You’ve decided it’s time to sell or trade in your boat and trailer. As a boat dealer one of the biggest parts of our business is to make that transition as smooth as possible. Here in New Hampshire, the Title issue comes up a lot.

In the state of New Hampshire, you do not have to title your boat. But you do have to have a title on your trailer (depending on Gross Vehicle Weight and the age of the trailer).

Yes, this seems counter-intuitive. Your trailer spends most of its time sitting in the yard, not going anywhere. So why bother with all that title and registration stuff?

The main reason is that when you decide to sell or trade your boat and trailer, not having proper registration and titles (on the trailer) can bog down the process and create days, weeks or even months of delay. Who needs that?

In the State of New Hampshire if your trailers GVW is 3,001 pounds or greater and is model year 2000 or newer it has to be titled. No, if, and’s or but’s about it! All other trailers need to be registered. Regardless if it sits in your yard all year or not. If you want to sell or trade it, it has to be done.

Each state has different regulations on trailers. New Hampshire you need to title depending on the GVW and age, but all trailers must be registered. Maine requires no trailer titles, only registration. Pennsylvania requires all trailers to be titled and registered. Check with your DMV for detailed info in your state.

Many of our customers think ‘no big deal–I’ll worry about that stuff when I’m ready to sell.’ And then they start looking for the documents they need to show the registration or title on their trailers. Paperwork gets lost. The previous owner may not be available to help find the duplicate title. The boat dealer might be out of business. Now you’ve got a boatload of hassle and problems.

Take the extra time now to register your trailer and get it titled if necessary. File the paperwork someplace safe. Even if your trailer sits in the yard for the next ten years and you lose the paperwork, it’s much easier to request a duplicate copy from the state. Those guys usually don’t lose your documents!

Questions? Give us a call at 603-293-0700. We’ll be happy to help you begin the process.