Do You Have To Register Your Boat In Canada

This summary is provided only for convenience and may exist out of date. Get current information from the appropriate Government department. (Regime Directory: Transport Canada)

Requirements for a Pleasure Arts and crafts Licence (PCL) are listed in the Small Vessel Regulations of the Canada Shipping Human activity and is summarized in Transport Canada'south Office of Boating Prophylactic. A PCL from the province you license your gunkhole in, provides your boat with a licence number (at no cost). The Pleasure Craft Operator Card is often referred to as a licence, just it is not - it'due south a grade of proof yous have competency to operate a boat. You will notice information about Canadian vessel registration, which is used mostly past commercial vessels, and involves a more complicated procedures and costs. {Ship Canada manages the National Vessel Registry.}

About 2.2 million pleasure boats were licensed in Canada in 2006, with an average of 105,000 new and transferred licences granted annually.

Boat Licences

What is a Pleasure Craft Licence?

This unique identifier, and associated contact information, is maintained in Transport Canada?s computer-based Pleasance Arts and crafts Licensing System. The licensing system is bachelor to government agencies and law to place a gunkhole in an emergency, aid in search and rescue efforts and enforce pleasure arts and crafts regulations. It is non intended as a legal proof of ownership (boats can be sold without a licence transfer being done.) Y'all should update your licence information afterwards changes such as boat colour, owner's telephone number, etc. Licence renewal every 10 years is another opportunity to update data.

Licences and renewals are gratis. You have xc days to transfer the licence of a used boat.

Which boats need a Licence?

All pleasure craft powered by an engine ten horsepower (vii.5 kW) or more must be licensed unless the boat has a Vessel Registration. A licence is no longer required for canoes and kayaks used in ?guided excursions.? (2011/March Details from Transport Canada.) A licence is sometimes required by strange countries (i.due east. towed dinghies in U.S. locks). If y'all crave a marine mortgage, you must register your vessel in the Canadian Annals of Vessels.

What choices practice I have if my boat is already licensed?

Request a new licence (recommended)
Keep your onetime licence number
Enter your old license into the Pleasance Craft Licensing System

Where exercise I get a licence?

Service Canada, on behalf of Transport Canada, issues vessel licences at 320 locations across the country, where you lot may license new vessels or transfer licensed vessel ownerships at no charge. It should have nigh ten minutes to process an application and upshot a licence.

License applications are available online (Transport Canada). Hither'southward what you can do online:

Employ for a boat licence.
Transfer a boat licence to your name.
Update licence information (changes to boat, contact information)
Request renewal of your boat licence.

Explaining gunkhole numbers

New boat licence numbers begin with provincial digraphs (MB, ON, NS) followed past digits. (Licences beginning with 'port' digits has been phased out.) If a boat has a number-letter combination on the boat's bow such as 32E9876 (East is Ontario, 32 is Ottawa), information technology was licensed before 2007. If the boat has a provincial digraph followed by digits (BC12345 is British Columbia), the licence was issued by Service Canada on behalf of Send Canada. A license number that begins with "C" (east.g., C00000BC) is a Pocket-size Commercial Vessel licensed prior to 2007 - these are now registered in the Small Vessel Registry of Send Canada. Information technology is highly recommended that pre-2007 licence owners utilise for a new number at no charge, which will be entered into the new licence information system.

Mark Boat Numbers correctly on your boat

A licensed boat must exist marked on both sides of the bow with contrasting "licence numbers" in block characters at to the lowest degree 7.5 cm (3") high. You lot may employ agglutinative decals or pigment. There are no regulations about the stern, just it's normal to paint a gunkhole proper noun and city.

What is the difference between Canadian & U.S. Terminology

Many people misfile Canadian and American terms: our Canadian licensing is similar to the U.S. boat registration. Canadian registration is like to U.S. documentation, and is designed for commercial vessels and ships.

Canadian spelling is dissimilar.

Canadian spelling changes depending on the usage of the give-and-take. The substantive "a gunkhole licence" is spelled with a "c". When used equally a verb or describing word it is spelled with an "s": "to license a boat", "licensing a gunkhole", or a "licensed boat".

Canadian boat licences use postal abbreviations - U.S. gunkhole licenses are sometimes unlike

California (postal CA) - CF on boats.
Washington (WA) - WN
Massachusetts (MA) - MS
Mississippi (MS) - MI
Michigan (MI) - MC
Manitoba (MB) - MB
NB on boats can exist either Nebraska or New Brunswick!

Buying a Used Boat:

When yous buy a used boat with a "licence", you must transfer the licence within 90 days. Accept a "neb of auction" signed past the previous possessor and the completed transfer form (reverse side of Pleasance Craft Licence form) to Service Canada. If a used gunkhole has no vessel licence or registration papers, contact Transport Canada "Marine Safety" for information. Heir-apparent beware!

Buying or importing a U.S. boat:

Canadian residents who licence or annals a boat in some other state, can only bring it into Canada for a express time before they must pay duty and tax on the boat (GST & PST). The Gratuitous Trade Understanding provides for low duty to import a domestically manufactured gunkhole and none for some types of marine safety equipment. [More near buying a U.S. boat.]

Boat functioning:

Canadian regulations require a PCOC (or proof of competency) to operate a boat.

Commercial Licences:

Small Commercial Vessel Licence application forms are available from any Ship Registration office (Send Canada). Toll-costless hotline: 1-877-242-8770

Marine radios:

VHF radio licences are sometimes not required based on new regulations. To operate and transmit messages on a VHF radio, you lot must accept a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator's Document proving your proficiency.

When you purchase a new boat, a boat broker can usually arrange for a licence and payment of sales tax. When you buy a used gunkhole, you transfer the licence past taking it with a "bill of sale" signed by the previous owner to the provincial government part and paying the sales tax. Transferring a trailer license can be done at any provincial vehicle licence office.

When you lot sell a boat, follow the instructions on the transfer form on the reverse side of your Pleasure Craft Licence and requite information technology to the new owner. The new owner should contact the authorities to complete the transfer. (Government Directory: Transport Canada)

When you lot get a licence for a boat, be certain to check its series numbers and ensure they lucifer the plate on the vessel, on the bill of sale, and all authorities paperwork.

Section xi of the Small Vessel Regulations states "The number allotted to a vessel when information technology is offset licensed shall exist the permanent licence number of that vessel and shall be retained for the vessel throughout whatever subsequent transfer of ownership."

You must license your dinghy if y'all program to travel on whatever canals or travel outside Canada. You must put the licence numbers on the dinghy in the proper place and size.

Trailer licences

Purchase or transfer a trailer license at the provincial Vehicle Licence Office where yous intend to bulldoze information technology. You must have the buying and a bill of sale from the person or company yous bought it from. In some provinces you also pay PST; in others it'southward HST (GST & PST) at about fifteen%. (Government Directory: Provinces., Buying a gunkhole and trailer in the The states)

Registration

This summary is for convenience only, and may be outdated. Get current information from the authorities: Regime Directory.

Ship Canada is responsible for the Canadian Register of Vessels, which is a legal title organisation for the ownership of boats. Until a registration process is completed for a new boat, you may apply for a Provisional Document of Registry to protect the boat's buying during the registration process. At that place are fees for: Registering ($250), transferring ($150), deletion document ($50), and registering a marine mortgage ($150). Renewal is free.

Information technology is no longer mandatory for pleasure craft over 15 gross tonnage (or 12 metres long if it has not been measured for tonnage) to exist registered, however pleasure craft may be voluntarily registered.
You must register your pleasure craft if you require a marine mortgage on the vessel.
Contact Transport Canada's Part of Ship Registration to asking a tonnage survey.
Outside markings on a registered pleasure craft is the proper name of the vessel and port of registry. These must exist in block characters in contrasting colour 10.iii cm (4 in.) high in the correct location on both bows.
Interior markings are the official number and registered tonnage (eastward.g. O.N. 123456, Due north.R.T. four.52) on your Certificate of Registry. There are marked in block numerals at least 10.3 cm (4 in.) high on a clearly visible interior structural part of the hull. The tonnage must be preceded by "N.R.T." and the official number by the provincial abbreviation. The numbers must be permanently installed so any alteration would cause obvious impairment.
A valid Certificate of Registry must be kept on the gunkhole at all times. Anyone operating a vessel with an invalid certificate is in contravention of the Canada Shipping Act. Any alter(southward) to the data on the certificate must be reported in writing to the Registrar at your Port of Registry inside thirty days of the alter. Failure to study may result in suspension or cancellation.
Pleasance arts and crafts manufactured later 1978 must bear a decal indicating it meets or exceeds minimum standards. [Decal requirements for measurement appear to ignore registered boats which have already been professionally measured by a marine surveyor.]

Later WWII, your country could have command of your registered gunkhole in times of war. One tertiary of a registered gunkhole was legally owned by the crown. [I could non detect whatsoever reference to this in Transport Canada'southward website, and so possibly it's just interesting trivia. - Pat]

Before Transport Canada changed the registration arrangement, registering required a survey by a licensed surveyor. Currently, some boats don't require a survey, but the registration fee is college, and regular renewal is required.

The Canada Shipping Act, 2001 contains changes with new vessel categories and new fees for registration and transfers. Registration fees are higher and in that location is a fee to alter ownership, ship proper name, or to de-annals altogether. Contact any Send Registration part. [Regime Directory: Transport Canada]

A Document of Registry is currently valid for 3 years. Renewal is free. A renewal alphabetic character is sent to y'all 30 days before expiration. If you practise not receive it at least 2 weeks before expiry, contact the Registrar at your Port of Registry. If you do not receive it, and do not contact them, they will de-register your gunkhole. It'southward up to the owner to brand sure the boat stays registered. [Merely it could be useful if you Desire to exist de-registered without having to pay the de-registration fee! -Pat]

Some registration fees in 2007:

Initial application $250.
Changing name of vessel $250.
Change of buying $150.
Deletion from the registry $50.

When we got our own boat registered, we used to joke about how much coal we could bear -- this survey measurement of cargo capacity is designed for large ships! "Register tonnage" is a measurement of book for carrying cargo. It's piece of cake to empathise why many boat buyers want to establish legal ownership of a valuable asset, but a boat licence doesn't yet reach this (in 2005). In the 1970s, a friend nigh lost ownership of his make new "registered" boat when the dealer went broke before delivery.
-- Pat

Licence v.s. Registration

Data may become outdated. Go current information from government departments.

Licensing is an identification system for boats. A boat licence does not provide articulate title or ownership of a boat. If was pointed out to me by Patick Julien (beneath) that if a licensed boat is stolen, it is difficult to trace it or to testify ownership. It was hoped the new federal licensing system could exist used to evidence ownership but it is administered by each province and territory and is designed more for and collecting sales tax and search & rescue operations.

Registration is a procedure for documentation of ownership or championship in Canada with a "name" and "port of registration". Licensing is a procedure which identifies a vessel with a alphabetic character-number combination afterward having paid sales revenue enhancement in a province or territory, and does not necessarily imply ownership or title. There's no easy way to check the ownership trail, liens on the gunkhole, or if it'south stolen.

If you plan to cruise to other countries, or simply want to secure your ownership, registration may exist a skillful option. Of course, it costs more as information technology involves legal procedures and measurements from Transport Canada.

Registration is supposed to provide title, but issues can happen - I heard from a boater who had a legal battle getting ownership on a newly built boat when the architect went bankrupt before he had taken possession of information technology, fifty-fifty though it was already "registered".

Patrick Julien (from Caelis International, one of Canada's major Coast Guard and Send Canada approved marine documentation consultancies), sent me some interesting comments about licences and registration. Here is what he said:

Licensing is not really the norm for expensive vessels, as owners commonly wish to obtain clear championship and proof of ownership that comes with registration. A licence is simply a piece of newspaper which allows you to go on the water; it has absolutely nothing to practice with proof of ownership. Nosotros recently dealt with the transfer of holding of a vessel which had four current and potentially valid licences issued on it. Y'all do non demand to prove you own the boat to become a licence -- and boat thefts are rumoured to be in the surface area of fifteen% of inventory in Canada. And what of banks and finance companies chasing their security.

A standard 36 pes and up cruiser with practiced interior living accomodations ordinarily meets this minimum measure. Many people call back of this measurement every bit weight, which is practically incommunicable for pleasure boats. Very few of u.s. accept boats in this weight range (well, possibly Bill Teron...).

There are some advantages to actually registering a boat, not the to the lowest degree of which are clear title, and sequence of title, and pick to infringe against the value of the boat every bit security (marine mortgage). Well-nigh foreign ports will insist on vessel registration to ensure confirmation of ownership and nationality of captain and vessel.

Patrick Julien (pjulien@caelis.ca), Caelis International

Related Pages
Canadian Government Directory - government links for electric current regulations and laws:
- Pleasure boat regulations - Part of Boating Safety, Transport Canada
- Vessel Licences/Registrations - Service Canada for Transport Canada
- Trailer licences - Provincial Commuter & Vehicle Licence Office, telephone book Blue Pages
- Importing - Border Control
Ownership a boat - regulations, costs, importing
"The Proper name Game" - naming a boat is fun!
Boat loading tabular array
Did you know Canadian boaters' taxes and fees
VHF licences (radio and operator
Licences for boat operators (PCOC)
Archives:
- Pre-2007 License Numbers
- Boating in Canada News Apr/2006
- Annal: Boat licensing proposals 1998
- Annal: Registration 1999
- Canadian Boating News

Just to misfile y'all, Canadians ordinarily "license" a pleasure gunkhole and "register" a send, while in the U.S. yous "register" a pleasure gunkhole and "document" a ship. To confuse things further, in Canada, information technology's spelled licence with a "C" when used as a noun, such as a "boat licence", but when used as a verb, license is spelled with an "S", such as "to license a gunkhole" or "licensing a boat".