If the boat you purchased was manufactured prior to November of 1972, there is no Nebraska Title so you will need a "Bill-of-Sale" from the previous owner along with a copy of their registration to transfer ownership. The Bill-of-Sale must include the year, make, sale price, and (if available) the hull ID number of the boat. It will also need to be signed by the last registered owner of the boat.

Boats manufactured after 1972 are required to be titled in Nebraska as of 1997. If you purchase a boat that is newer than 1972, the previous owner is required to give you a properly re-assigned title to transfer ownership of the boat. You will also need a signed Bill-of-Sale from the owner that lists the year, make, and purchase price of the boat for sales tax purposes.

Title requirements vary from State to State on boats so if you purchase a boat from a state other than Nebraska, please contact our office to inquire as to what is needed to register it.

Please note the Nebraska Boat number that is displayed on the side of the boat when coming in to register for the first time. The original assigned Nebraska Boat number stays with the boat and will be reassigned to the new owner upon transfer of the registration.

Boat trailers are not required to be titled in Nebraska so often times the seller will just note the general trailer information on the "Bill-of-Sale" when selling a boat.

If you purchase a boat and trailer, please record the VIN of the trailer on the "Bill-of-Sale" so that we can better locate the previous owners information for the trailer in our system. If the trailer was previously registered in another county, we may not be able to access the information ao please write down the general information for the trailer before coming into our office to register. This should include the trailer manufacturer, # of wheels on the trailer, trailer length, and if it is a "tilt" or "non-tilt" trailer. We will also need to know how much weight you wish to register the trailer for. This includes the weight of the trailer and the boat. Trailer weight is registered in 1000 lb increments.

Brand new boats and trailers will have an MSO (Manufacturers Statement of Origin) for each item. The MSO will have all the necessary information needed to produce a Boat Title, and registrations for the boat and trailer. These statements will be assigned on the back, similar to title assignments, from the boat dealer to the purchaser.

Boat dealers will also need to provide you a Nebraska Sales Tax and Use Form 6 for sales tax purposes. We will need these forms to process the new registration. If you are purchasing a new boat and/or trailer from an Out-of-State dealer, they will need to provide you with a "Purchase Contract" that states the purchase price of the boat and trailer for registration purposes.