Think back to when you first purchased your boat: you were probably pretty excited. After all, you had just bought yourself a new hobby and pastime that you could share with your friends and family. With your boat, you probably made countless memories that you are sure to cherish for the rest of your days. Well, if you have outgrown your boat, or if you are looking to downsize, you can let someone else make memories of their own by selling your boat on Canada’s robust secondary market. You will first want to thoroughly clean your boat and make sure it is current on its maintenance, then you should create a dynamic listing with high-resolution photographs of your vessel. Once you have found a buyer and agreed on a price, there will also be some paperwork to complete, particularly if your vessel is registered or carries a pleasure craft license (PCL). Namely, you will want to fill out and submit a Transport Canada boat bill of sale.
Transport Canada is the nation’s government agency in charge of regulating our waterways. As a part of their duties, Transport Canada maintains documentation of vessel registrations and licenses, and as such, they prefer to stay informed when a vessel’s ownership changes hands. When you decide to sell a vessel that is registered with Transport Canada, the onus is on you to notify them of the transaction by submitting a bill of sale. You can do this in a couple of ways. You can opt to locate the correct form on Transport Canada’s website, download it, print it out, ink it by hand, and mail it in for processing. Of course, you can also do this online by working with us at the National Vessel Registry Center.
Who Needs to Complete a Transport Canada Boat Bill of Sale?
Whether or not you will need to complete a bill of sale with Transport Canada will largely depend on how your boat is documented. If your vessel has a PCL, you should provide a bill of sale to the buyer which they can use as proof of ownership, though there is not an official document from Transport Canada for this. Registered vessels are, however, a different story. In Canada, any boat traveling internationally under the Canadian flag, financed with a marine mortgage, or engaging in any sort of commercial activity must enter the Small Vessel Registry. When a registered vessel is sold, a Form 6 – Bill of Sale must be completed with Transport Canada.
To complete your Form 6 – Bill of Sale, you will need to provide some information about your boat, namely its official number and moniker, as well as some basic details about the buyer and seller. You can use our web forms and SSL-encrypted web portal to accomplish this online.
Use Our Forms Today!
We have forms for all of your Transport Canada documentation needs. To learn more about how we can assist you, take a moment to browse our website or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.