For watercrafts that have been recently purchased, gifted, or are having ownership information updated on the title (such as adding/removing a name, or putting the watercraft into a trust name), please refer to one of the following scenarios:
Watercraft is or was previously titled in South Carolina
If the watercraft is currently or ever has been registered in South Carolina, our office will need to create a personal property tax bill prior to you sending your documentation to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR). To have an account created, our office will need the following:
- Driver’s licenses or photo IDs of the listed watercraft buyers (expired IDs are not accepted)
- The front and back of the signed-over watercraft title, or a bill of sale, preferably “Section H. Certified and True Bill of Sale for Watercraft and Outboard Motors” completed on the back of DNR’s Watercraft/Outboard Motor Application located here: Boating - Forms
The requested documentation can be submitted to us by completing the request ticket form linked at the bottom of this article. Copies can be scans or images taken from a smartphone, as long as the information is legible and preferably in PDF or a common image file format (PNG, JPEG).
Please be aware that if the watercraft is flagged through DNR as having outstanding or unpaid taxes within South Carolina, our office will not be able to have a bill created until the delinquent flag has been lifted by the county Treasurer in question. To determine whether your watercraft is up to date with taxes, you will either need to contact DNR at 803-734-3857 (Columbia) or 843-953-9301 (Charleston), or you can look up the status of the watercraft through their website here: Boat/Motor Status Search
Watercraft has never been titled in South Carolina at any time
If the watercraft has never been titled or registered in South Carolina, then instead of sending our office your information, you will instead need to submit your documents directly to DNR for processing, and a personal property tax bill will automatically be mailed to you at a later time. Our office is unable to create personal property tax bills for watercrafts unless they have an associated South Carolina title number, which is assigned by DNR.
If you are unsure, it is recommended to contact DNR at 803-734-3857 (Columbia) or 843-953-9301 (Charleston) to determine whether a personal property tax bill needs to be created for your purchase. You have 30 days to submit an application for a new or used watercraft with DNR before late fees are charged by their department.
Submit your information
To begin the process of having your watercraft registered if it has ever been titled in South Carolina, please provide our office the above applicable documentation by filling out and attaching documents to the request ticket form linked here:
Watercraft Request Ticket