(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section, the owner of a vessel for which this state is the state of principal use shall deliver to the Department of Motor Vehicles an application for a certificate of title for the vessel, with the applicable fee, not later than twenty days after the later of:

(1) The date of a transfer of ownership; or

(2) The date this state becomes the state of principal use.

(b) An application for a certificate of title is not required and shall not be accepted, and no certificate of title shall be issued, for:

(1) A documented vessel;

(2) A foreign-documented vessel;

(3) A barge;

(4) An amphibious vehicle for which a certificate of title is issued pursuant to chapter 247 or a similar statute of another state;

(5) A vessel, other than a motorboat, as defined in section 15-141, less than nineteen and one-half feet in length;

(6) A vessel propelled solely by paddle or oar;

(7) A vessel that operates only on a permanently fixed, manufactured course and the movement of which is restricted to or guided by means of a mechanical device to which the watercraft is attached or by which the watercraft is controlled;

(8) A vessel owned by the United States, a foreign government or a state, or a political subdivision thereof, which is used in the performance of governmental functions;

(9) A vessel used solely as a lifeboat on another watercraft;

(10) A vessel before delivery if the vessel is under construction or completed pursuant to contract;

(11) A vessel held by a dealer for sale or lease;

(12) A stationary floating structure that:

(A) Does not have and is not designed to have a mode of propulsion of its own;

(B) Is dependent for utilities upon a continuous utility hookup to a source originating on shore; and

(C) Has no sewage facilities or has a permanent, continuous hookup to a shoreside sewage system;

(13) A vessel designated by the manufacturer as having a model year of 2016 or earlier, and any vessel manufactured or assembled prior to January 1, 2017, for which the manufacturer or assembler has not designated a model year; or

(14) A vessel for which a certificate of title has been issued by another state when this state has become the state of principal use for the vessel if one or more of the exceptions enumerated in this subsection apply to such vessel.

(c) The exceptions in subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to a vessel for which this state is the state of principal use that was a documented vessel or a foreign documented vessel when it becomes no longer a documented vessel or a foreign documented vessel.

(d) The department may not issue, transfer or renew a certificate of title for a vessel issued pursuant to the requirements of 46 USC 12301, unless the department has created a certificate of title for the vessel or an application for a certificate of title for the vessel and the applicable fee has been delivered to the department.

(P.A. 14-63, S. 6.)

History: P.A. 14-63 effective January 1, 2016.