1.3.1.4.2
Transfer Boat Title, and Register Boat with Virginia Department of Game and
Inland Fisheries (VDGIF)
You won't need to do this until you are ready to put the boat in the water, but since we are thinking about registration now, it's included here. You'll need the bill of sale and the prior owner's title and registration paperwork -- if they are not available, you'll have to do some extra legwork here to satisfy VDGIF (or the registration authority of whatever state the boat will be located in).
VDGIF
requires documentation from the prior registration of the boat, and I didn’t
have any paperwork for that.
Fortunately, the prior registration number was still on the hull (a
District of Columbia registration number, as indicated by the DC prefix) and I
phoned the DC Police Unit responsible for watercraft registration, and they
were able to fax me paperwork that VDGIF would accept. Otherwise I would have needed to obtain a
notarized signed affidavit from the seller (who had since moved out of town),
an unappealing prospect.