It's the Law: Delaware Boating Regulations

Registering Your Vessel

Apply for a boat registration at an authorized sales outlet (see PDF showing the sales outlets). Boat registration fees are based on the length of the vessel. The Certificate of Number is valid for one or three years, at the option of the owner.

Larger recreational vessels, owned by U.S. citizens, may (at the option of the owner) be documented by the U.S. Coast Guard. Call the USCG’s Documentation Center at 1-800-799-8362 for more information.

Schedule of Fees To Register Your Vessel

BR-3 Registration, Numbering, and Marking of Vessels

Section 1. Applicability

This regulation shall apply to all vessels propelled by any form of mechanical power, including electric trolling motors, used or placed on the waters of this State, except the following:

1. Foreign vessels temporarily using such waters;
2. Military or public vessels of the United States, except recreational-type public vessels;
3. A vessel whose owner is a state or subdivision thereof, other than this State, which is used principally for governmental purposes, and which is clearly identifiable as such;
4. A vessel used exclusively as a ship’s lifeboat; and
5. Vessels which have been issued valid marine documents by the Coast Guard.

Section 2. Vessel Number Required.

(a) Except as provided in Section 3 of this regulation, no person shall use or place on the waters of this State a vessel to which this regulation applies unless:

1. It has a number issued on a certificate of number by this State; and
2. The number is displayed as described in Section 8 of this regulation.

(b) This regulation shall not apply to a vessel for which a valid temporary certificate has been issued to its owner by the issuing authority in the state in which the vessel is principally used.

Section 3. Reciprocity.

(a) When the state of principal use is a state other than this State and the vessel is properly numbered by that state, the vessel shall be deemed in compliance with the numbering system requirements of this State in which it is temporarily used.

(b) When this State becomes the state of principal use for a vessel numbered by another state, the vessel’s current number shall be recognized as valid for a period of 60 consecutive days before numbering is required by this State.

Section 4. Other Numbers and Letters Prohibited.

No person shall use a vessel to which this regulation applies that has any letters or numbers that are not issued by an issuing authority for that vessel on its forward half.

Section 5. Certificate of Number Required (Registration Card).

(a) Except as provided in Section 3 of this regulation, no person shall use a vessel to which this regulation applies unless it has on board:

1. A valid certificate of number or temporary certificate for that vessel issued by this State; or
2. For rental vessels described in subsection (b) of this section, a copy of the lease or rental agreement, signed by the owner or the owner’s authorized representative and by the person leasing or renting the vessel, that contains at least:

(a) The vessel number that appears on the certificate of number; and
(b) The period of time for which the vessel is leased or rented.

(b) The certificate of number for vessels less than 26 feet in length and leased or rented to another for the latter’s non-commercial use for less than 24 hours may be retained on shore by the vessel’s owner or representative at the place from which the vessel departs or returns to the possession of the owner or the owner’s representative.

Section 6. Inspection of Certificate.

Each person using a vessel to which this regulation applies shall present the certificate of number, lease, or rental agreement required by Section 5 of this regulation to any enforcement officer for inspection at the officer’s request.

Section 7. Location of Certificate of Number.

No person shall use a vessel to which this regulation applies unless the certificate of number, lease, or rental agreement required by Section 5 of this regulation is carried on board in such a manner that it can be handed to a person authorized under Section 6 of this regulation to inspect it.

Section 8. Numbers: Display; Size; Color.

(a) Each number required by Section 2 of this regulation shall:

1. (a) Be painted on or permanently attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel, except as allowed by subsection (b) or required by subsection (c) of this section;
2. Be in plain vertical block characters of not less than 3 inches in height;
3. Contrast with the color of the background and be distinctly visible and legible;
4. Have spaces or hyphens that are equal to the width of a letter other than “I” or a number other than “1” between the letter and number groupings (example: DL 5678 D or DL-5678-D); and
5. Read from left to right.

(b) When a vessel is used by a manufacturer or by a dealer for testing or demonstrating, the number may be painted on or attached to removable plates that are temporarily but firmly attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel.

(c) On vessels so configured that a number on the hull or superstructure would not be easily visible, the number shall be painted on or attached to a backing plate that is attached to the forward half of the vessel so that the number is visible from each side of the vessel.

(d) Expired validation decals shall be removed and only effective decals shall be displayed.

Section 9. Notification of Issuing Authority.

The person whose name appears as the owner of a vessel on a certificate of number shall, within 15 days, notify the Division of:

1. Any change in said person’s address;
2. The theft or recovery of the vessel;
3. The loss or destruction of a valid certificate of number;
4. The transfer of all or part of said person’s interest in the vessel; and
5. The destruction or abandonment of the vessel.

Section 10. Surrender of Certificate of Number.

The person whose name appears as the owner of a vessel on a certificate of number shall surrender the certificate to the Division or a licensing agent within 15 days after it becomes invalid under subsections (b), (c), (d) or (e) of Section 14 of this regulation.

Section 11. Removal of Number and Validation Decal.

The person whose name appears on a certificate of number as the owner of a vessel shall remove the number and validation sticker from the vessel when:

1. The vessel is documented by the Coast Guard;
2. The certificate of number is invalid under Section 14(c) of this regulation; or
3. This State is no longer the state of principal use.

Section 12. Application for Certificate of Number.

Any person who is the owner of a vessel to which Section 1 of this regulation applies may apply for a certificate of number for that vessel by submitting the following to the Division or a licensing agent:

1. The application prescribed by the Division;
2. The fee required by § 2113(a) of Title 23; and
3. Proof of ownership as required by Section 22 of this regulation.

Section 13. Duplicate Certificate of Number.

If a certificate of number is lost or destroyed, the person whose name appears on the certificate as the owner may apply for a duplicate certificate by submitting the following to the Division or a licensing agent:

1. The application prescribed by the Division; and
2. The fee required by § 2113(b) of Title 23.

Section 14. Validity of Certificate of Number.

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section, a certificate of number is valid until the date of expiration prescribed by this State.

(b) A certificate of number issued by this State is invalid after the date upon which:

1. The vessel is documented or required to be documented;
2. The person whose name appears on the certificate of number as owner of the vessel transfers all of his/her ownership in the vessel; or
3. The vessel is destroyed or abandoned.

(c) A certificate of number issued by this State is invalid if:

1. The application for the certificate of number contains a false or fraudulent statement; or
2. The fees for the issuance of the certificate of number are not paid.

(d) A certificate of number is invalid 60 days after the day on which another state becomes the state of principal use.

(e) A certificate of number is invalid when the person whose name appears on the certificate involuntarily loses his/her interest in the numbered vessel by legal process.

Section 15. Validation Stickers.

(a) No person shall use a vessel that has a number issued by this State unless a validation sticker was issued with the certificate of number and the sticker:

1. Is displayed within 6 inches of the number; and
2. Meets the requirements in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

(b) Validation stickers shall be approximately 3 inches square.

(c) The year in which each validation sticker expires shall be indicated by the colors, blue, international orange, green, and red, in rotation beginning with green for stickers that expired in 1975.

Section 16. Contents of Application for Certificate of Number.

(a) Each application for a certificate of number shall contain the following information:

1. Name of each owner;
2. Address of at least one owner, or the address of the principle place of business of an owner that is not an individual, including zip code;
3. Mailing address, if different from the address required by paragraph (a)(2) of this section;
4. Date of birth of the owner;
5. Citizenship of the owner;
6. State in which vessel is or will be principally used;
7. The number previously issued by an issuing authority for the vessel, if any;
8. Expiration date of certificate of number issued by the issuing authority;
9. Official number assigned by the Coast Guard, if applicable;
10. Whether the application is for a new number, renewal of a number, or transfer of ownership;
11. Whether the vessel is used for pleasure, rent or lease, dealer or manufacturer demonstration, commercial passenger carrying, commercial fishing, or other commercial use;
12. Make of vessel or name of vessel builder, if known;
13. Year vessel was manufactured or built, or model year, if known;
14. Manufacturer’s hull identification number, if any;
15. Overall length of vessel;
16. Whether the hull is wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, or other;
17. Type of vessel (open, cabin, house, etc.);
18. Whether the propulsion is inboard, outboard, inboard-outdrive, jet, or sail with auxiliary engine;
19. Whether the fuel is gasoline, diesel, or other;
20. Social security number, or, if that number is not available, the owner’s driver’s license number (if the owner is other than an individual, the owner’s taxpayer identification number, social security number, or driver’s license number);
21. The signature of the owner.

(b) An application made by a manufacturer or dealer for a number that is to be temporarily affixed to a vessel for demonstration or test purposes may omit items 13 through 20 of subsection (a) of this section.

Section 17. Contents of a Certificate of Number.

(a) Except as allowed in subsection (b) of this section, each certificate of number shall contain the following information:

1. Number issued to the vessel;
2. Expiration date of the certificate;
3. State of principal use;
4. Name of the owner;
5. Address of the owner, including zip code;
6. Whether the vessel is used for pleasure, rent or lease, dealer or manufacturer demonstration, commercial passenger carrying, commercial fishing, or other commercial use;
7. Manufacturer’s hull identification number (or the hull identification number issued by the Department), if any;
8. Make of vessel;
9. Year vessel was manufactured;
10. Overall length of vessel;
11. Whether the vessel is an open boat, cabin cruiser, houseboat, etc.;
12. Whether the hull is wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic, or other;
13. Whether the propulsion is inboard, outboard, inboard-outdrive, jet, or sail with auxiliary engine;
14. Whether the fuel is gasoline, diesel, or other;
15. A quotation of the State regulations pertaining to change of ownership or address, documentation, loss, destruction, abandonment, theft or recovery of vessel, carriage of the certificate of number on board when the vessel is in use, rendering aid in a boat accident, and reporting of vessel casualties and accidents.

(b) A certificate of number issued to a manufacturer or dealer to be used on a vessel for test or demonstration purposes may omit items 7 through 14 of subsection (a) of this section if the word “manufacturer” or “dealer” is plainly marked on the certificate.

Section 18. Contents of Temporary Certificate.

A temporary certificate issued pending the issuance of a certificate of number shall contain the following information:

1. Make of vessel;
2. Length of vessel;
3. Type of propulsion;
4. State in which vessel is principally used;
5. Name of owner;
6. Address of owner, including zip code;
7. Signature of owner;
8. Date of issuance; and
9. Notice to the owner that the temporary certificate is invalid after 60 days from the date of issuance.

Section 19. Form of Number.

(a) Each number shall consist of the two capital letters “DL”denoting this State as the issuing authority, followed by:

1. Not more than four numerals followed by not more than two capital letters (example: DL 1234 BD); or
2. Not more than three numerals followed by not more than three capital letters (example: DL 567 EFG).

(b) A number suffix shall not include the letters “I,” “O,” or “Q,” which may be mistaken for numerals.

Section 20. Size of Certificate of Number.

Each certificate of number shall be 2 by 3 inches.

Section 21. Terms and Conditions for Vessel Numbering.

Except for a recreational-type public vessel of the United States, the State shall condition the issuance of a certificate of number on title to, the original manufacturer's or importer's statement or certificate of origin, copy of notarized bill of sale, or other proof of ownership of a vessel.

Section 22. Boat Registration Records.

(a) All valid records shall be filed alphabetically by the last names of owners and numerically by “DL” registration numbers;

(b) Invalid records shall be maintained for three years at which time they shall be destroyed.