A. The application for a certificate of title and registration for a vessel or an outboard motor shall be upon a form furnished by the Oklahoma Tax Commission and shall contain:

1. A full description of the vessel or outboard motor;

2. The manufacturer's serial and model number or other identification number;

3. The length of the vessel;

4. The date on which first sold by the manufacturer or dealer to the owner;

5. Any distinguishing marks;

6. A statement of the applicant's source of title;

7. Whether the vessel is a documented vessel and the number assigned to such vessel;

8. Any security interest upon said vessel or outboard motor, or vessel and motor; and

9. Such other information as the Commission may require.

Every original or duplicate certificate of title and registration for a vessel or an outboard motor shall contain all items listed in this subsection.

B. To obtain an original certificate of title for a vessel or outboard motor that is being registered for the first time in this state or for a vessel or outboard motor that has not been previously registered in any other state, the applicant shall be required to deliver, as evidence of ownership, a manufacturer's certificate of origin or at the discretion of the Commission a copy of the manufacturer's certificate of origin properly assigned by the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer licensed in this or any other state shown thereon to be the last transferee to the applicant upon a form to be prescribed and approved by the Commission. A manufacturer's certificate of origin shall contain:

1. The manufacturer's serial or other identification number;

2. Date on which first sold by the manufacturer to the dealer;

3. Any distinguishing marks including model and the year same was made;

4. A statement of any security interests upon said vessel or outboard motor, or vessel and motor; and

5. Such other information as the Commission may require.

C. In the absence of a dealer's or manufacturer's number, the Commission may assign such identifying number to the vessel or outboard motor, which shall be permanently stamped, burned or pressed into or attached onto such vessel or outboard motor.

D. Every dealer selling new or used vessels or outboard motors and every individual not licensed as a dealer who sells a new or used vessel or outboard motor shall verify the hull identification number or serial number is the same as the number on the current registration of the vessel or outboard motor. The seller of the vessel or outboard motor shall sign a notarized affidavit, under penalty of perjury, affirming the numbers are the same.

E. 1. Before a homemade vessel is issued a hull identification number from the Commission, the vessel and the motor shall be inspected by a commissioned officer of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division of the Department of Public Safety or by any other employee of the Department or any other law enforcement officer of the state as the Commissioner of Public Safety may designate, pursuant to the rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Public Safety. For the purposes of this act, "homemade vessel" means any vessel not allotted a hull identification number (HIN) by a manufacturer, and specifically excludes any vessel upon which the hull identification number has been covered, altered, defaced, destroyed, or removed.

2. The Department of Public Safety is hereby granted authority and jurisdiction, pursuant to Article 1 of the Administrative Procedures Act, Section 250 et seq. of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes, to promulgate, administer and enforce all necessary rules deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

3. The Department of Public Safety shall prescribe all forms deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

F. It shall be unlawful to:

1. Improperly display or fail to display a vessel's hull identification number;

2. Operate or possess a vessel on which the hull identification number has been removed; or

3. Operate or possess a motor on which the serial number has been removed.

G. When registering in this state a vessel which was titled in another state and which title contains the name of a secured party on the face of the other state certificate of title, the Oklahoma Tax Commission or the motor license agent shall complete a lien entry form as prescribed by said Commission. A statement of the lien or encumbrance shall be included on the Oklahoma certificate of title and the lien or encumbrance shall be deemed continuously perfected as though it had been perfected pursuant to Section 4013 of this title. For completing the lien entry form and recording the security interest on the certificate of title, the Commission or the motor license agent shall collect a fee of Three Dollars ($3.00) which shall be in addition to other fees provided by the Oklahoma Vessel and Motor Registration Act.

H. Upon payment of all fees and taxes, a certificate of title, a certificate of registration and, for a vessel, two registration decals or, for an outboard motor, one registration decal shall be delivered to the applicant. Provided, yearly decals shall be issued for vessels and motors titled and registered to the Department of Public Safety.

Added by Laws 1989, c. 346, § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 1990. Amended by Laws 1992, c. 284, § 7, eff. Jan. 1, 1993; Laws 1997, c. 146, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 332, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1999; Laws 2005, c. 190, § 17, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.