Michigan Boat History Reports

Michigan touches four of the five Great Lakes and carries one of the largest registered recreational fleets in the country, which is what happens when a state has more than three thousand miles of Great Lakes coastline and roughly eleven thousand inland lakes on top of it. The saltless big water runs from Detroit and Grosse Pointe out through Lake St. Clair and up the St. Clair River to Port Huron, north along Lake Huron past Harbor Beach, Tawas, Alpena, Rogers City and Cheboygan, through the Straits of Mackinac and the Les Cheneaux Islands, then west along Lake Superior to Sault Ste. Marie, Munising, Marquette, the Keweenaw and Copper Harbor. Down the Lake Michigan side sit Menominee, Escanaba, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Traverse City and both Grand Traverse bays, Leland, Frankfort, Manistee, Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland, South Haven and St. Joseph. Inland, Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake, Torch Lake, Burt and Mullett, Gun Lake and the Detroit River all hold registered boats, and Saginaw Bay holds a fleet of its own. Michigan splits the paperwork in a way most states do not: the Michigan Secretary of State issues certificates of number and certificates of title for watercraft, while the Department of Natural Resources runs the marine safety program in cooperation with county sheriffs under section 80120 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451. Registration sits in Part 801 of that act and titling sits in Part 803.

Michigan titles boats, but the trigger is a two part test that catches buyers who assume length alone decides it. Section 80302(1)(d) exempts from the watercraft title part only watercraft less than 20 feet in length that do not have permanently affixed engines, unless the owner voluntarily opts in, which means a 26 foot cruiser is titled and so is a 17 foot runabout with an inboard or an inboard outboard, while a 17 foot aluminum boat with a clamp-on or bolt-on outboard is not. Section 80302(1) also exempts out of state boats temporarily using Michigan waters, government boats, ship lifeboats and vessels documented by an agency of the United States government. Section 80307(1) requires the title application to be filed with the secretary of state within 15 days after the date of purchase or transfer, and section 80307(3) puts that duty on the dealer when a dealer sells to a general purchaser. Section 80311(1) charges $5.00 to process a title application or a duplicate, plus another $5.00 for expedited processing. Registration is separate and priced by length under section 80124(6): $14.00 for motorboats under 12 feet, $17.00 from 12 to under 16 feet, $42.00 from 16 to under 21 feet, $115.00 from 21 to under 28 feet, $168.00 from 28 to under 35 feet, $244.00 from 35 to under 42 feet, $280.00 from 42 to under 50 feet, $448.00 at 50 feet and over, a flat $23.00 for pontoon vessels regardless of size, $14.00 for motorized canoes, $9.00 for nonpowered vessels and $5.00 for nonmotorized canoes and kayaks. Certificates of number run on a three year cycle expiring March 31, section 80124(8) makes payment of that fee an exemption from the general property tax act, and section 80125(5) gives a buyer 15 days to apply for transfer of the certificate of number on payment of a $2.00 transfer fee.

The Michigan lien record has a wrinkle that surprises people, and it is the reason a seller with a financed boat may hand you nothing at all. Section 80320(3) makes receipt by the secretary of state of a properly tendered title application on which a security interest is to be indicated the condition of perfection, and states that it is equivalent to filing a financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code, 1962 PA 174. Section 80320(1) puts the notation on the face of the certificate and section 80320(2) requires the holder to note the discharge over a signature when the debt is paid. But section 80320(4) lets the Department of State require that watercraft lien transactions be conducted electronically, and when it does, the department is not required to issue a certificate of title to the owner or the lienholder at all while the lien is live, and section 80320(5) lets a secured receipt stand in for the certificate at payoff. So in Michigan the absence of a paper title is not automatically a red flag, and the presence of one is not automatically proof the boat is clear. The gaps beyond that are real. A boat under 20 feet with no permanently affixed engine is never titled, so it carries no state lien record. A federally documented vessel is outside Part 803 entirely under section 80302(1)(e), which puts preferred ship mortgages at the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center. Part 803 contains no salvage or rebuilt brand for watercraft, only the section 80313 duty to surrender and cancel the title when a boat is destroyed or dismantled, so a hull that sank, burned or was written off can be retitled with a clean face. And section 80137 makes vessel casualty reports information for the department, furnished for a $2.00 copy fee, and not admissible in a court. A HullTrace report works from the HIN instead: USCG-reported accident records, liens and mortgages recorded with the National Vessel Documentation Center, salvage events, and open CPSC safety recalls. See our guides on how to check boat history and what a HIN is for the step by step process.

• +Run the two part title test before anything else, because in Michigan length alone does not answer it. Section 80302(1)(d) exempts from the watercraft title part only watercraft less than 20 feet in length that do not have permanently affixed engines, so measure the hull and then look at how the power is mounted. Twenty feet and over is titled no matter what pushes it. Under 20 feet is titled anyway if the engine is permanently affixed, which is why a 17 foot inboard outboard runabout needs a title while a 17 foot tiller boat with a bolt-on outboard does not. Get that answer right before you hand over money, because section 80318(a) makes it unlawful to operate a watercraft for which a certificate of title is required without having one, section 80307(1) gives you only 15 days after the date of purchase or transfer to file the application, and section 80319(1)(h) makes it an offense to sell or transfer a watercraft without delivering an assigned certificate of title to the purchaser. Section 80319(2) punishes the section 80319 offenses as a misdemeanor by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $5,000.00, or both. If the boat is under the threshold and untitled, understand what you are giving up: no state title means no state lien notation, and the bill of sale and the certificate of number are all the paper that exists.
• +Do not read a missing paper title as a missing lien, and do not read a paper title as proof the boat is clear. Section 80320(3) makes receipt by the secretary of state of a properly tendered application for title on which a security interest is to be indicated the condition of perfection of that interest, and makes it equivalent to filing a UCC financing statement against the watercraft, with priority over a lien creditor as defined in section 9102 of the Uniform Commercial Code. Section 80320(1) notes the interest on the face of the certificate and in the secretary of state files, and section 80320(2) requires the holder to note the discharge over a signature. Then section 80320(4) changes the picture: the Department of State may require all watercraft title lien and security interest transactions to be conducted electronically, and in that case it is not required to issue a certificate of title to the owner or a lienholder while it maintains the record of title electronically, issuing paper only after all liens have terminated or for retitling out of state. Section 80320(5) allows a secured receipt approved by the department to be submitted in place of the certificate when payoff is presented. Practically, that means you ask the seller for the payoff and the lender release rather than assuming the document in front of you settles it, and you remember that section 80319(1)(f) and (g) make it a crime to fraudulently indicate on a certificate of title that there is no security interest on record, or to forge a lender release letter, with section 80319(3) adding restitution to the lienholder in the amount of the outstanding lien.
• +Treat a federally documented vessel as a separate transaction, because Michigan law puts it outside the state title system. Section 80302(1)(e) exempts watercraft documented by an agency of the United States government from Part 803 entirely, so the Secretary of State holds no certificate of title and no lien notation for a documented hull, and section 80124 handles documented vessels through a decal rather than a certificate of number. Everything that matters on a documented boat sits at the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center: order an abstract of title and read it for preferred ship mortgages and notices of claim of lien, and confirm the vessel has been deleted from documentation before you try to title it in Michigan. This is the single largest blind spot on a Michigan boat, because the boats most likely to be documented are the 40 foot and up cruisers and sailboats on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, which are also the boats carrying the largest loans.
• +Assume the title tells you nothing about condition, because Part 803 has no salvage or rebuilt brand for watercraft. The only condition related provision is section 80313, which requires the owner and the person named as owner on the last certificate of title to surrender the certificate to the secretary of state when the watercraft is dismantled, destroyed, or changed in such a manner that it loses its character as a watercraft or is no longer the watercraft described in the certificate, at which point the secretary of state enters a cancellation with the consent of any noted lienholder and may destroy the certificate. There is no Michigan equivalent of the salvage and rebuilt titles the Michigan Vehicle Code applies to cars, so a boat that sank at its mooring, burned at the dock or was paid out as a total loss by an insurer can be retitled with a clean face. Price the Great Lakes into the inspection instead. Fresh water is kinder to hardware than salt, but Michigan boats spend five to seven months on the hard, and incomplete winterization is the classic Michigan failure: cracked blocks, split exhaust manifolds, burst raw water hoses, and freeze damage in heads and water systems. Add ice damage to hulls and lifts, storm damage from Lake Michigan and Lake Huron gales, and the blistering and osmotic damage that shows up in older fresh water layups. Section 80317 does file stolen watercraft reports with the secretary of state in the numerical order of the manufacturer or assigned hull identification number, which is one more reason the HIN is the number you check everything against.
• +Verify the hull identification number against every document and inspect the plate itself. Section 80308(2) says that if the watercraft carries a permanent hull identification number placed by the manufacturer, that number is the hull identification number, and that if there is no manufacturer number or the manufacturer number has been removed or obliterated, the secretary of state assigns one on a prescribed application including proof of ownership, to be permanently affixed or imprinted by the applicant at the place and in the manner the secretary of state designates. Section 80307(1) requires evidence of ownership for a boat with no previously issued Michigan title and no permanently affixed HIN to be accompanied by that certificate of assigned hull identification number. Section 80319(1)(d) makes it an offense to sell or offer for sale in Michigan a watercraft on which the manufacturer or assigned hull identification number is destroyed, removed, covered, altered, or defaced, with knowledge of it, and section 80319(2) sets the penalty at up to a year, up to $5,000.00, or both. A ground down, overpainted or freshly bedded transom plate is a reason to walk, not a reason to negotiate. If the number is legitimately missing on an older or homebuilt hull, that is a state assigned HIN application, not a shrug.
• +Read the accident file for what it is, then check the operator rules that travel with the boat. Section 80134 requires the operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident or other casualty to stop and give name, address and vessel identification to the other operator or occupants and to the owner of any damaged property, and section 80135 requires the operator to report it to the nearest peace officer, state police post, or the sheriff of the county where it happened. Section 80132 applies both of those to recreational vessels and to any vessel required to be numbered in Michigan. Section 80136 then gives the investigating peace officer 15 days to submit a complete report to the department and the county sheriff. Here is the limit: section 80137 makes those casualty reports without prejudice, for the information of the department, furnishes a copy to any person on payment of $2.00, and states the section 80136 report is not admissible in a court. So the state file is thin, request based, and evidentially inert, which is exactly why the HIN level federal record is worth pulling. On operators, section 80141(2) bars a person born on or after July 1, 1996 from operating a motorboat powered by motors totaling more than 6 horsepower on Michigan waters without a boating safety certificate, and section 80141(3) requires the certificate, or an electronic copy in a department approved format, to be presented on the demand of a peace officer. Section 80141(1) adds that a person under 12 may not operate a motorboat over 6 horsepower unless under the direct supervision of someone 16 or older who holds a certificate if born on or after July 1, 1996, and unless the motors total no more than 35 horsepower. Section 80142 requires every person under 6 years of age in an open deck area to wear a type I or type II personal flotation device, with a civil fine of up to $100.00.

Michigan vessel data is sourced from the Michigan Secretary of State watercraft title and registration records, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources marine safety program, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, at Part 801 for numbering, fees and marine safety and Part 803 for watercraft titling, the title exemptions at section 80302, the title application and fee provisions at sections 80307 and 80311, the security interest perfection rules at section 80320, the registration fee schedule at section 80124, the casualty reporting provisions at sections 80132 through 80137, the boating safety certificate requirement at section 80141, and the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center.

Every recorded ownership transfer in the federal and state systems.

Active and released liens — know if there's a secured creditor claim on the hull.

USCG-reported incidents including collisions, groundings, and sinkings.

Any record of total-loss or salvage operations tied to this hull.

Cross-referenced against the NCIC national stolen vessel database.

Active CPSC safety recalls tied to this HIN or model configuration.

Does Michigan require a title for a boat?

Yes for most boats, and the test has two prongs rather than one. Part 803 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, is the Watercraft Title Act, and section 80302(1)(d) exempts from it only watercraft less than 20 feet in length that do not have permanently affixed engines, unless the owner, lessee or operator voluntarily wishes to become subject to the part. So every boat 20 feet and over is titled regardless of how it is powered, and any boat under 20 feet with a permanently affixed engine, meaning an inboard or an inboard outboard, is titled as well, while a boat under 20 feet with a clamp-on or bolt-on outboard is not. Section 80302(1) also exempts a boat from another jurisdiction temporarily using Michigan waters, a boat owned by the United States, a state or a political subdivision, a ship lifeboat, and any watercraft documented by an agency of the United States government. Section 80307(1) requires the application for a certificate of title to be filed with the Michigan Secretary of State within 15 days after the date of purchase or transfer, and section 80307(3) makes the dealer responsible for obtaining the title in the name of the purchaser when a dealer sells to a general purchaser or user. Section 80311(1) sets the fee at $5.00 to process a title application or a duplicate, with an additional $5.00 for expedited processing. Section 80318(a) makes it unlawful to operate a watercraft in Michigan for which a certificate of title is required without having one, and section 80319(1)(h) makes it an offense to sell or transfer a watercraft without delivering the assigned certificate of title to the purchaser, punishable under section 80319(2) by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $5,000.00, or both.

How do I register a boat in Michigan?

Register with the Michigan Secretary of State, in person at a branch office, by mail, or online for renewals, which is unusual among states since most route boat registration through a natural resources or wildlife agency. Section 80122(1) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act bars operating a vessel of any length on Michigan waters unless the fees prescribed in section 80124 are paid, the certificate of number is on board and in force, and the identifying number and decal are displayed on each side of the forward half of the vessel, with a civil fine of up to $500.00 under section 80122(4). Section 80124(1) requires the owner to file the application for a certificate of number, and requires a dealer selling a boat that needs a title under Part 803 to combine the certificate of number application with the title application and obtain the certificate of number in the name of the owner. Bring a bill of sale, the manufacturer or importer certificate for a new boat, the assigned certificate of title from the seller for any boat that requires one, proof that the 6 percent Michigan sales or use tax was paid, and the hull identification number. Section 80124(6) prices registration by length: $14.00 for a motorboat under 12 feet, $17.00 from 12 to under 16 feet, $42.00 from 16 to under 21 feet, $115.00 from 21 to under 28 feet, $168.00 from 28 to under 35 feet, $244.00 from 35 to under 42 feet, $280.00 from 42 to under 50 feet, and $448.00 at 50 feet and over, with a flat $23.00 for pontoon vessels regardless of size, $14.00 for motorized canoes, $9.00 for nonpowered vessels other than canoes and kayaks, and $5.00 for nonmotorized canoes and kayaks. Certificates of number run three years and expire March 31, and section 80124(8) makes payment of the fee an exemption from the general property tax act. Section 80125(1) requires the owner to notify the secretary of state within 15 days if the vessel is destroyed or sold, if an interest is transferred, or if the address changes, and section 80125(5) requires a buyer to apply for transfer within 15 days on payment of a $2.00 transfer fee, with the registration fee prorated to two thirds if the certificate had a year or less left and one third if it had between one and two years left. Section 80122(3) gives a boat brought into Michigan as its new state of principal use 60 days before Michigan numbering is required.

How do I check a Michigan boat for liens?

Start with the title record, but do not treat the physical document as the whole answer, because Michigan runs an electronic lien and title system for watercraft. Section 80320(3) makes receipt by the Michigan Secretary of State of a properly tendered application for a certificate of title on which a security interest is to be indicated the condition of perfection of that interest, and states that it is equivalent to filing a financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code, 1962 PA 174, with respect to the watercraft, giving the perfected interest priority over the rights of a lien creditor as defined in section 9102. Section 80320(1) allows the secured party to have the interest noted on the face of the certificate on presentation of the application and the section 80311 fee, and requires the secretary of state to note the interest and date in the files. Section 80320(2) requires the holder to note the discharge on the certificate over a signature when the interest is satisfied. Section 80320(4) is the part buyers miss: the Department of State may require all watercraft title lien and security interest transactions to be conducted electronically, and in that case it is not required to issue a certificate of title to the owner or a lienholder while it maintains the record of title electronically, releasing a paper copy after all liens are terminated or for retitling elsewhere. Section 80320(5) permits a secured receipt in a department approved form to be submitted in place of the certificate at payoff. Section 80308(1)(c) and (d) require the title application itself to state any liens, mortgages or encumbrances and the name and address of the holder, or to state affirmatively that none is outstanding, and section 80309(2) puts a warranty on the assignment form that the signer is the owner and that no mortgage, lien or encumbrance exists except as noted on the face of the title. Section 80315(2) lets the secretary of state run a commercial lookup service of watercraft title records at $15.00 per individual record, while section 80130a restricts disclosure of personal information in those records to the permissible purposes it lists. Two gaps stay open: a boat under 20 feet with no permanently affixed engine is never titled and carries no state lien record, and a federally documented vessel is outside Part 803 under section 80302(1)(e), so preferred ship mortgages and notices of claim of lien on a documented hull sit with the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center. A HullTrace report checks the HIN against the records we hold: the HIN lookup is free and the full report is $15.

Do you need a boating license in Michigan?

Michigan does not issue a recreational boating license, but it does require a boating safety certificate from a large and growing share of operators, and the rule is set by birth date rather than by a phased deadline. Section 80141(2) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act bars a person born on or after July 1, 1996 from operating a motorboat powered by a motor or motors totaling more than 6 horsepower on Michigan waters unless that person has been issued a boating safety certificate. Because the cutoff is a fixed birth date, the share of operators covered grows every year, and anyone who was 30 or younger in 2026 falls under it. Section 80141(3) requires the operator, or the person supervising the operation, to present the certificate issued to him or her, or at that person option an electronic copy in a format approved by the Department of Natural Resources, on the demand of a peace officer who identifies himself or herself as a peace officer, and section 80141(4) makes clear that displaying an electronic copy is not consent to a search of the device. Section 80141(1) sets the rule for children: a person less than 12 years of age may not operate a motorboat powered by motors totaling more than 6 horsepower unless he or she is under the direct supervision of a person on board who is 16 or older and who, if born on or after July 1, 1996, holds a boating safety certificate, and unless the motorboat is powered by motors totaling no more than 35 horsepower. Section 80142 requires that every person less than 6 years of age in an open deck area on board a vessel wear a type I or type II personal flotation device as described in R 281.1234 of the Michigan Administrative Code, places that duty on an accompanying parent or guardian, exempts inspected charter boats, and sets a civil fine of up to $100.00. Section 80140 directs the department to establish boating education programs and youthful operator training and to issue certificates of completion.

What should I watch for when buying a used boat in Michigan?

Answer the title question first, because Michigan uses a two part test that a length rule alone will get wrong. Section 80302(1)(d) exempts only watercraft under 20 feet with no permanently affixed engine, so measure the hull and look at the engine mounting: 20 feet and over is titled, and under 20 feet is titled anyway if the engine is inboard or inboard outboard. If a title is required, confirm it is assigned to you properly under section 80319(1)(h) and file the application within the 15 days section 80307(1) allows, alongside the section 80125(5) 15 day window and $2.00 fee to transfer the certificate of number. On liens, ask for the payoff and the lender release rather than reading the paperwork alone, because section 80320(4) allows the Department of State to hold the record of title electronically and issue no paper certificate at all while a security interest is live, which means an absent title is not proof of a problem and a present title is not proof of a clear boat. Section 80319(1)(f) and (g) criminalize fraudulently showing no security interest on a title and forging a lender release, and section 80319(3) adds restitution in the amount of the outstanding lien, which tells you how often it is attempted. For a federally documented boat, order a USCG National Vessel Documentation Center abstract of title, because section 80302(1)(e) puts documented vessels outside Part 803 and Michigan holds nothing on them. Verify the HIN against the title, the certificate of number and the hull itself: section 80319(1)(d) makes it an offense to sell a boat with a destroyed, removed, covered, altered or defaced hull identification number, and section 80308(2) covers the state assigned HIN process when a number is legitimately missing. Then assume the title says nothing about condition, because Part 803 has no salvage or rebuilt brand and section 80313 offers only cancellation of a title when a hull is destroyed or dismantled. Inspect for the failures Michigan actually produces: freeze damage from incomplete winterization after five to seven months on the hard, cracked blocks and split manifolds, ice damage, Great Lakes storm damage, and osmotic blistering in older fresh water hulls. Finally, do not expect the state accident file to help, since section 80137 makes vessel casualty reports information for the department, available for a $2.00 copy fee, and not admissible in a court, so run the HIN for the federal record instead.