Colorado Boat Title and Registration Requirements

Colorado does not issue boat titles. The state runs a registration-only system through Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), which means your bill of sale and annual registration card are the only documents proving you own the vessel.¹ That single fact shapes everything else about buying, selling, financing, and operating a boat in Colorado, so the rest of this guide walks through what to do in place of a title.

Which Boats Have to Be Registered

Any vessel with a motor or a sail operated on public waters in Colorado must be registered with CPW.¹ Length is irrelevant. A 12-foot fishing boat with a trolling motor and a 40-foot sailboat sit under the same rule. The authority is Colorado Revised Statutes Section 33-13-103, which makes it unlawful even to possess an unregistered vessel at a boat launch or staging area.²

Out-of-state boaters can use Colorado waters for up to 60 consecutive days on a current home-state registration, provided the number is displayed on the bow. Past 60 days, Colorado registration is required.¹

Three categories fall outside registration. Non-motorized, non-sail craft such as canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and rafts do not register, though they must be legibly marked with the owner’s name and address.² U.S. Coast Guard documented vessels skip state numbering but still owe the Aquatic Nuisance Species stamp before launching. Foreign vessels temporarily on Colorado water are also exempt.¹

Documents You Need Before You Apply

With no title in the system, CPW leans hard on paperwork, and incomplete applications get rejected. What you bring depends on where the boat came from.

New from a dealer: a Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO) or Builder’s Certification, plus a bill of sale.
Used from a private seller: a completed bill of sale showing buyer, seller, price, and vessel details. That bill of sale also serves as temporary proof of registration for up to 30 days while your decals are in the mail.
Previously registered in another state: the prior state’s registration or title certificate, properly assigned over to you, along with a bill of sale.

You also need a completed CPW Boat Registration Form, which asks for the hull identification number (HIN), make, model, year, and owner contact information. The HIN is a 12-character code permanently affixed to the vessel, usually on the transom, and it functions like a car’s VIN.¹

How to Submit Your Registration

You have three ways to file, though only two work for a first-time registration.

By mail: send the form, proof of ownership, and payment to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Registration Unit, 13787 S Highway 85, Littleton, CO 80125.
In person at a CPW office. Even walk-in registrations do not produce instant decals. Staff issue a temporary registration; the card and decals arrive by mail.
Online at CPWShop.com for renewals only. New registrations must go by mail or in person.¹

Keep the bill of sale on board until the permanent decals and card arrive. It is your legal proof of registration in the interim.

Fees and the Registration Year

Colorado registrations run January 1 through December 31 and renew annually.¹ The base fees, which include a $1.25 search and rescue surcharge, are:

Under 20 feet: $36.25
20 feet to under 30 feet: $46.25
30 feet or longer: $76.25

Every motorboat and sailboat also needs an Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) stamp: $25 for residents, $50 for non-residents. Online and postcard renewals bundle the ANS stamp into the total automatically. Coast Guard documented vessels owe no registration fee but still owe the ANS stamp.¹

Displaying the Number

Your Colorado registration number goes on both sides of the bow, on the forward half of the vessel, in block characters at least three inches tall and in a color that contrasts with the hull. Yearly validation decals sit to the left of the number on each side. If the boat carried another state’s number, remove it before displaying the Colorado one; no other registration number can appear on the bow.¹

Buying or Selling Without a Title

The absence of a title is where Colorado’s system creates real risk. In title states, the title itself proves who owns the boat and whether any liens attach. Colorado buyers do not get that protection, so the bill of sale has to carry the full weight.

Insist on a detailed bill of sale that lists the seller’s full name and address, buyer information, the sale price, the date, the HIN, and a description of the vessel. Both parties sign. CPW publishes a template on its website. Verify the HIN physically on the transom and confirm it matches the seller’s registration card. A seller who cannot produce a current registration card is a reason to walk away.

Sellers should keep a copy of the signed bill of sale and their old registration card. With no title to sign over, that paperwork is the only record showing the boat changed hands.

Liens and Financing

Since there is no title, a lender cannot record a lien on one. Boat lenders in Colorado typically file a UCC-1 financing statement with the Colorado Secretary of State to perfect a security interest in the vessel. Before you buy a used boat, search the Secretary of State’s UCC database against the seller’s name. An outstanding UCC filing means someone else has a financial claim on the boat, and buying without clearing it first can cost you both the boat and the purchase price.

The Trailer Does Need a Title

This one catches people. Colorado does not title boats, but it does title trailers. Trailers are titled, registered, and plated through your county clerk’s office, entirely separate from the CPW boat registration. Bring the trailer’s title or MSO, a bill of sale, and identification. Combined title and registration fees generally run about $50 to $75, depending on the county. When you buy a used boat on a trailer, get the trailer title signed over at the same time as the bill of sale for the boat. Forgetting the trailer title is one of the most common mistakes in private boat sales in the state.

Penalties for Operating Unregistered

Operating or possessing an unregistered vessel at a boat launch carries a $100 fine under state law.² A wildlife officer can ask to see your registration on the water or at a staging area, and being unable to produce it means a citation on the spot. Missing an ANS stamp brings additional penalties. Given how modest the registration cost is, there is no upside to going without.

1
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Register a Boat
2
Justia Law. Colorado Code 33-13-103 – Numbering of Vessels Required