days of the event.
- If you abandon or destroy your vessel, you must report it to the DNR Boat Registration Office within 15 days and surrender your Certificate of Boat Registration.
- If you lose or destroy your Certificate of Boat Registration or decal, you must apply for a duplicate by renewing the registration. The fee is $1 plus the appropriate transaction fee. Check the “duplicate” box on the form.
- Larger recreational vessels owned by U.S. citizens may (at the option of the owner) be documented by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Call the USCG at 1-800-799-8362 for more information. If documented, the vessel is exempt from Georgia numbering requirements but must display the Georgia validation decals on the bow of the vessel.