When you are looking to purchase or sell a boat in Canada, there is a little more to the process than just money passing hands. In order to claim a boat change of ownership to yourself after buying one, you must complete a boat ownership transfer in Canada. This requires transferring the boat’s identification numbers from the pleasure craft license (PCL), as well as the PCL itself. A key component of safe boating is making sure all of your paperwork is in order, and this rule holds true when a boat’s ownership is changing.
According to Transport Canada, a copy of the Bill of Sale must be sent to the Vessel Registration Office whenever you purchase or sell a registered vessel. The original registered owner (seller) is in charge of seeing that the ownership transfer is finished. This document is not the same as your boat’s registration, which serves to demonstrate that you have the boat’s legal title or have other evidence of ownership. This kind of evidence can also be demonstrated using a bill of sale. You can be more prepared for such a transaction if you know how a boat ownership transfer works by reading the following post.
Transfer of Ownership of International Waters
On international waterways, registration is required for all vessels. All commercial boats and boats with marine mortgages on file with Transport Canada must comply with this as well. Even though your boat does not need to be registered, it may still be beneficial to do so. Once registered, you are permitted to fly the Canadian flag and receive a wholly original name for your vessel. If your boat goes lost, having it registered can help search and rescue teams.
What the Purchaser and Buyer Need to Do
If you’re the buyer of a vessel in Canada, making a change of ownership on the necessary documentation will enable you to correctly operate your boat on Canada’s extensive waterways.
The buyer is responsible for changing the vessel’s registration to their name. This process must be done within 14 days of the purchase date. Sadly, you will be charged a late application fee if you don’t. We understand the pain of having to pay a late fee as well as the pain of going through a lot of paperwork. Taking that into account, you can do the entire process online through our National Vessel Registry’s online and secure forms. You can avoid late penalties by managing things in this manner.
When you’re the seller, your obligations do not end just because you have given someone else control of your vessel in exchange for a trade of money. In essence, you still have one last task to complete to be relieved of duty. Thankfully, it’s not a big or difficult scenario. If you’re filling out the Transfer of Vessel Registration section by hand, you must sign the section’s back as the seller of a vessel. After that, you can start enjoying the money obtained from the sale. You may then have your eye on a new vessel if you’re like many other boat owners. Feel free to visit our website if you have any more questions or if you’re looking to learn more about boat types and materials for your next purchase.
How to Transfer Boat Ownership in Canada and How We Can Help
Simply put, we provide a simpler approach to completing the transfer paperwork on our site. Just click on our website’s “Transfer of Ownership” form. The fields you definitely must fill out have been indicated with a red asterisk to speed up the process even further. You can complete this task quickly if you have access to all the needed data. We also recognize that some of our vessel owners will need their paperwork returned as soon as possible. To that end, we also provide services for priority requests and expedited processing. In many aspects, a Transfer of Ownership form signals the start of one process and the conclusion of another. We offer all the forms you could possibly need in one location, whether you’re wanting to study your next vessel or looking to register (or license) the one you already have.
Avoid Penalties and Save Time by Going Online
There is a simpler way to register a vessel or complete a transfer of ownership than by mail. You can avoid the hassle of printing, signing, and shipping a ton of paperwork by dealing with a private service like ours at the National Vessel Registry Center. You can find a ton of easy-to-use online forms for a variety of boat paperwork needs if you look through our navigation menu. Contact us right away to find out more about processing a Canadian both change of ownership using our SSL-encrypted gateway.
