Boat and Vessel Title Bonds

Which states bond boats

A vessel can be bonded only where the state titles vessels and its bond statute reaches them. California covers vessels with REG 5057 and a rider or the dedicated REG 5058 Undocumented Vessel Surety Bond, with a $2,000 value threshold instead of the $5,000 vehicle threshold. Michigan's TR-121 lists watercraft expressly and applies the same 2× rule under the watercraft provisions of its environmental code. New Mexico's statute reaches boats titled under the Boat Act. Vermont covers vessels (Form VD-037). Nebraska has a separate motorboat surety bond form. Wyoming bonds watercraft through the county clerks with a hull identification inspection. Utah lists watercraft among the vehicle classes its insufficient-evidence bond covers. Texas handles boats and outboard motors through the Parks and Wildlife Department rather than TxDMV, under the same 1.5× logic and a Texas residency rule. Alabama and Mississippi cover vessels and manufactured homes on their vehicle bond forms.

Where the state does not title boats at all (registration only), there is nothing to bond; a registration transfers on a bill of sale. And Florida excludes vessels from its bonded title procedure outright, so a Florida boat without a title goes through the vessel title division's own affidavit process.

What is different about a vessel file

• Hull identification number (HIN) instead of a VIN. Inspections are by marine patrol, wildlife officers or the DMV, and a missing or altered HIN usually requires an assigned number before anything else.
• Outboard motors are titled separately in several states (Texas among them) and need their own bond if the motor has no paperwork.
• Documented vessels (U.S. Coast Guard documentation) are not state-titled; a documentation problem is resolved with the National Vessel Documentation Center, not a state bond.
• Trailers that come with the boat are a separate vehicle; see trailer title bonds.

Sizing

Same arithmetic as a vehicle: the state multiplier times the vessel's value, rounded up to $1,000. Value sources are usually a marine valuation guide, a surveyor's or dealer's appraisal, or the DMV's own determination. A $14,000 boat in a 1.5× state needs a $21,000 bond, which costs $505.00 all in; the same boat in Michigan needs $28,000 and goes to an underwriter.

Frequently asked

Primary sources

Related guides

Written and reviewed by C. Constantin Poindexter, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, founder of Surety One, Inc. and CEO of Janus Assurance Re, with more than thirty years of surety and reinsurance underwriting experience. Author of The Contractor's Guide to Surety Bonds. Reflects state law and DMV practice as of November 5, 2026. More about the author →