6 | Boating Safety Info: 402-471-5462
TITLE
Who Must Obtain a Title – All first- time owners of newly acquired motorized vessels must
obtain a title from the county treasurer in the county where the owner resides before the
county treasurer will issue or renew a registration. A boat must be titled before it may be
sold. All boats made before 1972 are exempt from titling, but not from registration.
Hull Identification Number – Federal law requires all boats manufactured after Nov. 1,
1972, including homemade boats, display a 12 -character Hull Identification Number (HIN).
• The character of each HIN must be at least one-quarter inch high and located to the
starboard outboard side of the transom within 2 inches of the top of the transom,
gunwale or hull/deck joint, whichever is lowest.
• If a motorboat has no HIN and is newer than a 1972, a new one must be obtained from
the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) before a title and registration can
be issued. Applications for HIN are available from the DMV or county treasurer.
• Any person who operates a motorboat that requires a certificate of title without having
that title is guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.
• Any person who operates a motorboat that requires a HIN without that number is guilty
of a Class III misdemeanor.
Common HIN:
stamped into fiberglass of transom
ABC45678A494
Enjoy Boating the Safe Way
Take a Safe Boating Course from
the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
or the U.S. Power Squadron.
1-800-395-2628 / cgaux.org or usps.org
Photo and illustration credits:
Front cover: Eric Fowler, Nebraskaland Magazine/NGPC
Page 8: Ohio Department of Natural Resources Page 18: Eric Fowler, Nebraskaland Magazine/NGPC
Page 15: Thinkstock Page 20: Eric Fowler, Nebraskaland Magazine/NGPC
