Purchasing an out of State boat?

In two weeks I am traveling to Florida to purchase a used boat. I have talked to the SCDNR about the paperwork that I will need to fill out. From what I gather, all I have to do is have the original owner sign the title over to me. Bill of Sale is just for me. When I get back home, mail the title and registration form and fee to the SCDNR and they will send me a new title.

Has anyone been this route before and am I understanding this correctly?

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/boating/registration.html

Don’t forget the sales tax.
Outboard bill of sale.
Pencil tracing of the hull id.
Don’t be late or you will pay late fees.

Get your hair dryer and Goo Gone to get the old numbers off.

Carolina Skiff Doug
1980DLX Carolina Skiff

Yep, that’s right. I bought my boat from Alabama and when I asked the guy about having the title on hand he said he’s never seen the title before. ??? In that state they just have some kind of registration for the whole rig and no titles. Pretty weird but different states do things differently. Do your homework online.

Being superstitious is bad luck.

Georgia doesn’t have outboard titles either…every state has their own thing to get money.In Ga you got to have tags for your trailer also

26’ Twinvee Cat
Twin Suzuki 175’s
www.creeksidemetalworks.com

Thanks guys. I figured this would be a good place to get first hand experience.
Doug, you mentioned the outboard Bill of Sale, does it need to be a Florida Bill of Sale or SC and does it need to be notorized?

I guess if I had read the link attached I would have figured this out. Forget about the last questions.

The bad thing is, I talked to the SCDNR last week on the phone about the paperwork and I did not gain much in the conversation.

You can use a SC bill of sale, but when I got mine done it had to be notorized WITH a sale price re: taxes. Title signed over and that should do it!

+10 points to the DNR for printing your title + reg. on site instead of mailing it in like 2 months (im looking at YOU dmv…)

Does FL have titles to boats?


Just an Old Cracker … With a Gun!

I think so. When I talked with the gentleman that I am purchasing the boat from, I told him that he would have to sign the title over and I would have to mail it in to receive a new one. He did not say that he did not have one.

I bought a FL boat 5 years ago, and I couldn’t remember what I got. A thought, though, NC won’t take anything requiring a signature without it being notarized. Don’t know about SC …


Just an Old Cracker … With a Gun!

i bought a florida boat in 2004
had no issue getting it titled here
they will have title for boat, motor and trailer
get teh bill of sale notarized when you purchase it.
i use to bank with wachovia, and we just went to the local wachovia and got the stuff notarized with the seal

www.teamcharlestonmarine.com
www.joinrfa.org

In 2009, I bought a boat from a guy in Texas who bought it in Georgia from a Florida dealer. He had Georgia registration and title including for trailer. Hull registration was GA but numbers on hull were FL. Although I was worried about a cluster****; with a Bill of Sale including serial numbers, it was an easy titling/registration at SCDNR (done in person at Ft. Johnson). Process was painless!

a comment based on my experience last year: Tried to buy a boat from Florida, guy tells me he has a clear title, but the more we talk the more I realize he doesn’t, and pay off was more than he was asking. Deal fell through.

Then I find a boat in SC, and guy tells me 4 times that he has clear title. Which he didn’t. Thought I would give him ‘cash’ to go pay off his lien, and they’d send me the title. Luckily we went through my credit union and everything went smoothly. Nice guy, glad we worked it out, but I don’t think this guy understood the need for a clear title, until I was ready to walk away from the deal.

So before I’d drive to Florida, I had the hull id and the motor serial number to check to see if there was outstanding liens. SCDNR can tell you if there is a lien on a sc boat, so I assume that Fla Natural Resources can do the same.

2009 I bought a boat w/ twin o/b and a trailer through a broker in Miami.
The boat was documented. I got a title for it but not the motors (not done in Fla at the time I was told). The title for the trailer took over a year and actually had to be a reissued Cert. of Origin from the builder because the original could not be found. (just the previous State of Florida registration was insufficient) My home state requirs trailers to be titled and registered.

Bring a jack, tools, hub overhaul parts and tube of grease - nothing like having new stuff rotating properly.
good luck.

I bought a FL boat last June. FL has a small registration card like SC but you HAVE to have a clear title, notorized. The guy I bought it from had the registration but could not find the title and had to get a duplicate. It took a few weeks and I had to pay the late fees. Don’t forget the hull id tracing. The outboard bill of sale is for you and you just have to list on the SC DNR registration form. Get it all notorized, put them all on the same bill of sale.

The trailer is optional, get a license plate if you wish, from DOT. Might be helpful if you tow out of state, like NC. They are real picky on boat towing. I towed mine back with the FL license plate and the seller just said throw it away, so I did. be sure to get the title if you eventually sell it out of state.

You pay the taxes at DNR when you get the new title and numbers.

Now if there was an easy to get those FL sun-baked numbers off. Here’s my boat with the FL numbers.

Carolina Skiff Doug
1980DLX Carolina Skiff

doug
that REALLY doesnt look like a 19’ carolina skiff

www.teamcharlestonmarine.com
www.joinrfa.org

I put my skiff in a hull stretcher for about a week. Added a bow pulpit and a hardtop and here you go. It did surprise me when that 90 turned into a 200 hpdi. Maybe I should change my name to GW-Doug?

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Carolina Skiff Doug
1980DLX Carolina Skiff

After the blow dryer and go gone, use some 3M liquid rubbing compound to clean up where the FL stickers where. It will get rid of any remaining residue and should also get rid of any hull dis-coloration from the sun.

Thanks for all the input guys. We are headed down this weekend to try it out and bring it home.