How to Register a Boat Trailer in North Carolina
Standing in line waiting to register a boat trailer is hardly the way you expect to spend your precious boating time, but like caring for a dinged hull or "nursing her" through a stretch of river populated with sandbars, it's part of boating. Also, the money raised by the Highway Use Tax you pay to title and tag a boat trailer substitutes for a state sales tax. Registration for boat trailers in North Carolina is a privilege limited to North Carolina residents, with few exceptions.
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Things You'll Need
- North Carolina identification
- Form MVR-1, Title Application
- Form MVR-181, Damage Disclosure Statement
- Form MVR-615, Eligible Risk Statement for Registration and Certificate of Title
Instructions
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Go to the Vehicle and License Plate Renewal Office in the county where you are a resident.You are required to present a North Carolina driver's license or North Carolina state-issued identification card to register the trailer unless you are an active military person stationed in North Carolina or a college student attending school in North Carolina.
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Complete the "Title Application (MVR-1)" form and present it to the Vehicle and License Plate Renewal Office.
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Present a completed "Damage Disclosure Statement (MVR-181)" form for the trailer, as well, even if you add "N/A" or "Not Applicable" in the blanks where necessary. If you purchase the trailer from a dealer, you must also fill out the "Eligible Risk Statement for Registration and Certificate of Title (MVR-615)" form. These forms are available online at the NCDOT-Division of Motor Vehicles website as a PDF file.
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Pay the title fee, the license plate fee, the Regional Transportation Authority Registration Tax for Vehicles Registered in Wake, Durham and Orange Counties, if applicable, and the Highway Use Tax. As of August 2010, the Highway Use Tax is either $150 or 3 percent of the trailer's purchase price or value, whichever is greater.
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Tips & Warnings
You are required to register boat trailers within 30 days of your acquisition of the trailer.
The exceptions to the North Carolina identification rules also allow the registration of the trailer without North Carolina identification for the court-ordered sale of the trailer or if there is more than one owner.
References
- NCDOT: Division of Motor Vehicles-How Do I Title and Register a Vehicle?
- NCDOT Division of Motor Vehicles: Form MVR-1, Title Application
- NCDOT Division of Motor Vehicles: Form MVR-181, Damage Disclosure Statement
- NCDOT Division of Motor Vehicles: Form MVR-615, Eligible Risk Statement for Registration and Certificate of Title
- NCDOT Division of Motor Vehicles: Highway Use Tax
Resources
- Photo Credit parking remorques à bateaux image by Unclesam from Fotolia.com
