2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 11 - Registration of Snowmobiles, Motorboats and Limited Use Vehicles › Article 48 - Registration of Vessels › 2251 - Registration.

§ 2251. Registration.  1.  No  person  shall  operate  or  permit  the
  operation of a vessel on the navigable waters of the state,  or  on  any
  other waters within the boundaries of the state, except waters which are
  privately owned, unless such vessel is registered and numbered and bears
  a  current  validation sticker in accordance with the provisions of this
  article.
2. Issuance and period of validity. The commissioner is authorized  to
  register  a vessel, issue a registration certificate, validation sticker
  or stickers and assign a registration  number  to  such  vessel.  Unless
  otherwise prescribed by the commissioner, any such registration shall be
  valid for a period of three years unless, prior to such expiration date,
  it  is  surrendered,  cancelled,  revoked  or  suspended pursuant to the
  provisions of this article, or the  vessel  is  transferred  to  another
  owner.
3.  Fees.  The  triennial  fee  for registration of a vessel shall be:
  twenty-two dollars and fifty cents if less than sixteen feet in  length;
  forty-five dollars if sixteen feet or over but less than twenty-six feet
  in length; seventy-five dollars if twenty-six feet or over.
4.  Application. The owner of each vessel requiring registration under
  this section shall  present  an  application  for  registration  to  the
  commissioner,  or an agent designated by the commissioner, on a blank to
  be prepared and furnished by the commissioner  for  that  purpose.  Such
  application  shall  contain  or  be  accompanied by such evidence of the
  ownership of the vessel described in the application as may be  required
  by the commissioner.
5.  Renewal.  Every  owner of a vessel shall renew his registration at
  such times and in such manner as the commissioner  shall  prescribe,  on
  payment  of  the  same  registration fees as are provided in subdivision
  three of this section except that, in implementing the purposes of  this
  act,  the commissioner may schedule the commencement dates, duration and
  expiration dates of such renewals to provide for a cycle of registration
  renewals through the course of a fiscal year. For  registrations  issued
  for  less  than the three year registration period, a portion of a month
  shall be considered a month and the registration fee shall be levied  on
  a prorated basis.
6.  Change  of address. The owner of any vessel registered pursuant to
  the provisions of this section shall notify the commissioner in  writing
  of  any  change  in his address within ten days after such change occurs
  and the new address  of  such  owner  shall  be  noted  by  him  on  the
  certificate of registration for such vessel.
7.  Change  of  ownership.  Upon  the  change in ownership of a vessel
  registered pursuant  to  this  section,  unless  otherwise  provided  by
  regulation of the commissioner, the certificate of registration shall be
  signed  and  dated  by the owner and surrendered to the new owner and at
  the same time the commissioner shall be notified by the former owner, in
  a manner prescribed by the commissioner, of the name and address of  the
  purchaser, the date of transfer and the identification number.
8. Destruction, theft, loss or abandonment of vessel. The owner of any
  vessel  registered  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of this section shall
  notify the commissioner in writing of the destruction,  theft,  loss  or
  abandonment  of  such  vessel within fifteen days thereafter, and in the
  event of the loss,  destruction  or  abandonment  of  such  vessel,  the
  certificate of registration shall be surrendered with such notice.
9.  Duplicate  certificates of registration or validating stickers. In
  the event of loss, mutilation  or  destruction  of  any  certificate  of
  registration  or  validation sticker, the owner of the registered vessel
  may file with the department such statement and proof of  the  facts  as

  the  commissioner  shall  require  with  a  fee of two dollars, with the
  department, for the issuance of a duplicate or substitute.