Boat registration helps prevent fraud

Renewing or registering a boat now includes an extra step intended to prevent fraud or theft.

A state law passed to comply with federal regulations requires all boats registered in Arkansas to have verified proof of a valid hull identification number. Verification may be a legible pencil rubbing or a legible printed photograph of the number.

The purpose of a boat’s HIN is identical to the vehicle identification number on cars — both mark the vehicle or vessel with a unique number that can help prevent fraud and theft. Unfortunately, a standardized system was not in place in Arkansas to collect these numbers.

“We have roughly 200,000 registered boats in Arkansas,” said Capt. Stephanie Weatherington, boating law administrator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “When the DFA did a search in their database before the law went into effect, nearly 116,000 of those boats had either missing or incorrect HINs.”

Weatherington has received many calls about the specifics of the law, including the seemingly outdated “pencil rubbing or printed photograph” requirement. With modern technology why wouldn’t showing a digital copy work?

“The physical image or rubbing is supposed to be attached to the file at the DFA,” Weatherington said.

Owners of boats that do not have an HIN should contact Weatherington to work through the process of getting a new one issued. Using the boat’s make and year, she can track down the manufacturer and get a new number issued. If it is a homemade boat, she can issue a HIN after proper proof of construction.

“If it’s a remodel of an old hull, it still has to be looked up by that manufacturer, but in the rare case that it was built from the ground up by hand there are added requirements to issue the HIN,” she said.

Weatherington may be contacted at 501-223-6379.