Registering boat without paperwork

Alex_c

Well-Known Member
I bought my boat from someone who owned it for a couple of years but never used it. He bought it from the original owner, but I don't have his contact info any more. I am guessing since I have had the boat for a while now that getting it registered without and previous paperwork is going to be a pain in the butt. Anyone have any suggestions? Yes, I know I should have dealt this a long time ago. :confused: Apparently the original owner of my boat was known by some people on this website. Maybe if he's still around I can get in touch with him? His name was Don MacDonald if I remember correctly.
 
You can probably do it all online these days. But to do it in person you will need this:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/marinesafety/declaration-eng.pdf.

And this:

http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/wwwdocs/Forms/84-0172E_1507-10_E.pdf

Fill out the declaration first and take it and your supporting documents to your local access center. Someone there is an official commissioner of oaths and can help you out.

Then send the sworn document and other paper/receipts with the second completed form to transport Canada.

I’ve had to do it twice and it’s pretty painless.

$25 for the commissioner of oaths to swear it in.
 
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give it a new serial number and pay taxes on the declared amount. done.

all the govt wants is your taxes. so if it is not "hot" , go for it.
 
As long as you have a bill of sale from when you bought it, thats all you need. Thats your document of title. And i assume you mean getting your pleasure craft licence? As registering it is different.
 
As long as you have a bill of sale from when you bought it, thats all you need. Thats your document of title. And i assume you mean getting your pleasure craft licence? As registering it is different.
Got the pleasure craft licence just need to register the tub. No bill of sale per se, paid cash to the seller, but have transfer paper for trailer. Seller provided name of the previous owner and some folks on this forum who knew him have corroborated on that so I am certain it's not hot. I'll look into everything posted here, thanks guys.
 
It's not that hard.
Bought my skiff from a bro that never registered it. Just gave me the previous bill of sale. He didn't believe in paying tax.

I swore a statutory declaration and submitted, no problems.
PM me if your are having difficulty.
 
Got the pleasure craft licence just need to register the tub. No bill of sale per se, paid cash to the seller, but have transfer paper for trailer. Seller provided name of the previous owner and some folks on this forum who knew him have corroborated on that so I am certain it's not hot. I'll look into everything posted here, thanks guys.
Don’t confuse pleasure craft operators card with a license .Most people need to only license their boat (BC#’s), registration is commercial or more specialized form of licensing.
 
See what happens with me, my boat was previously BC charter boat, sold and brought to Alberta. I bought it and so have an Alberta bill of sale. It's going back to BC so I got BC numbers for it, have property in BC although not a resident yet and no residence.... Lol! 12% of $1000 seems pretty steep!
 
Hmm. When my neighbor sold his last boat, he provided the buyer three bills of sale ...one for an inexpensive trailer that needed work, one for a cheap hull that also needed work, and one for a very expensive outboard. The buyer could then provide ICBC a legal bill of sale for a trailer on which the taxes due are based on the actual price of the trailer, not the entire trailer/boat/motor purchase price. Same for registering/licensing the hull. ...and no one will likely ask about that outboard....
 
I tried the online system a few times since I bought my boat last August. It seems like it goes through to the end, I hit submit and goes back to the first page of the process with no notification that it went through. No auto email reply saying anything was submitted, nothing.

I am going to do the paper based application and bring it in to Service Canada. Probably paranoid, but I want something saying that process has started, as I want to get out this weekend or next. Didn't think about it again until just now over the winter. Very frustrating with boating season nigh.
 
Go the commissioner of oaths route. Takes 15 minutes and you have a paper saying you own it.

Of the two times I’ve done it I paid tax once. Over five years since the second time and still no tax notice.
 
I just did this process in November 2017. Seller had no papers. I wrote up a bill of sale stating Sellers Name and Address. Buyers Name and Address. Make, Model, Year, HIN of boat and sold price. Also on same bill of sale Trailer Make Model VIN and sold price. Both signatures of Buyer and Seller with date. I went to ICBC with transfer paper of the trailer which had the total of Boat and Trailer for purchase price. I paid the tax to ICBC. I then used the free online boat licencing system to get the boat licensed. They sent me an email with the PDF of the paper boat license with BCxxxx number. It expires in 10 years.
 
I bought my boat from someone who owned it for a couple of years but never used it. He bought it from the original owner, but I don't have his contact info any more. I am guessing since I have had the boat for a while now that getting it registered without and previous paperwork is going to be a pain in the butt. Anyone have any suggestions? Yes, I know I should have dealt this a long time ago. :confused: Apparently the original owner of my boat was known by some people on this website. Maybe if he's still around I can get in touch with him? His name was Don MacDonald if I remember correctly.

So, how’d you make out?
 
I just did this process in November 2017. Seller had no papers. I wrote up a bill of sale stating Sellers Name and Address. Buyers Name and Address. Make, Model, Year, HIN of boat and sold price. Also on same bill of sale Trailer Make Model VIN and sold price. Both signatures of Buyer and Seller with date. I went to ICBC with transfer paper of the trailer which had the total of Boat and Trailer for purchase price. I paid the tax to ICBC. I then used the free online boat licencing system to get the boat licensed. They sent me an email with the PDF of the paper boat license with BCxxxx number. It expires in 10 years.
Where the confusion happens is that while the license is free (Federal) the feds also forward the paperwork with the purchase price to the Province. At some point, up to a couple of years, you get a tax bill from the BC government with a warning you have 30 days to pay. They will also ask for proof you paid tax on your trailer when you registered it. Just saying this because many people don’t realize they are going to get a 12% tax bill somewhere down the road.
 
Yes I've heard this a few times. Thats why I have a physical and digital backup copy of the ICBC papers showing I paid the 12% for the full amount. I also sent a copy along with all the other paper work they requested. I'm sure they'll still try to get another 12% from me.
 
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