Registering a boat from another state
A vessel carrying a valid registration number from another state must have that number recorded in Florida once the 90-day reciprocity period provided for in chapter 328 is exceeded.
What the section asks for
A vessel that carries a valid registration number from another state may be used in Florida on that number — up to a point. Once the 90-day reciprocity period provided for in chapter 328 is exceeded, the number has to be recorded with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles before the vessel is operated, used or stored on the waters of the state.
Recorded, not replaced: where the owner keeps the other state’s number in force, no Florida number is issued.
Two things this page deliberately does not say
The 90 days are not set in 328.58. The section refers to the period “provided for in this chapter”, so the figure itself lives in another section of chapter 328 — which was not read when this page was written. The reference is reported here as a reference, and nothing is claimed about how the period is counted.
And the heading is misleading for a European reader. “Reciprocity of nonresident or alien vessels” sounds like the section for a boat under a foreign flag; the text is about numbers from other states and from the Coast Guard. What a foreign-flagged yacht has to do is not in this section, so it is not on this page.
Worth knowing
- The number is recorded, not replaced. Where the owner keeps the other state's number in force, Florida records it rather than issuing the vessel a number of its own.F.S. 328.58
- Recording comes before using the boat. The section asks for the number to be recorded with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles prior to operating, using or storing the vessel on the waters of this state beyond the period.F.S. 328.58
- The 90 days are a reference, not this section's own figure. 328.58 points at "the 90-day reciprocity period provided for in this chapter". The period itself is set somewhere else in chapter 328, and that section was not read for this page.F.S. 328.58
- Foreign flags are not answered here. The section is headed "Reciprocity of nonresident or alien vessels", but its text deals with numbers from other states and from the Coast Guard. On a vessel under a foreign flag it says nothing, and neither does this page.F.S. 328.58
- The tax clock is a different clock. Registration and the use-tax exemption count different things over different periods. Do not read one from the other.F.S. 328.58 The 20-day rule for a visiting boat
Questions
How long can I use my out-of-state boat in Florida before anything happens?
The section works off a 90-day reciprocity period in chapter 328. Beyond it, the vessel's existing number has to be recorded with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles before the boat is operated, used or stored on Florida water.
Do I get a Florida registration number?
Not if the other state's number stays in force. The section has Florida record the existing number rather than issue a new one.
I am under a foreign flag. What applies to me?
Not this page. Despite its heading, the text of 328.58 deals with numbers from other states and from the Coast Guard; it says nothing about a foreign-flagged vessel, and nothing has been put here in its place.
Is the 90 days the same as the 20 days for use tax?
No. They are different sections counting different things: this one is about the registration number, the other about a tax exemption.