Registration and titling in Michigan question - might be in trouble.

Ironhorse2022 · Oct 23, 2022

Hi all,
Bought a great boat and ok trailer last week in Illinois. For paperwork, I have the IL boat registration from two owners ago (PO never registered it in his name), a bill of sale, MC numbers and Illinois tags good to 2023 and no title for the trailer. I can only imagine what the SOS people are gonna say. The boat is short enough it doesn’t need a title. Worst case, I can try to claim the trailer as home made (which it may well be).
Any advice or words of wisdom before I go to SOS tomorrow ?
thanks

GTS225 · Oct 24, 2022

Well, is there any evidence as to those "interim owners" on the title/registration? If not, silence might be your friend for that 15 minutes.
If there is evidence, then total honesty is your friend. If they balk, see/get what documents you need to clear up the discrepancy.
Title not needed due to length? Yeah we sort of have that here in Iowa too. Boats to 8' with paddles get the pass. Hang a motor on it, whether trolling or small gas, and you have to register it. Kayaks and canoes out to 10' get the pass. You might want to check the laws on that motor part, just to be sure.....just sayin'.
No famiarity with Michigan's DMV laws, so I better stay out of that department.

Roger

airshot · Oct 25, 2022

Your safest bet is to talk to the Mich DMV !!! With that said, I recently bought a used boat/ motor/ trailer from a michigan owner. I am from Ohio.....simply put, Mi has no title requirements for any of it, registration papers only. I used all the registration paperscto get my Ohio titles. I checked wirh Ohio DMV before purchase....also a bill of sale from previous owner was required. Michigan is less restrictive on titles than other states, but do your homework first !!!

Ironhorse2022 · Oct 25, 2022

You might be right about that motor part …. come to think of it. I’ll look up the law. No evidence of the interim owners other than his name on the bill of sale. Quiet might be the right starting point and go from there. Thanks

Ironhorse2022 · Oct 25, 2022

Yup, heading to DMV tomorrow with the Old registration, bill of sale, old Illinois MC tags and old trailer plates. We’ll see if that pile is enough. Will report back.

GTS225 · Oct 26, 2022

Here's a story that might be relative.
I'm also an old car enthusiast, and one of my "breakfast club" had an old car that he had done a bunch of work to, and wanted to finally get all the paperwork in order. He lived in a county where a larger population was and bigger DMV office. He had called the DMV to query what all he needed to try to make this a success on one trip. The problem was similar to yours, where an uncle had originally owned the car, it got passed to a brother, then our "hero" inherited it, but it had never officially changed hands. The DMV tried to tell him he needed signatures from both of the deceased, or thier beneficiaries, which was an impossibility. The only thing he had that could prove his story was the document making him the heir to the brother. I suggested to him that he should go to the next county over, a more sparsly populated and rural county seat, and give that DMV office a try. He did just that, and got everything done with one trip, no circus dog hoops for him to jump through.

Sometiimes, the less busy governmental offices are a bit less concerned with "interpretations" of the official how-to manual.

Just sayin'.....Roger.....and good luck