Florida Registration with CG Title

[jmschmidt]

Manateeman is correct. In fact, state "registering" a US Coast Guard "Documented" vessel will invalidate it's USCG documentation. (All you need is a state tax sticker to show you've complied.) Of course, the USCG will have no way of knowing that by your ignorance you have managed to invalidate the documentation so they will keep on sending you annual (or longer period) renewal notices and you will probably keep on paying them. Then you will have a problem in a marina somewhere, in foreign waters or get boarded on the high seas and your paperwork, and maybe insurance problems, will begin in earnest.

[sandy stone]

Lets keep the terminology correct. If you try to *title* the boat in Florida, you will cause problems, because you cannot simultaneously have USCG documentation and a state title (any state title). On the other hand, you must *register* the boat in Florida, if you intend to keep it there, which gets you the aforementioned sticker.

[psk125]

We had perhaps a similar bureaucratic runaround with Connecticut when we bought our boat in June. CT requires boats in CT waters for 90 days be registered in CT or pay a usage fee equivalent to the registration fee. The boat was and is Documented, so we submitted the paperwork to the NVDC in June to transfer the Document to us, the new owners. In order to register or pay the fee, CT requires the ORIGINAL Document be taken to the DMV and presented to them showing the new owners. We could not do this until after we received it from the NVDC - in October. In the interim we carried on board copies of everything we had sent to the Coast Guard, (bills of sale, forms, etc.) and were ready to explain the situation to anyone who cared to ask. We sailed from mid-June to the end of October with no problems.

[duetto]

Yes NVDC is running slow but this is not a big deal and I went through it recently registering a new to me boat in FL. NVDC should have sent you an email confirming receipt of your Application to change Documentation over to you. This is all the the Tax Collector / Registration people wanted when I registered the vessel in FL. I forwarded them the email from NVDC and they registered me that day. In fact, I did this from my phone in the Tax Collector / Registration office. No problems. This was in NE FL. Not sure how they're doing it elsewhere in FL. Good Luck.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

In fact, state "registering" a US Coast Guard "Documented" vessel will invalidate it's USCG documentation. (All you need is a state tax sticker to show you've complied.)

You're mixing terminology.

Documenting a boat is titling it. If you document it with the USCG, you STILL need to register the boat in the state, if required in that state. Florida does require this, and you do need to display the registration sticker.

I'd go with the process outlined by Duetto, above.

[Var Korall]

Does the boat have Florida registration numbers on her now from the previous owner? Was it previously titled in any state? How old is the boat?
Where do you reside? Where are you planning on keeping the boat?
As manateenam said, the USCG does not title nor register vessels. USCG 'Documents' them.
A USCG Bill of Sale is required to transfer Documentation (ownership) to the purchaser. I assume this is the paperwork the broker sent. The state (most states) where you reside and/or where the boat resides will require you to register the boat and pay sales tax (probably collected by the broker). The paperwork you received at closing should suffice until you receive the USCG documentation. If you did not pay sales tax and are not keeping the boat in Florida you have a limited period of time to get her out of the state. Trying to avoid this is what can get you into with the Florida authorities.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

You're mixing terminology.

Documenting a boat is titling it. If you document it with the USCG, you STILL need to register the boat in the state, if required in that state. Florida does require this, and you do need to display the registration sticker.

I'd go with the process outlined by Duetto, above.

This is correct. USCG documentation can be the only title document needed at least in some states - the only "title" I have in CA is the USCG documentation. A bill of sale should be sufficient for FL DMV however.


I'm moving the boat there in February, so following this thread closely!

[Cap Morgan]

Just wanted to inform everyone of the status. After a couple of weeks of trying to contact the USCG by phone and email I finally got in touch by phone this morning. The Officer that I spoke to indicated that they've not received my communication even though at that point I had sent 3 emails and left one voicemail.

After my call with the Officer I sent a 4th email. Shortly thereafter I did indeed receive a response per request of the Miami Dade Tax Office. I therefor printed this off and took with it original (old) title (showing transfer on back), proof of taxes paid, Bill of Sale, Coast Guard Application and the Power of Attorney for the Seller. They were extremely pleased to see that I had all that they needed and processed the tag. I also took my Invoice and Origination document from the manufacturer of my Porta Bote Tender which they also processed tags for.

Lessons learned?
1. Do call the USCG during business hours. Do not leave messages after hours as they do not get answered.
2. Make certain to speak with them and just let them know that you are attempting to be on the right side of the law with your request. The State wants their piece their way too.
3. Shortly after speaking with the CG I sent my 4th email request to them during business hours. It was answered almost immediately. Interestingly enough while I was waiting in the Tax Office I received an answer to email #3 from 12/25 stating the same information (we're backlogged).
4. When purchasing through a Broker or otherwise take all "original" documents that you receive to the Tax office.
5. The CG is currently taking about 4 months to process their backlog of applications. They received my application on 11/1/21 but are only processing 9/8/21. Its now 1/3/22. In the interim keep your application to the USCG as well as Bill of Sale on board until you receive your USCG title.

Hope this is helpful.

[HeywoodJ]

Thanks for reporting back. Too often on these threads you never hear the result.

[Mreloc]

Originally Posted by Cap Morgan

Sun and Moon,

Great point you make there. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll try to do this in another county. Doesn’t seem logical that the State should need the Federal documentation in order to issue tags. Something doesn’t smell right. I don’t have a problem paying for tags, I just need them.

I live in Broward county and when I purchased a vessel last year and had it USCG documented, I recieved a letter from them stating that they were processing my documentation and to hold on to "this letter" to validate that the application was made and in process with USCG.

Since you vessel is USCG registered I believe the state is expecting that documentation as your proof of ownership since USCG registration takes the place of titleing (if I interpret correctly)

I agree- the process of properly registering and documenting a vessel is complicated in FL with many agencies needlessly being involved each with fairly unclear information to share.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by letsgetsailing3

You do need a title in your name to register the boat. Either through the USCG or Florida. You can expedite the NVDC process. Give them a call, they're usually pretty helpful.

seriously? give them a call? you will never speak to an actual human. if you are in a hurry for the USCG to do something .. good luck