Boat Bill of Sale: What It Must Include to Hold Up

The bill of sale is the document that actually transfers ownership. A purchase agreement says a sale will happen. The bill of sale says it did. Get it wrong and the title office will reject it, or worse, it holds up at the counter but not in a dispute.

The identifying information

Full legal names and addresses for both buyer and seller, not nicknames or business shorthand. If a trust, estate, or LLC owns the vessel, the entity is the seller and the signer must have authority to sign on its behalf. This is where inherited-boat sales most often fail.

The vessel itself must be identified by hull identification number, the twelve-character HIN on the transom. Year, make, model, and length belong on the document too, but the HIN is what makes the boat legally unambiguous. Include engine make, model, and serial numbers if they are being sold with the vessel, and identify the trailer separately by VIN if one is included.

The price and the date

State the actual purchase price in both numerals and written words. The date of sale matters more than people expect, because it establishes when liability, insurance responsibility, and the tax obligation transferred.

Do not understate the price to reduce sales tax. State agencies compare declared values against market data, the buyer inherits the exposure, and it undermines the credibility of the document if the sale is ever disputed.

The as-is clause

Most private vessel sales are as-is, where-is, with no warranty express or implied. That language protects the seller from claims about problems discovered after closing, which, on a used boat, there will be.

It protects the buyer too, in a sense: it is the reason the survey happens before closing rather than after. An as-is clause is not a license to conceal known defects, and a seller who actively hides a material problem can still face a fraud claim regardless of what the document says.

Free-and-clear title language

The seller should affirm in writing that the vessel is free of liens and encumbrances, and that the seller has the legal right to sell it. If a lien exists and is being paid off at closing, say so explicitly and attach the release from the lienholder. The lien release is one of the four documents every private sale needs.

A buyer who takes delivery on a verbal assurance that the loan is handled can end up owning a boat a bank still has a claim against.

Signatures and notarization

Both parties sign and date. Print names beneath the signatures so the document is readable years later when it matters.

Notarization requirements vary by state, and some states require it only for the signature of the seller rather than both. Coast Guard documented vessels follow federal requirements instead of the state process entirely. Confirm which applies to your vessel before closing day, because discovering you need a notary while sitting at a marina on a Saturday is a preventable problem.

Copies for both sides

Each party keeps a fully signed original. The buyer needs it to register or document the vessel. The seller needs it to prove the boat left their ownership on a specific date, which is the document that ends their liability for anything that happens on the water afterward.

The bill of sale is signed at closing, after the deposit and survey stages are behind you. See how deposits and escrow work and the full private sale process from listing to closing.