If you are Buying a Boat in Ontario, or have just purchased one, you will need to transfer the ownership. The first thing to know is that the Vessel Licence or Federal Registration are ownership documents but neither is a TITLE DOCUMENT. Your only TITLE DOCUMENT is you BILL OF SALE.
Step One is to determine if the Vessel you are buying is a Provincially Licensed boat or a Federally Registered boat. In Canada, it cannot legally be both. Transport Canada administers both systems; the Vessel Licensing system on behalf of the provinces and the Federal Registration system on behalf of the Federal Government.
A Licensed boat is recorded by a Vessel Licence Number, and that has to be shown on the bow of the boat.
Boats newly licensed since about 2005, will have a Licence Number that consists of two leading Alpha characters and a five or more digit number, for example ON55555. The ON shows that it is Licensed with the Province of Ontario. Prior to 2005, the Licence format had two numeric characters, an alpha character [indicating Province of Licensing] and several numeric characters after that. The original Licence number will stay with the boat so you could have either.
The boat can also have a name displayed on the hull. That name can be changed at any time without Transport Canada permission.
A Federally Registered boat is recorded by Vessel Name with an Associated Port of Call. The Federal Registration number is not shown on the exterior of the boat. It should be shown on the interior of the boat, engraved on a plaque with the Registered Tonnage. The Vessel Name can be anywhere on the hull.
If you are buying a used boat, before transferring closing funds, and ideally much earlier in the process, preferably when doing an offer, you should ask the Seller for a copy of the current Vessel Licence or Federal Registration. Owners are required to keep that document on the boat at all times. Confirm that the documentation is current [Registrations expire and more recent Licences also expire], and that the person you are dealing with is the owner as noted on the Licence or Registration. Also be aware that if there is more than one owner, all owners will need to sign a Bill of Sale in order for you to be able to transfer ownership to you.
Visit the Transport Canada website for more details.
So you have determined, to the best of your ability, that the boat you are buying is Provincially Licensed, by viewing the Licence Number on the bow of the boat and confirming by viewing the Sellers' licence.
After completing all of your due diligence on the boat [survey and in-water equipment test], you have Closed the Sale and have received a Bill of Sale and a copy of the Sellers licence.
The Bill of Sale must include the Sellers names and addresses and these MUST match their Vessel Licence. The Bill of Sale must also include the Sellers signatures, the date of the sale and the price paid. It's helpful if you also include sellers email addresses and phone numbers. You also need the Vessel HIN, and the Licence Number on there. Of course the Buyers' names and addresses are required, ideally including phone numbers and email addresses.
NOTE: Keep the Bill of Sale and Sellers Licence on board the boat until your Licence arrives. And always keep the Bill of Sale on board. That is your only Title Document.
Next, you will need to accumulate some additional documents before proceeding to the Transport Canada site for online transfer.
First, get a digital version of the Bill of Sale [save a picture].
Next, digitize a piece of Government Issued ID for each new owner [Drivers Licence, Passport, etc].
Have ready a full side view colour photo of the boat.
Then head off to the TRANSPORT CANADA LICENSING site using the link.
Visit the Transport Canada website to Transfer the Vessel Licence online. You will need the Bill of Sale signed by all Sellers, with a date and purchase amount, and additional documents. Then click the link here to go directly to the Transport Canada site to do the transfer.
A Federally Registered boat is recorded by Vessel Name with an Associated Port of Call. The Federal Registration number is not shown on the exterior of the boat. It should be shown on the interior of the boat, engraved on a plaque with the Registered Tonnage. The Vessel Name can be anywhere on the hull.
If the boat does not have an alpha-numeric licence on the bow, this indicates that the boat is likely FEDERALLY REGISTERED. Fortunately, there is a way to confirm this, independently of the Sellers documents.
All Federally Registered vessels are logged in a publicly accessible database, and you can access that database via the VESSEL REGISTRATION QUERY SYSTEM link.
Visit the Transport Canada Federal Registration website database to confirm a Registration.
The process to Transfer ownership of a Federally Registered Vessel is a little more complicated than that for a Provincially Licensed Vessel.
First, there are specific Transport Canada Forms that must be completed and completed correctly.
At Closing, you need a Form 6 Bill of Sale signed and dated by the Sellers and it must include Sellers’ information exactly as shown on the Transport Canada database so go there and confirm that everything matches. The Form 6 must also include the number of Shares and that is generally always 64.
We always get a Commercial Bill of Sale as well when handling the sale of a Federally Registered boat. This provides the same Seller and Buyer information, but also shows the Vessel HIN and price paid.
These two Bills of Sale are all you need from the Sellers.
Then, before submitting to Transport, all Buyers will need to complete a Statement of Qualification and Appointment of Authorized Rep [the latter only if there is more than one Buyer]. These are all available by clicking the link FEDERAL REGISTRATION FORMS.
Once you have all of these ready, they get attached to an email that is sent to Transport Canada at VR-IB@tc.gc.ca. Don’t worry if you make a small error somewhere. They will get in touch with you in a few weeks and ask for any needed corrections.
But do get everything correct on the Form 6. It may not be easy to track down the Sellers after the fact to get them to sign off on a new document.
Visit the Transport Canada website to locate the Federal Registration forms required.
This is a pretty involved process, starting with determining the type of ownership in the US [United States Coast Guard Documented vessels or State Titled vessels]. We rarely deal with State Titled US boats. It appears that is reserved for very small boats.
USCG Documented boats first need to be removed form the Coast Guard Registry.
Then, once imported, you need to decide if you will Provincially License the boat or Federally Register it. The best solution there depends on a few factors; where you plan to use the boat, the potential re-sale market for the boat, whether a vessel mortgage will be secured by the boat, etc.
Once you decide on the type of ownership, then you will need to work through applying for a Licence or Federal Registration.
Breezeway Yachts was founded in 2016 to provide boat buyers and sellers with a higher level of care and service.
We offer you the benefits of dealing with a professional team of Yacht Brokers, experienced in New and Used boat sales. Your boat is an important asset. Trust us to handle the sale with the utmost care, investing the time and effort to ensure that we maximize your return and minimize the time on the market.
Breezeway is based in the Toronto area, and our team of yacht broker covers St. Catharines and the Niagara Region to the GTA, from Hamilton and Oakville to Pickering and Oshawa. To the east, we have brokers covering Cobourg, Belleville, Prince Edward County, Picton, Bath, and Kingston, through the Thousand Islands and up to Ottawa.
SELLING or BUYING, our goal as Yacht Brokers is to secure the best deal, and conduct the transaction seamlessly and effortlessly, with emphasis on security, promptness and diligence.
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