Boats propelled by machinery and electric motors must be numbered, regardless of length and type of motor. Boats excluded from numbering include unpowered kayaks, sculls and sailboards, documented vessels, and vessels with a valid temporary certificate. Documented vessels must be registered. In Pennsylvania, large pleasure boats, usually called “yachts,” which are documented with the U.S. Coast Guard, also must be numbered in the state of principal use.

• Read from left to right.
• Be painted or permanently attached to each side on the forward half of the vessel where no other number may be displayed.
• Be of bold, block letters in good proportion.
• Be of a contrasting color to the background.
• Be at least 3 inches high.
• Be nearly as vertical as possible and easily observed.
• Be separated by a hyphen or space equal to the width of any letter or number except “I” or “1”.
• Have a current registration decal within 6 inches on the same level (before or following number).

All motorboats and boats powered by electric motors must be registered. Registrations are renewed on a two-year cycle and expire on March 31 of the second year. Registrations are valid on issuance from the Commission’s Licensing and Registration Section. Registration forms may be obtained from the Fish & Boat Commission’s web site, regional offices, Licensing and Registration Section, most county treasurers, certified issuing agents and many marine dealers.

Boat registration fees are as follows:

• $18 Unpowered boats
• $26 Boats less than 16 feet
• $39 Boats 16 feet to less than 20 feet
• $52 Boats over 20 feet

Note: Boats with unpowered boat registrations may NOT be equipped with gasoline or electric motors or any other mechanical propulsion and be operated on Pennsylvania waterways.

Upon the completion of the application and the payment of the fee, a registration card and two validation decals will be issued. The certificate of boat registration is your registration card and must be onboard the boat during operation. The certificate indicates the boat registration number that must be displayed on the boat. The PA registration number, issued with the original certificate of boat registration, stays with the boat as long as it is registered in Pennsylvania. It is the boat owner’s responsibility to purchase the numbers and letters to display the registration number on the boat.

Display the number and validation decal on the bow of the boat as shown. No other number may be displayed on either side of the bow. These numbers may not be removed, altered, tampered with, or defaced except by the owner or representative. Documented vessels, as well as kayaks, sculls, sailboards, and other low-volume boats of similar design, are exempt from the display of numbers but they must display the validation decal. Inflatable boats may carry their numbers and validation decal on boards lashed to each side of the bow. Canoes are not exempt and must display the numbers and the decal.