Registering a boat in Florida can be a bit of a hassle. There are a large number of minute and hair splitting rules that you need to follow. The worst part is annual renewals; that can be a pain for those who do not like to get too near to bureaucracy. However, not registering a vessel that legally requires registration can cause a lot of grief with the law, in this case, the Coast Guard. Since the Florida waters are one of the main gateways of illegal drugs into the country, the law is very strict about keeping a good tab on what goes on around here. Registering your boat with the authorities is one good way to recognize an illegal drug trailer quickly, and therefore, at the cost of a little harassment to you, the state does enforce registration laws strictly.

If you have a paddle boat or a canoe, you need not register it with the state of Florida. But if your boat is using a motor for propulsion – any kind of motor, outboards that operate on gas or on electricity – you have to register them. It is the law. However, if your vessel is used as a ship’s life boat, no separate registration is required. Further, if your boat is used only on private waters, like a pond or a lake, it is exempt from registration requirements. All other privately owned vessels need to have a Certificate of Registration as well as a validation decal, within 30 days of purchase, from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Registration is easy, and can be done mostly online. You can download the required application forms from the website: hsmv.state.fl.us/html/forms. Registration fees depend on your vessel’s length; you must pay the correct fee and submit the right form to the local tax collector’s office at the county seat.

There are various very specific rules about registration decals that only a legislator can churn out. The thing needs to be renewed every year. It must be displayed in a very particular way. It has to be within six inches before or after the registration numbers that are displayed on the left (port) side of your vessel. The decal numbers need to be painted and displayed legibly. They have to be in block letters, 3 inches or more in height, and running from left to right.

Some of the other rules regarding displaying the decal number warn you to display the number in such a way that its color contrasts with the background and is clearly visible. There must also be either a hyphen or a space separating letters and numbers. Finally, and a little obviously, the numbers must be displayed above waterline.

These are a lot of rules, but you have to do them only once. Remember, however, that if your vessel requires registration, you are committing a crime if you are using it yourself, or allowing someone else to use it, without proper registration and displayed decal.