Free Boat Bill of Sale Template
A boat bill of sale records a boat changing hands: the boat, any engine and trailer sold with it, the price, the date, and the people signing. An outboard motor sold on its own has its own template.
Download the free template
A blank template you fill in yourself. Type into the PDF's fields in your PDF reader, or print it and write by hand. Choose Word if you want to change the wording first. The files are created in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us.
Updated October 1, 2026
This page covers the template and two sets of federal rules that touch it: hull identification numbers, and boats documented with the Coast Guard. It does not cover registration or titling of boats. Where we could confirm a state's rules for selling a boat, that state's boat page is listed under Boat Bill of Sale rules by state below, with its sources. This site's vehicle state pages, listed on the vehicle bill of sale page, are written for selling a car, truck or van.
What the template looks like
Boat Bill of Sale
This document records the sale of the boat described below.
Seller
Seller's full name:
Seller's address:
Seller's phone or email:
Second seller's full name, if there is one:
Buyer
Buyer's full name:
Buyer's address:
Buyer's phone or email:
Second buyer's full name, if there is one:
Show the whole template
Boat
Year, make and model:
Vessel name, if the boat has one:
Hull identification number (HIN), if the boat has one:
Length and hull material:
State registration number, if the boat has one:
Coast Guard documentation number, if the boat is documented:
Title number, if the boat is titled:
Engine included: make, model and serial number:
Trailer included: year, make, and VIN or serial number:
Other equipment included:
Share of the boat each seller sells and each buyer receives (for example, 100%):
Condition as described by the seller:
Price of the boat:
Price of the engine, if one is sold with the boat:
Price of the trailer, if one is sold with the boat:
Price of the other equipment, if any is sold with the boat:
The sale price below is the price of everything listed above.
Sale
Sale price:
Date of sale:
Method of payment:
The seller sells the boat, with any engine, trailer and equipment listed above, to the buyer for the price above.
Anything else the parties agree on:
Place and date of signing:
Seller's signature and printed name
Second seller's signature and printed name, if there is one
Buyer's signature and printed name
Second buyer's signature and printed name, if there is one
The hull identification number
Federal rules require a manufacturer to identify each boat it produces or imports with a primary and a secondary hull identification number, and a person who builds or imports a boat for their own use, not for sale, must obtain one (33 CFR 181.23).
The template has a line for the hull identification number, if the boat has one, so the boat in the bill of sale can be told apart from any other.
Source: 33 CFR 181.23, Hull identification numbers required (opens in a new tab) (ecfr.gov). Last checked September 21, 2026.
A boat documented with the Coast Guard
A bill of sale filed with the Coast Guard for recording — whether with an application to document a vessel for the first time, return it to documentation, or change or delete its Certificate of Documentation (46 CFR 67.223) — must, under 46 CFR 67.220, be signed by or on behalf of all the sellers, and must recite the names and addresses of the sellers and the interest in the vessel they hold, and the names and addresses of the buyers and the interest in the vessel each buyer holds. It must also meet all the requirements of subpart O of part 67.
Among those requirements, an instrument pertaining to a vessel that has been documented must contain the vessel's name and “official number”
, or other unique identifier (46 CFR 67.205(b)), and every instrument presented for filing and recording must bear the date of its execution and contain an acknowledgment (46 CFR 67.207(a)). Subpart O has other requirements that this page does not summarize.
This template is not built for filing with the Coast Guard, which files and records instruments at its National Vessel Documentation Center (46 CFR 67.213). The template has no acknowledgment, and it has signature lines for up to two sellers and two buyers.
Source: 46 CFR Part 67, Documentation of Vessels (opens in a new tab) (ecfr.gov). Last checked September 21, 2026.
Engine, trailer and equipment
An outboard engine or a trailer may be sold with the boat. The template has lines for the engine's make, model and serial number, the trailer's year, make and VIN or serial number, and any other equipment included, so the bill of sale shows what was part of the sale. It also has separate price lines for the boat, the engine, the trailer and the other equipment, and a line for the total sale price.
A trailer sold on its own has its own template.
Boat Bill of Sale rules by state
Not covered yet: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
For a state we don't cover yet, USA.gov has a list of state motor vehicle agencies: State motor vehicle services (opens in a new tab) (external site).
Frequently asked questions
What is a hull identification number?
It is the number federal rules require a manufacturer to put on each boat it produces or imports, as a primary and a secondary number (33 CFR 181.23). A person who builds or imports a boat for their own use must obtain one too. The template has a line for it, if the boat has one.
Does a boat bill of sale have to be notarized?
When a boat's bill of sale is filed with the Coast Guard for recording, 46 CFR 67.207(a) says every instrument presented for filing and recording must bear the date of its execution and contain an acknowledgment, and 46 CFR 67.3 defines what counts as an acknowledgment. This template has no acknowledgment. This page does not cover state rules for boats. Where we could confirm them, a state's boat page is listed under Boat Bill of Sale rules by state on this page.
What if there is more than one seller or buyer?
The template has name and address lines for one seller and one buyer, a name line and a signature line for a second seller and a second buyer, and a line for the share of the boat each seller sells and each buyer receives. The Word file can be edited to add lines for more sellers or buyers before printing.
Can the engine and trailer go on the same bill of sale?
The template has lines for an engine and a trailer sold with the boat, and for any other equipment included, so one document can list all of them. A trailer sold on its own has its own template on this site.