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Do boats have titles? Looking at buying a used boat from a guy that never registered the boat and is not sure he has a title. Will I need a title to get stickers, or just a bill of sale? I've never owned more than a john boat, so I have no clue. Thanks in advance!

Gunslinger wrote:Do boats have titles? Looking at buying a used boat from a guy that never registered the boat and is not sure he has a title. Will I need a title to get stickers, or just a bill of sale? I've never owned more than a john boat, so I have no clue. Thanks in advance!

Registering in MS? All you need to do is fill out the form for registration at mdwfp.com and have him and a witness sign. There's the information page and a 2nd page that can be used as a bill of sale. Titles aren't required in MS although they are optional but if he didn't register it there's a 99.9% chance he didn't title it.

That's right... All you need is a bill of sale and a witness... Take your BOS to mdwfp office (or mail it) and they'll fix you right up....

I just went through this process with MDWFP as described above and it went fine.

HOWEVER, correct me if I misunderstood, but if the vessel HAS been titled, then you must provide a title to get registration.... I remember speaking with the lady in the office and was worried about that bc I wasn't sure if it had been titled... All I did was give her my hull ID and she ran the numbers and said it had not been titled... Which was a great thing!

you CAN title it if you want to but its not required. You need a bill of sale to include buyer seller and witness sigs and hin or serial number with date. Get the dept. form fill it out send copy of bos with a check and wait 2 weeks.

You will have to show proof MS sales tax has been paid on the boat before you can register it. They will have record of it if it has. If not you will have to pay a 7% use tax on the value of the boat unless the law has changed.

I don't think you pay sales tax on a used boat. I could be wrong...

You don't if it comes from an individual, but there is no use getting into a HUGE argument about it so I just didn't comment.

LODI QUACKER wrote:You don't if it comes from an individual, but there is no use getting into a HUGE argument about it so I just didn't comment.

According to MDWFP, If a boat was purchased from an out of state dealer originally PROOF of MS sales tax must be shown before a boat can be registered in MS. If not you can pay your 7% use tax on the value of the boat at your local tax collectors office. This goes for ALOL boats weather purchased from another individual or not.

So, it appears "Dealer" as the key. From an indidual, no tax(???).

duckter wrote:So, it appears "Dealer" as the key. From an indidual, no tax(???).

Not necessarily. If the boat was ORIGINALLY purchased our of state then proof of ms sales tax must be shown. That's why numbers stay with the boat. If the boat has already been registered in ms and has current ms registration on it then this previously been satisfied. It doesn't matter weather you are purchasing from an individual or not. It's always been like this

duckter wrote:So, it appears "Dealer" as the key. From an indidual, no tax(???).

Not necessarily. If the boat was ORIGINALLY purchased our of state then proof of ms sales tax must be shown. That's why numbers stay with the boat. If the boat has already been registered in ms and has current ms registration on it then this previously been satisfied. It doesn't matter weather you are purchasing from an individual or not. It's always been like this

See what I mean.

YOu buy a used 1973 jon boat in Arkansas, seller writes you a bill of sale. Paperwork is filled out to include hin # and a witness signs the BOS. You include a check and fill out the registration form. 2 weeks later you receive a registration card. Where in this process do they ask you for proof of sales tax?

They don't...