Virginia Code 29.1-733.6: Certificate of title required
A. No person shall operate a watercraft subject to titling under this chapter unless the owner has applied to the Department for a certificate of title for the watercraft or has been issued a valid temporary registration certificate as provided for in § 29.1-703.1. Except as otherwise provided in subsections B through E, the owner of a watercraft for which Virginia is the state of principal use shall deliver to the Department an application for a certificate of title for the watercraft, with the applicable fee, not later than 20 days after the later of:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 29.1-733.6
- Barge: means a watercraft that is not self-propelled or fitted for propulsion by sail, paddle, oar, or similar device. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Certificate of origin: means a record created by a manufacturer or importer as the manufacturer's or importer's proof of identity of a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Certificate of title: means a record, created by the Department under this article or by a governmental agency of another jurisdiction under the law of that jurisdiction that is designated as a certificate of title by the Department or agency and is evidence of ownership of a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Dealer: means any watercraft dealer as defined in § 29. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Foreign-documented vessel: means a watercraft whose ownership is recorded in a registry maintained by a country other than the United States that identifies each person that has an ownership interest in a watercraft and includes a unique alphanumeric designation for the watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Operate: means to navigate or otherwise control the movement of a motorboat or a vessel. See Virginia Code 29.1-700
- Owner: means a person that has legal title to a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, statutory trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Purchase: means to take by sale, lease, mortgage, pledge, consensual lien, security interest, gift, or any other voluntary transaction that creates an interest in a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Representative: means the same as that term is defined in subdivision (b)(33) of § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Sale: means the same as that term is defined in § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Seller: means the same as that term is defined in subdivision (1)(o) of § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- State of principal use: means the state on whose waters a watercraft is or will be used, operated, navigated, or employed more than on the waters of any other state during a calendar year. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Transfer of ownership: means a voluntary or involuntary conveyance of an interest in a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Virginia Code 29.1-700
- Watercraft: means any vessel that is used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and is propelled by machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion, except:
1. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
1. The date of a transfer of ownership; or
2. The date Virginia becomes the state of principal use.
B. An application for a certificate of title is not required for:
1. A documented vessel;
2. A foreign-documented vessel;
3. A barge;
4. A watercraft before delivery if the watercraft is under construction or completed pursuant to contract; or
5. A watercraft held by a dealer for sale or lease.
C. A dealer transferring a watercraft required to be titled under this article shall assign the title to the new owner or, in the case of a new watercraft, assign the certificate of origin. The dealer shall forward all fees and applications to the Department within 20 days of sale. Each dealer shall maintain a record for six years of any watercraft he bought, sold, exchanged, or received for sale or exchange. This record shall be available for inspection by Department representatives during reasonable business hours.
D. No dealer shall purchase or acquire a new watercraft without obtaining from the seller a certificate of origin. No manufacturer, importer, dealer, or other person shall sell or otherwise dispose of a new watercraft to a dealer for purposes of display and resale without delivering to the dealer a certificate of origin. The certificate of origin shall be a uniform or standardized form prescribed by the Department and shall contain:
1. On the front, a description of the watercraft including its trade name, if any, year, series or model, body type, and manufacturer’s serial number; certification of date of transfer of watercraft and name and address of transferee; certification that this was the transfer of watercraft in ordinary trade and commerce; and the signature and address of a representative of the transferor; and
2. On the reverse side, an assignment form, including the name and address of the transferee, a certification that the watercraft is new, and a warranty that the title at the time of delivery is subject only to such liens and encumbrances as set forth and described in full in the assignment.
E. The Department shall not issue, transfer, or renew pursuant to the requirements of 46 U.S.C. § 12301, as amended, a certificate of number for a watercraft unless the Department has created a certificate of title for the watercraft or an application for a certificate for the watercraft and the applicable fee have been delivered to the Department. Any owner of a watercraft that was not previously required to be titled and whose certificate of number expires after January 1, 1998, shall apply for a certificate of title at the time of renewal of the certificate of number.
2013, c. 787.