Boat Numbers: Licenced vs Registered?

Boat Number Licensing In Canada & Boat Registration In Canada

INFORMATION BELOW IS A SIMPLIFIED SUMMARY WITH REGARDS TO BOAT NUMBERING AND MARKING ISSUES IN CANADA. THERE ARE LINKS TO TRANSPORT CANADA WHERE YOU WILL FIND PAGES OF OFFICIAL REGULATIONS IF YOU ARE UNSURE AS TO WHAT YOU REQUIRE.

PLEASURE CRAFT OR REGISTERED VESSEL IN CANADA

There are distinct differences between a licensed pleasure craft and a registered vessel. Primarily the difference is that one is used for "pleasure" or non-commercial uses (that would be the pleasure craft), and the other is used for commercial purposes.

1). OVERVIEW OF PLEASURE CRAFT LICENCE & VESSEL REGISTRATION

PLEASURE CRAFT LICENSE NUMBERS FOR HULL - MINIMUM 3" (77mm)

You must licence your pleasurecraft if it is over 10 HP and used for non-commercial purposes. There is no fee to licence your pleasure craft but it is necessary for marine safety and identification. In Canada, minimum 3" BLOCK numbers that display your pleasure craft licence are to be affixed to the hull on both sides, as far forward as possible. These are to be contrasting in colour to the colour of the hull to which they are affixed. I hope that makes sense. We offer 30 different colours to choose from, in durable 7 year custom cut vinyl.

REGISTERED VESSEL REGISTRATION NUMBERS FOR HULL - MINIMUM FOUR INCH 4" (10cm)

If you register your vessel, for which there is a fee, you are required to use a minimum 10cm or 4" Marking on the both sides of the hull of your vessel. These include the vessel name and the port to which it is registered. You are also required to have information inside the vessel, and permanent markings etched or affixed regarding tonnage etc. See the official page here. For our purposes at boatnumbers.ca we can supply the durable 7 year custom cut vinyl for your hull for the boat name and port. You can choose from a variety of fonts and sizes from 4" to 10".

2). DETAILED OFFICIAL REGULATION LINKS FOR TRANSPORT CANADA LICENCED PLEASURE CRAFT AND REGISTERED VESSELS

2 A) Pleasure Craft Licence

Transport Canada has a requirement that pleasure-craft over 10 HP be licensed, requiring your boat license number to be displayed on the hull.

Please see below from their web page at https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/debs-obs-paperwork-paperwork_boat_licence-3211.htm

A pleasure craft licence provides a unique identification number - commonly referred to as the "licence number" - that an owner of a pleasure craft must display on the bow. This number helps law enforcement and search and rescue officials trace a pleasure craft to its owner. An owner must display the licence number on both sides of the bow of the pleasure craft, above the water line, in block characters not less than 7.5 centimetres (3 inches) high and in a colour that contrasts with the colour of the bow.

The licence is mandatory for all pleasure craft equipped with motors of 10 horsepower (7.5 kilowatts) or more, including personal watercraft.

What size do boat numbers have to be in Canada? Pleasure Craft

2 B) REGISTERED VESSEL CANADA

IN CANADA MINIMUM 4" MARKINGS are required on the hull. Please see the detailed information form the Transport Canada Site Below.

Q8. What are the marking requirements?

A8. Your Certificate of Registry is not valid until you have your vessel marked according to requirements noted on the back of your Certificate of Registry:

Name and Port of Registry:

For pleasure craft and air cushion vehicles, both the name and port of registry must be marked together on a clearly visible exterior part of the hull.
For commercial vessels, the vessel name must be marked on each bow and the vessel name and port of registry must be marked on the stern. If the vessel has a square bow, the name may be marked on a clearly visible exterior part of the bow. You may make the markings by any means and materials that result in durable markings. All must be at least 10 cm in height, made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals.
SEE THE COMPLETE REGULATIONS HERE.
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/oep-vesselreg-registration-menu-2311.htm

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