If you have recently changed your name and own a boat, you must contact Transport Canada to amend the information that is in your boat registration. When doing so, there are a few factors that you will need to take into consideration, such as what kind of identification paperwork is required to verify your identity. After changing your name, you will need to update your boat registration, and in this article, we will walk you through the actions you need to take.
Choosing to change your name is an important life choice. It is not enough to update your identification documents, such as your driver’s license and ID card; this impacts many facets of your life, such as your credit score and passport. If you own a boat in Canada and want to change its name, you will need to fill out some paperwork and consider the process. When making this adjustment, you need to consider the following factors.
What Type of Boat Registration Do You Have?
One of the most crucial aspects of boat ownership is getting your vessel registered. It shields you, the boat owner, from legal responsibility if a passenger sustains an injury while on your vessel. It also provides a contact point for those who need to contact you for sales or loans in an emergency. Some boat owners even go so far as to rebrand their vessels with a new name for each season. Changing your boat’s name is one option when you decide to stop using it for racing and use it for pleasure. Where you reside, how much any sort of vessel you have, and how often you want to use it determine the appropriate registration. Some jurisdictions need merely paperwork showing the change of ownership and an administrative fee for re-registration. In contrast, others may demand extra safety checks (such as life preservers) and charge more for these services.
What’s The Process For Name Changes In Canada?
To register your vessel in Canada, you must complete specific paperwork and send it in. The next step is to verify that your current contact information is listed in the register while you wait for your boat registration certificate to arrive in the mail. A Transport Canada inspector must remove the boat’s existing nameplate before a new one with your name may be attached. While most individuals know they need to update their identification documents (such as their driver’s license, passport, and insurance policies), few also remember to update their boat registration. It’s not a little thing to forget to let Transport Canada know about your name change so they can make the necessary changes to the registration. Notifying them of a name change immediately after it occurs is essential for legal reasons if someone else wishes to acquire or use your boat.
Do You Need To Update Other Documents?
When you register a car in the state of Virginia, you can use either your old or new name on the title of the vehicle. You will also be able to change the name on your driver’s license plate to reflect your new legal name. On the other hand, if you own any personal property (such as a vehicle or a motorbike, for example), you must ensure that it is registered under the appropriate name. Researching the process of re-registering your car can provide you with the knowledge you need to understand how to proceed with this. In addition, if you have any other documents, like a passport or a bank account, that call for your name, you will want to ensure that those documents are updated with your new name. Because all of these papers must be consistent, you should avoid procrastinating until the very last minute.
How Will The Name Change Affect Insurance Rates?
To avoid paying more for boat insurance than necessary, new boat owners should consider this issue before transferring ownership and changing the boat’s name. Most people believe that if you rebrand your boat with a new name, your insurance company will treat you as a new client and assign you a new premium. There are cases when this is not the case. Changing your boat’s name may not always result in lower insurance premiums. Boats are considered luxury commodities.
Thus insurance firms want not to be tied down to a single policyholder for too long. Instead, they like to have the option of insuring several owners on a single vessel. Your insurance provider may not consider insuring a yacht you’ve had for a while to be “new business,” mainly if the previous owner never had to alter the registration and was always current on payments. They could determine there’s no need to charge you the higher prices customarily applied to new clients in this scenario.
If you’ve just changed your boat’s name and want to know how to change the boat registration, call the National Vessel Registry Center at +1 (800) 419-9569 for more information.
