Nevada registration questions

M

maryvmcclain

New member
We own a home in Las Vegas and will be moving there as our principal residence by summer. Ideally, we'd like to register the boat in Nevada and completely keep it off the California radar. Its not a matter of sales tax differences, but we see no reason to register it in California in June, and re-register it in Nevada in July or August...especially since we will keep it in Nevada and not in CA.

Here's the issue, which I find very difficult to understand. Nevada has 2 departments.. DMV for the trailer, Bureau of Wildlife (or some name like that) for the boat. I called the Bureau of Wildlife and they said they can't register the boat unless they see it. And, while I didn't TALK to DMV, the Bureau said the DMV needed to see the trailer before registering it.

We had some thoughts about towing the boat home (from several states away)... or even doing some cruising on the way. How can we do this if the boat isn't registered in our name? The Bureau had no recommendations about what to do???

California does not require the boat to be seen/inspected, so we're halfway tempted to register it here first just to get this resolved.

If you have any thoughts on this subject, we'd appreciate some insight. We could decide not to trailer it back ourselves and just have it shipped to Nevada... but that doesn't sound as fun.

Mary
 
Don't know what it costs to register in California but NDMV and NDOW are a pain in the butt.

If you have California plates on your tow vehicle you are good for at least 60 days on the vehicle. Where are you going to be using the boat? I seriously doubt that anyone will be matching boat and car registrations any time soon. Then you can take care of things in Nevada after the season is over.

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV (Summerlin) and Ocean View DE
 
One note is that I believe boats are supposed to be registered in state of principal use (which may not be a person's residence state). Of course with a trailerable boat, there can be some leeway in that category, vs. a slipped boat, if you use or store it in even amounts in more than one state. But state of principal use is the theory.
 
In California, the county where the boat is located will access it for personal property tax. Your county of residence may hit you up for the tax based on the registration showing your address. The tax rate was the same as the real estate tax rate.
 
If we tow it and cruise a bit on the way home... don't we HAVE to have the boat and trailer registered to us? I know, we'll have a bill of sale, but...

Any thoughts on that? If we register in CA before we go pick it up, we still probably wouldn't have the plates. And the boat is going to be principally used and our principal residence is in NV. No way is the boat going to be stored here in CA on Jan 1... I am not getting stuck with property taxes here (I know there are also taxes in Nevada). I just hate for CA to even know about hte boat because explaining/proving that it lived in Nevada on Jan 1 after we just registered it here.. is going to be a hassle.

I just wish I could think of a way to do both: tow it home ourselves and have fun... arriving in NV so they can "inspect and register" the boat. This is just crazy to register it in CA for a month or two, just so we can drive it to NV to register it.

Mary
 
I'm not really worried about the tow vehicle registration... that can wait until we are in NV. But what about the trailer and the boat registration? Can we legally tow it and/or use it with just the bill of sale and insurance? Its one of those "chicken and egg" things, and I really wonder what people in Nevada who buy a boat out of state are supposed to do between buying and registering.

Mary
 
It seems to all depend on the states you will be towing and operating the boat in.

I think some states require a transit permit for the trailer if it is not yet registered in your name.

If you have a route picked out, you could start checking with the states involved.

Perhaps a notarized letter from the old owner giving you permission to be in possession of the boat/trailer would help.
 
maryvmcclain":394xhv1v said:
I'm not really worried about the tow vehicle registration... that can wait until we are in NV. But what about the trailer and the boat registration? Can we legally tow it and/or use it with just the bill of sale and insurance? Its one of those "chicken and egg" things, and I really wonder what people in Nevada who buy a boat out of state are supposed to do between buying and registering.

Mary
Click to expand...
Who knows? My advice, based on previous experience with between state moves, is just do it and then show up at the DMV with whatever papers you have. In one case involving a used trailer bought in Oregon and brought home to WA, it had no registration, license plate or title. I showed up at the DMV with my invoice from the dealer and the ball got rolling. If I recall correctly I had to rent a slip, dump the boat, take the trailer to the milk plant to have it weighed, take the results to the State Police to have it inspected and then back to the DMV to apply for a title and get it registered. Don't even ask about the "Affadavit of Ineritance" needed for this last boat previoously owned by a person who passed away. So, my advice is just show up at the DMV, either wear sunglasses or have a practiced faraway look in your eye. As the clerk there said to me, "don't worry, there is nothing new under the sun".
 
Is the trailer and boat still registered? It has not ran out right? If it does not have expired tags I would just not sweat it. Go have fun and stop where you like on your way home. If the tags are still good no one is going to pull you over to check them unless you get stopped for a traffic violation. You have insurance on the boat right? If so don't worry because really there is not much else you can do. Don't tell anyone but I use one trailer plate on two trailers because its dam near impossible to get one of my trailers registered here in Washington. Well I could do it but it would cost 5 times what I paid for the trailer to have it done. I only use this one trailer twice a year at most. Don't tell my wife.
 
Hey Tom, We won't tell Marc either :lol:

Actually, I never even saw that post :shock:

Anonymous :roll: :roll:

H.........y
S.........C :moon
 
Mary, If at all possible DO NOT register either the boat or trailer in California. If you do, part of the enjoyment of ownership will be lost to anger and despair!
 
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