Free Connecticut Boat Bill of Sale
Connecticut boat sales run on two facts that surprise buyers. First, there is no boat title in Connecticut: vessels are registered (not titled) through CT DEEP, so the bill of sale and the seller's registration are the entire ownership paper trail. Second, the tax is lower than almost anyone expects: Connecticut cut the vessel rate from 6.35% to 2.99% on July 1, 2018 to stop watching its boat business sail to tax-free Rhode Island — and the reduced rate covers the boat, its motor, and a trailer sold with it. All motorboats and sailboats 19.5 feet and longer must be registered, with exemptions worth knowing: a vessel docked in Connecticut 60 or fewer days a year generally escapes CT tax, as does off-season storage and repair (October 1 through May 31).
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Connecticut Boat Bill of Sale — What You Need to Know
Sales Tax Details
Connecticut cut its sales tax on vessels from 6.35% to 2.99% effective July 1, 2018 — a deliberate move to stop losing boat buyers to Rhode Island (which charges nothing). The 2.99% rate covers vessels, their motors, and trailers sold with them, and is paid at registration.
Inspection Requirements
No state safety inspection applies to recreational boats in Connecticut sales. Voluntary US Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel safety checks exist but are not a transfer requirement.
Connecticut Boat Sale — Step-by-Step Checklist
- Draft a thorough bill of sale — HIN, make, model, year, length, engine HP and serial, sale price, date, both signatures. With no title in CT, this document IS the proof of the transfer.
- Verify the HIN on the hull matches the seller's registration certificate exactly.
- Seller signs over the current CT registration certificate and cancels or transfers their registration.
- Buyer registers the vessel through CT DEEP (motorboats of any length; sailboats 19.5 ft and longer).
- Buyer pays the 2.99% vessel sales tax — the reduced marine rate, not the general 6.35% — covering the boat, motor, and any trailer sold with it.
- Out-of-state buyers: check the 60-day docking rule — a boat kept in CT waters 60 or fewer days per calendar year is generally outside CT tax.
- Keep the old registration certificate with the bill of sale — together they are the ownership history a future buyer or insurer will ask for.
Common Pitfalls
- Budgeting 6.35% tax — boats have had their own 2.99% rate since July 2018; paying the general rate means overpaying by more than half.
- Expecting a title to sign over — Connecticut has none for boats; a seller who can't produce the registration certificate is the red flag to walk away from.
- Treating the bill of sale casually — in a no-title state it carries the weight a title carries elsewhere, so a one-line receipt is asking for ownership disputes.
- Forgetting the sailboat threshold — sail vessels under 19.5 feet without motors don't register, so their entire ownership record is the bill of sale chain.
Pro Tip
Connecticut boats: no title exists, so the bill of sale does the heavy lifting — and the tax is 2.99%, the deliberately-lowered marine rate, not the 6.35% most buyers wrongly budget.