Boat reg. AZ to CA

[Mototrig]

With california being as ridiculous as it is I have to ask. Is it a seamless transaction transferring the title from an AZ seller to a CA buyer? Does CA DMV require an inspection? And can AAA handle the task?

I did a search on RDP and read a few conversations where members had talked about being a CA resident but registering boat + trailer in AZ. AZ charges a dollar amount per foot length of boat. But these threads were from 2012 I'd imagine things have changed since then.

I may be doing a purchase in the near future.

 

[77charger]

Probably easier than ca to az as a new resident.Ca will be happy to take your money

I need to wait 6 months to register mine or get hit with non resident fees in az although i bought house transferred vehichles,registered to vote,have a kid enrolled in school here too.To me not worth the extra cost for a few more months.

 

[King295]

With california being as ridiculous as it is I have to ask. Is it a seamless transaction transferring the title from an AZ seller to a CA buyer? Does CA DMV require an inspection? And can AAA handle the task?

I did a search on RDP and read a few conversations where members had talked about being a CA resident but registering boat + trailer in AZ. AZ charges a dollar amount per foot length of boat. But these threads were from 2012 I'd imagine things have changed since then.

I may be doing a purchase in the near future.

AZ titles need to be notarized (its an AZ thing) so get that done with the seller when you buy. The boat trailer will require a CA VIN verification. AAA or any local PD can handle this for you. I elected to hit AAA when I bought a boat with AZ registration and registered it in CA and it was straight forward. They will want the AZ plates as well (I told them it fell off on the way, no issue there).

On a side note, If you are buying anything old watch out for the VIN on the trailer being readable... one of mine wasn't but luckily I had it written on a piece of painters tape which was on the bottom of the frame rail which I got on the ground to read off for the lovely AAA lady to keep her from having to lay on the hot pavement.

 

[BigRedBryan]

I went thru this about a year ago, what a pain and it would of been more expensive to bring it to ca so I left it in az as non resident, they want you to do a coast guard inspection, make sure your boat has all its emissions bullshit if your boat is newer then 08 I believe(which mine is and would NEVER pass), and they will tax you on purchase price too, stay in AZ, much easier in my opinion... I dont think mine would pass any emissions in any state... lol

 

[Dkahnjob]

What Big Red Bryan said above, plus if you move the registration to CA you not only will have to pay sales tax but also will have to pay yearly personal property tax.

 

[Mototrig]

What Big Red Bryan said above, plus if you move the registration to CA you not only will have to pay sales tax but also will have to pay yearly personal property tax.

Property tax? On a boat? WTF!!!!

I went thru this about a year ago, what a pain and it would of been more expensive to bring it to ca so I left it in az as non resident, they want you to do a coast guard inspection, make sure your boat has all its emissions bullshit if your boat is newer then 08 I believe(which mine is and would NEVER pass), and they will tax you on purchase price too, stay in AZ, much easier in my opinion... I dont think mine would pass any emissions in any state... lol View attachment 923532

I'm looking at buying a much older boat '78-79 I don't think I'll have to worry about emissions. Getting a notary sounds like a PITA only because I would be in AZ for the day.

 

[oldschool]

I bought a CA registered boat and switched it to AZ non resident, no sales tax, no yearly property tax. Fuck California and double fuck the California DMV.

 

[BigRedBryan]

Property tax? On a boat? WTF!!!!



I'm looking at buying an RD member's boat, much older '78-79 I don't think I'll have to worry about emissions. Getting a notary sounds like a PITA only because I would be in AZ for the day.

Just go thru AZ fish and game and keep it there, well unless you boat a lot in CA, AZ fish and game are very helpful and make it very easy, just takes 30 days to process your transaction, and like others have stated, FUCK CA!!!

 

[Taboma]

AZ titles need to be notarized (its an AZ thing) so get that done with the seller when you buy. The boat trailer will require a CA VIN verification. AAA or any local PD can handle this for you. I elected to hit AAA when I bought a boat with AZ registration and registered it in CA and it was straight forward. They will want the AZ plates as well (I told them it fell off on the way, no issue there).

On a side note, If you are buying anything old watch out for the VIN on the trailer being readable... one of mine wasn't but luckily I had it written on a piece of painters tape which was on the bottom of the frame rail which I got on the ground to read off for the lovely AAA lady to keep her from having to lay on the hot pavement.

How do you do that on the sale of a boat in AZ when AZ doesn't have boat titles, only registrations ?

 

[King295]

How do you do that on the sale of a boat in AZ when AZ doesn't have boat titles, only registrations ?

Perhaps the notarization was only on the trailer.... I'm going off memory here from 5+ years ago. I wrote up bills of sale for both to be safe for the CA transfer.

 

[mash on it]

How do you do that on the sale of a boat in AZ when AZ doesn't have boat titles, only registrations ?

The Az boat registration is the title. Thru Az game and fish. Trailer needs a notary for the sellers signature on the title. Can be done ahead of time. Seller should have this done.

Dan'l

 

[Taboma]

Perhaps the notarization was only on the trailer.... I'm going off memory here from 5+ years ago. I wrote up bills of sale for both to be safe for the CA transfer.

I ran into this AZ requirement when I sold our CA Reg/licensed Jeep in Havasu, running around trying to find a notary to get the deal done. I've just always found it so odd that there's no title on boats, only the trailer, which in our case the boat since new has been non-res AZ and the trailer, CA --- maybe I'll just keep it as a future garage find for somebody Oh Lord, do I love buying things and Oh fuck, do I hate selling them.

 

[BigRedBryan]

If you have this paper, then you have the title...

 

[Taboma]

The Az boat registration is the title. Thru Az game and fish. Trailer needs a notary for the sellers signature on the title. Can be done ahead of time. Seller should have this done.

Dan'l

So no notary on the AZ Registration then ? Only the trailer because it's MVD, not G&F. Thanks.

 

[BigRedBryan]

So no notary on the AZ Registration then ? Only the trailer because it's MVD, not G&F. Thanks.

Sounds about right, but I have my trailer in CA and boat in AZ, haha

 

[BoatCop]

I ran into this AZ requirement when I sold our CA Reg/licensed Jeep in Havasu, running around trying to find a notary to get the deal done. I've just always found it so odd that there's no title on boats, only the trailer, which in our case the boat since new has been non-res AZ and the trailer, CA --- maybe I'll just keep it as a future garage find for somebody Oh Lord, do I love buying things and Oh fuck, do I hate selling them.

AZ Game and Fish doesn't have the capacity/infrastructure to develop and implement a title program. The MVD was gracious enough to offer to do it for them, but wanted to take it over completely, like CA DMV. Game and Fish, which is fully funded by their fees and licensing revenue, would have lost a good portion of their funding if they turned it over to MVD.

 

[Bedrock]

I bought a CA registered boat and switched it to AZ non resident, no sales tax, no yearly property tax. Fuck California and double fuck the California DMV.

You make it sound too easy, how did you do this? I may want to do the same thing.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

You make it sound too easy, how did you do this? I may want to do the same thing.

I think you have to go up to Kingman to the G&F office to handle this. Though I don't know if Havasu finally got any G&F satellite offices to avoid that trip (why on earth not)? Go up with your CA registration, let them know you live in CA and pay the out of state registration fees (way more expensive than AZ resident fees). They issue you an AZ number and stickers. Have the reg number on the boat repainted and apply stickers.

However, you still have to tell CA that its no longer CA registered so you don't get the Luxury Tax Bill and the Registration renewal in the mail. They will however, flip out because CA law says if you drive with it in/into CA it has to be registered in CA.

Im not sure if the trailer being CA registered placates them vs both being AZ.

 

[Done-it-again]

You make it sound too easy, how did you do this? I may want to do the same thing.

Simple, when you buy the boat take it to the Mohave MVD (Kingman) and register as a non az rez, if CA registered. Cost you a couple hundred a year for AZ reg.

Boat trailer is CA reg. But that is permanent plate.

 

[Bedrock]

Simple, when you buy the boat take it to the Mohave MVD (Kingman) and register as a non az rez, if CA registered. Cost you a couple hundred a year for AZ reg.

Boat trailer is CA reg. But that is permanent plate.

But you would still have to pay the sales tax in CA first right?


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[Done-it-again]

But you would still have to pay the sales tax in CA first right?


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No, if the boat is CA reg and you are buying it private party you just take the new to you boat right to AZ and reg as a non AZ rez. If from a CA dealer pretty sure the dealer will collect sales tax.

Buy said boat, but ask for 2 bill of sales. One for the trailer and one for the boat. You will pay sales tax on the trailer (reg in CA) when changing reg but not on the boat.

 

[DanG]

Quickstop in Havasu can transfer for you, but they are currently only open Th-Fr 9-3. Otherwise you can go to the Sun City location. They charge you a $40 convenience fee, but is worth it. https://quickstop1.com/

Take your CA title and bill of sale and have Quickstop transfer the boat to AZ non-resident. As long as private party, no sales tax.

As stated, make sure you have a separate bill of sale for the trailer so you can take that along with the notarized title to AAA or DMV to transfer trailer in CA.

 

[Mototrig]

Quickstop in Havasu can transfer for you, but they are currently only open Th-Fr 9-3. Otherwise you can go to the Sun City location. They charge you a $40 convenience fee, but is worth it. https://quickstop1.com/

Take your CA title and bill of sale and have Quickstop transfer the boat to AZ non-resident. As long as private party, no sales tax.

As stated, make sure you have a separate bill of sale for the trailer so you can take that along with the notarized title to AAA or DMV to transfer trailer in CA.

I just went ahead and Reg'd everything in CA. Good thing I only paid $1000 for the boat and trailer , reg was CHEAP

 

[samsah33]

I just went ahead and Reg'd everything in CA. Good thing I only paid $1000 for the boat and trailer , reg was CHEAP

Pretty sure that on the property tax for the boat, you can tell them that the boat is garaged in AZ (if that is the case...) and they will not assess the property tax on the boat since it is stored out of state. There should be a place on one of the forms for you to declare this.