Alabama, Most Difficult Registration Process In The Nation

[ApacheGuns515]

Hello all, don't mean to vent but well...I need to vent lol

 

My process of registering my small Bass Hunter has been nothing short of a nightmare. 

 

Just a caution for all, if you buy a used boat MAKE SURE IT WAS REGISTERED by the previous owner. 

 

I bought my boat used from a gentleman who owned a private pond and used it on his own property so the boat was not registered. Which is completely legal. I go to the local DMV to register the boat and that is when the nightmare began. I called the office to find out how to register it and was told I would have to contact the Marine Police since it was unregistered. I call the police and they ask me why I am calling them because its the dmv's job to decide if they want to register it or not. So I call the DMV back and tell the lady what they said. She says ok come on in and we will go from there. As long as I had the bill of sale I would be fine.

 

Well I arrive at the dmv and I provide the paperwork that I have. I was told that my bill of sale was not enough I had to have records of the previous registration. Well I explained to her that it wasn't previously registered and that I called earlier and was told it would be ok as long as I have the bill of sale. Even though it clearly states on the bill of sale that the boat was not previously registered she tells me its not good enough. I have to take the registration application form to the guy I bought it from and have him state on there that it wasn't registered and why. 

 

Heres the thing, the guy is gone. He moved and thats why he sold me the boat. I explained this to her as well and she says call the Marine Police and give them the hull number and they will say whether or not it was registered. So again, right in front of her this time, I call the Marine Police and they explicitly say there is no record of the boat ever being registered but its the DMV who will make the determination as to whether or not they will let me register it now. 

 

DMV says that I must then have a record of the boat being purchased from the store from like 10 years ago when it was first bought by the guy since its unregistered. Again I say I dont have contact with him he is gone. So I am told that I cannot register it without that. 

 

I am honestly about to just scrap the boat and count my losses and buy a fishing kayak. I would sell it but I dont want to put anybody through the hell I am going through. 

 

Any suggestions? I understand policy but there is no reason why it should be this difficult to register a 10' plastic boat. 

 

 

[Pz3]

Thats insane. Ive heard similare horror stories in FL. I would try to talk to someone in charge of the dmv.

[ApacheGuns515]

I spoke with the person in charge of that department and was told the same thing. Apparently it's policy that you must either have previous registration or the receipt from when it was originally purchased. It can't be registered without one or the other. 

 

I'm very irritated. I guess this is my own fault in the end for not thoroughly checking the laws before buying the boat. I just never even fathomed this sort of thing would be an issue. I now have $300 of wasted cash sitting propped up next to my house. 

 

I hate cut and dry rules some things should be on a case to case basis. I could understand if this were a large expensive boat or something. The thing is a plastic boat the size of my couch...

 

Looks like Im going to just be cutting my losses and have this be a lesson learned.  

[flyfisher]

Figure out if someone around at a local shop can help you out and get you a receipt from when it was purchased, AKA make you a new one.  I know when i had my road bike stolen i needed the receipt for the renters insurance claim but i didn't have it.  I talked to the bike shop and they gave me  receipt but it was where i originally bought it from, they just changed the date for me on a current receipt.

 

Normally i wouldn't say to go that route but at the same time there is no other way to get it done.

 

Maybe see if a buddy in a neighboring state can register it without the same hassle then you can have it transferred to you....just brainstorming here 

[ApacheGuns515]

Hmmm you know that might actually work. I'll talk to a few local shops around here and see if they can help me. I'll check into Florida's registration process and see how theirs works. I'm close to the Florida border and some buddies of mine live there not too far from me. Hopefully their registration office would be a bit more understanding. 

 

I'll look into those options thank you for your suggestions. 

[A-Jay]

I'm going to go the other way on this one.

 

Applying your efforts to follow the rules / obey the law, rather than attempting to circumvent the system,

is your best course of action.

 

The laws are what they are and you are most likely not the first human in the great state of Alabama to register a used, previously unregistered vessel.  I am willing to bet there have been a few other humans who have attempted to register a stolen vessel, which may be why you are finding this to be a most arduous process.

 

A-Jay

 

 

[FD.]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but Florida does not register non motor powered boats under 16'.

[ApacheGuns515]

I'm going to go the other way on this one.

 

Applying your efforts to follow the rules / obey the law, rather than attempting to circumvent the system,

is your best course of action.

 

The laws are what they are and you are most likely not the first human in the great state of Alabama to register a used, previously unregistered vessel.  I am willing to bet there have been a few other humans who have attempted to register a stolen vessel, which may be why you are finding this to be a most arduous process.

 

A-Jay

 

I have applied all of the efforts I know to follow and obey the law here. I have spoken to the DMV, the DMV manager, and the Marine Police. All have spun me around in circles and from the words of the DMV manager unless I have an original receipt of the boat being purchased or a previous registration it cannot be registered. 

 

I really don't want to try and skirt the system but I honestly don't know what to do right now. I understand the system is in place to stop the registration of stolen boats but my boat was purchased fair and square 2 weeks ago. As I said earlier I could understand such a protocol for larger more expensive boats but this is a tiny plastic boat. If somebody was going to steal a boat I doubt it would be this one...

 

I just find it very frustrating that I am having so much trouble simply registering a small boat that I purchased legally. As you said Im sure Im not the first person to try and register a boat like this but I literally have no idea what those others have done to remedy this situation. I have contacted everyone I can think of for solutions and all point back to the same thing. Its the DMV's choice whether or not they choose to register any vessel and they have chosen not to allow me to register mine. 

 

I don't really know what to do at this point would you happen to have any suggestions?

[Sam]

I would think the boat's manufacture would have the details on where the boat was sent for sale. Once you find this out from the manufacturer you can contact the retail outlet and find out if they can help you.

 

With so much on computers these days the records are somewhere that can be found.

 

As for the DMV and Marine Police, they are Bamasux fans. They probably take you as an upstanding and great guy meaning you are either an Awbun or LSU fan.

 

Solution:  Take some black gum and hide some teeth; dress like you just left a trailer park; say "Roll Tide" every other sentence; and let your hair grow out and don't' shave a for a month. By doing this the DMV and Marine Police will think you are a Bamasux fan and you will get the boat registered easily!!!!

 

Let us know how you do and Geaux Tigers!

[A-Jay]

I have applied all of the efforts I know to follow and obey the law here. I have spoken to the DMV, the DMV manager, and the Marine Police. All have spun me around in circles and from the words of the DMV manager unless I have an original receipt of the boat being purchased or a previous registration it cannot be registered. 

 

I really don't want to try and skirt the system but I honestly don't know what to do right now. I understand the system is in place to stop the registration of stolen boats but my boat was purchased fair and square 2 weeks ago. As I said earlier I could understand such a protocol for larger more expensive boats but this is a tiny plastic boat. If somebody was going to steal a boat I doubt it would be this one...

 

I just find it very frustrating that I am having so much trouble simply registering a small boat that I purchased legally. As you said Im sure Im not the first person to try and register a boat like this but I literally have no idea what those others have done to remedy this situation. I have contacted everyone I can think of for solutions and all point back to the same thing. Its the DMV's choice whether or not they choose to register any vessel and they have chosen not to allow me to register mine. 

 

I don't really know what to do at this point would you happen to have any suggestions?

 

Clearly you have done what you could given the circumstances.  Looks like you have walked into a set of circumstances that could happen to anyone.  Few ever have a states registration rules committed to memory in advance of making a purchase.

 Knowing what you now know, unfortunate as it may be, perhaps your best course of action is to resell this boat.  If you believe that it would be unfair to pass this burden on, you could tell would be buyers of the registration woes and let them decide what they want to do.

  Compared to what you've done so far and what you'll have a head of you attempting to satisfy the letter of the law, you might be better off simply making another purchase that will not follow this seemingly unwinnable path. 

 I do realize that is not even close to a desirable solution as far as your money is concerned, however there is a good chance you'll be a man of clear conscience when it's over; which has got to be a much better feeling than the one you have now.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

[Hyrule Bass]

check with his old neighbors, maybe they have a cell phone number or something of the guy you bought the boat from, or maybe they know where he moved. or maybe a different Alabama DMV office will decide to let you register it....

 

does the law even require you register that boat in particular?

[ApacheGuns515]

Well guys I was FINALLY able to get this thing registered today!

 

I never even thought to try something as simple as going to a different office in a neighboring city. Walked in with the paperwork that I had and the lady asked me why it wasn't registered and I said it was used on a private pond as stated on the bill of sale. I told her about the hell I was going through trying to get it registered. She simply says "So it was used on a private pond it's whole life because if it wasnt used on private property then I would need an original receipt from you so again are you telling me it was used on private property ITS WHOLE LIFE....right..is that what you are saying? wink"

 

I say yes thats what I am saying. She simply says ok no problem I just have to make a quick call with the Marine Police to verify that it wasn't registered and you will be on your way. So she calls, they say it was never registered and I'm in and out of the place within 10 mins with registration. When handing me my paperwork she just tells me that if I sell it make sure I give the new owner the registration so that they don't have to deal with the BS I went through. She said that other office are a bunch of well..."unfriendly" people and I'm not the first person to come to them after being frustrated with the other office. Happens about once a week she says. 

 

Can't believe it was that easy lol. i knew I couldnt have been the only person to ever have this problem. Turns out that if you have any problems like this just don't goto that particular office. 

 

Glad thats over with, thanks for all of your suggestions fellas. Now I can finally get on the water. 

[A-Jay]

That's really good to hear.

 

I realize that saying congratulations for what is commonly thought of as "routine paperwork" is a little weird, but in this case I think it applies. 

 

 

A-Jay

[flyfisher]

Makes me wonder what would happen if it wasn't registered and used on public water somewhere and no original bill of sale.....

[ApacheGuns515]

That's really good to hear.

 

I realize that saying congratulations for what is commonly thought of as "routine paperwork" is a little weird, but in this case I think it applies. 

 

 

A-Jay

 

Thanks A-Jay. I'm probably going to end up keeping this boat through thick and thin forever. Shes part of the family now after all of this mess lol. 

 

Makes me wonder what would happen if it wasn't registered and used on public water somewhere and no original bill of sale.....

 

Well from the demeanor of the lady at the dmv today I assume that I was "supposed" to have an original receipt for the boat since it was never registered. When she asked me what type it was exactly I said I wasn't quite sure the year but I showed her a picture of it from my cell phone. She saw it and chuckled and rolled her eyes and handed me my paperwork. She said "they gave you all that hell over that tiny little thing..."

 

Sounds to me like they do things on a case to case basis there while the other office deals with cut and dry rules. I'm sure if I were coming in there trying to register an untagged expensive bass boat or something things would have been different. 

[A-Jay]

Thanks A-Jay. I'm probably going to end up keeping this boat through thick and thin forever. Shes part of the family now after all of this mess lol. 

 

 

Well from the demeanor of the lady at the dmv today I assume that I was "supposed" to have an original receipt for the boat since it was never registered. When she asked me what type it was exactly I said I wasn't quite sure the year but I showed her a picture of it from my cell phone. She saw it and chuckled and rolled her eyes and handed me my paperwork. She said "they gave you all that hell over that tiny little thing..."

 

Sounds to me like they do things on a case to case basis there while the other office deals with cut and dry rules. I'm sure if I were coming in there trying to register an untagged expensive bass boat or something things would have been different. 

I agree with you.

 

 Boats are tracked by their HIN or Hull Identification Number.  As long as that number is intact and not otherwise altered in any way, if the boat had been registered any where at any time - they would know.  Additionally manufactures can track them that was as well.

 

A-Jay

[Crappiebasser]

That's crazy. I have probably registered 50 boats in AL through the years and never been run through the ringer like you were. Some of mine had very questionable lineage too. The ladies working in our clerks office ask very few questions. Glad they got it registered for you.

[BamaBassChaser]

Was the original office in Bessemer? Sounds like the way they do business, not to mention waiting 4 or more hours in line.