Do You Need to Get Personal Watercraft Registration For a Recreational Vessel?

Personal Watercraft Registration

Are you looking to document your recreational vessel? You might think that you need to get a Personal Watercraft Registration, but here in Canada that’s not exactly the case. Here’s what to do instead.

Not Personal Watercraft Registration, But Personal Water Craft Licensing 

A lot of new vessel owners come to us asking about getting their personal watercraft registration, all without realising that this is the wrong question. You don’t have to get a pleasure craft registered with Transport Canada, but in some situations you will have to file for a pleasure craft licence, the specific certificate meant to document recreational boats. Let’s go over the requirements and circumstances that are important to keep in mind when it comes to documenting recreational vessels, which ones need to be documented, and how you can get this documentation easily. Our team is here to help you out with this.

Vessels That Must Be Documented

First thing you need to keep in mind is that not every personal vessel needs to receive a pleasure craft licence. The definition of pleasure craft might apply to all exclusively recreational boats, but Transport Canada doesn’t actually require all of them to receive this specific documentation. There are actually very specific guidelines determining whether or not you have to document your recreational vessel with a pleasure craft licence. If you have a pleasure craft equipped with motors of 10 Horsepower (7.5 kilowatts) or more that is maintained or operated in Canada, you will need to apply for a licence. Does your boat meet these requirements? Then you should file your licence application before you set sail.

Getting Your Licence in Order

So, if your vessel meets these requirements, you will have to get it a pleasure craft licence in lieu of a personal watercraft registration. Now, this isn’t as tedious or inconvenient as it might sound at first, but it does call for some particular attention to the process. We can help you with that. All you have to do is head over to the pleasure craft licence form on our menu and fill it out with the necessary information about the vessel and the owner. Then, you need to provide the bill of sale and pay for the fee. Once you do this, you can submit the application, after which you will only have to wait a few days before receiving the license in the mail.

Personal Watercraft Registration

File For Vessel Documentation

No one likes to have to submit documentation applications, everyone knows that. However, that is exactly why we at the National Vessel Documentation Center have set up an easy to use platform that makes those filings everyone finds so tedious and inconvenient all the more simple and straightforward. Here you will find all the forms you might need in order to file for boat registration, a pleasure craft licence, or just about any other relevant vessel procedure. For more information about any of these applications, boating documentation regulations, or Transport Canada filing requirements, feel free to reach out to our team by way of our contact page. We’re here to help.