Owners of federally-documented boats with state titles will soon receive a letter from the Fish and Boat Commission explaining that, according to federal law, a boat may not be federally documented and hold a state title at the same time. PFBC records show that a small number of boats in Pennsylvania have both state titles and federal documentation. 

Owners of these boats (and financial institutions that hold liens on them) must make a choice:

If the owner chooses to retain the federal Certificate of Documentation (COD) for the boat, the PFBC will cancel the state certificate of title and will issue a refund in the amount of $15. However, before the PFBC can cancel the title, the owner must provide us with proof that the boat is currently documented. A boat owner may satisfy this requirement by sending us a copy of the current, valid Certificate of Documentation. The owner must also surrender the original certificate of title for the boat. If the boat is subject to a lien, the concurrence of the lienholder will be required.

If the boat owner chooses to retain the state title for the documented boat, the owner must provide proof that boat has been deleted from the federal documentation. A boat may be deleted from the COD upon the owner’s request. The owner named on the certificate must return the original COD to the Coast Guard’s National Vessel Documentation Center together with a statement setting forth the reasons why deletion is required. The request must be in writing and must include the boat’s official number. Additional information regarding deleting a boat from the COD is available on the Coast Guard’s web page (www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/vdoc/nvdc.htm) or by contacting them at the National Vessel Documentation Center, 792 T J Jackson Drive, Falling Waters, WV 25419, toll free number: (800) 799-8362; main number: (304) 271-2400.

Owners of federally-documented boats used for recreational purposes in Pennsylvania must still register them in Pennsylvania.  Only the registration decal is displayed on documented boats.  State numbers are not displayed on federally-documented boats.