Getting Boat Numbers or Transfering Numbers in Canada

June 16th, 2021 by

When it comes to picking up a new boat nothing can be more exciting. Here is your step-by-step guide to getting your boat numbers for your new boat or transferring the numbers from an existing pre-owned boat you purchased.

 

Things you will need before starting

Valid Piece of Government-Issued Identification

  • A Provincial/Territorial Birth Certificate
  • A Certificate of Canadian Citizenship
  • A Canadian Passport
  • A Provincial/Territorial Driver’s License

Non-Canadian residents may use valid government-issued identification from their own country.

Note: The provincial health card cannot be used as proof of identification.

 

Proof of Ownership

  • the business name, address and signature of a representative of the company or the full name, address and signature of the previous owner
  • date of sale;
  • name, address and signature of the new owner;
  • description of the pleasure craft (make, model)
  • Hull Serial Number (HIN), or Compliance Label Number (if available), and
  • the pleasure craft licence number (if the pleasure craft is already licensed).

Photograph of the Pleasure Craft (Boat / Watercraft)

  • The minimum print resolution for the photograph is 300 dpi (dots per inch). The file must be no larger than 5 mb and only in one of the following acceptable formats: PDF, JPG, TIFF OR PNG.

The photograph of the pleasure craft must be current, in colour and show a full side-view of the boat.

 

How to Begin

Now that you have everything together that you’re going to need to start the process you need to go to the Transport Canada Website to begin. This step can be done either online or by mail, we recommend online as you get your boat numbers instantly versus mailing and waiting for processing. Below is the link you need to begin.

—–>Transport Canada Boat Registry Link <—–

Once you arrive at the site click Apply or print the form and for mail submission. From here down will submitting online.

 

Choosing Your Application Type (Step 1)

In this tutorial, we are going to assume you are registering a Brand New Boat. Click “New” from the drop-down box.

 

 

 

 

Click I Have Read the privacy statement checkbox after you read it.

 

 

Click Continue

Verify your selection saved and it says “New” and click Click Save and Continue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applicant (Step 2)

Enter in all your personal information. If there is only one owner or two choose fields or if you purchased through your business this is where you would enter it.

Click Save and Continue at the bottom.

If you entered any errors it will let you know and highlight in red.

 

Pleasure Craft (Step 3)

If your boat is built from a factory like Bennington or Lund Boats or another major manufacturer they are designed to be Canadian Compliance and the notice is attached to the boat. In this step choose Canadian Compliant.

If you cannot locate the Hull number or Hull Identification Number (Serial Number of boat) choose that option. You can also reference your bill of sale for easy access to this number. An example will be LBBHT421G096(Tip – The Last 2 digits of the serial number is always the boat model year, in this example, it’s an 1996)

Most boats are imported from the United States with a few Canadian-made exceptions. Choose Imported unless you know it’s made in Canada. If you purchased from Westshore Marine all applicable duties and taxes will have already been taken care of at the time of purchase.

Choose the province you will be boating in. This affects the boat number Prefix. For example if you choose Manitoba to prefix will be MB123456 and if its Saskatchewan or Ontario it will start with SK or ON as prefixes.

Fill in your Vessel information in the drop-downs and convert your boat size from feet to meters.  1 Meter = 3.28 Feet

After filling out your information click Save and Continue

 

Documents (Step 4)

Here is the steps you will need to submit your Photograph of Vessel, Proof of Ownership and government-issued ID.

Once complete click Save & Continue

 

Final Review (Step 5)

Review all your information and click Finalize

 

Finished!

Now that you’re finished you should have your boat numbers in front of you. Print this page and keep a copy in your wallet until the official copy comes and you get boat numbers printed. You can purchase some vinyl numbers at Canadian tire or we recommend talking to your local printing company to get some customer Vinyl numbers made in the colour you want that will match the style of your boat.

Posted in Boat Numbers