BOATOWNERS! For information on HINs for boatowners go to HIN 101 for Boatowners. HIN 101 For Boat Owners Rev3.

US and Canadian Boat Manufacturers can skip the section on imported boats

Imported Boats: MICs and HINs

Imported boats, when entering the U.S.,  have to meet the same regulations as boats made in the USA. So what about the boats coming in that already have HINs. If the boat is from Canada, then the HIN is good in the USA (and vice versa). The USA has a mutual recognition agreement with Canada, and Canada is part of the Manufacturers Identification Code system. Canada assigns MICs starting with Q, Z and Y.

Boats from other countries that have an HIN, and a MIC assigned by their country of origin, are not accepted. The reason being that other countries, particulalry the EU, UK, Australia, France and others, have their own system of assigning MICs and use the same ones the USA uses, so a boat coming in from another country may have the same MIC as a boat built in the USA. However, the U.S. Coast Guard has no jurisdiction over a foreign manufacturer, but they do have jurisdiction over boats sold in the USA.  Therefore,  the Coast Guard requires that companies that import boats have a U.S. agent. This can be anyone physically in the U.S. A foreign company doesn't have to open a branch office here or send their own agent here (but they can if they so wish). They can simply contract with someone to represent them. Then the Coast Guard assigns a MIC to the agent and all the boats imported by that agent will have that MIC, and the agent will assign HINs to the boats. Sound complicated? It can be because some agents import more than one brand of boat. Plus that, imported boats often slip through the cracks in the system and cause confusion at the state registration level.

So if you want to import boats from Canada, you're all set. If the boats have a MIC assigned by Canada then you don't need a U.S. MIC. But if another foreign company wants to import boats into the USA they need an agent who has a U.S. MIC, or if you are importing boats you need a U.S. MIC.

Also, the Coast Guard does not and will not assign a MIC to a foreign builder. As stated above, they have no jurisdiction over a builder outside the U.S.  This does not mean that the manufacture can not put a U.S. MIC and HIN on a boat destined for import to the U.S. The agent can give them the HIN numbers and they can put them on during manufacture.  This will expedite the boats trip through customs. See Policy Letter at https://safeafloat.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BSX-23-Policy-23-02-Compliance-Guidance-for-Hull-Identification-Numbers.pdf  for guidance on applying a U.S. HIN to boats having a foreign HIN.

Importers need to continue reading the information below on how to obtain a MIC, and how to assign HINs.

U.S. Boat Manufacturers/Builders:

Who/what is a boat manufacturer/builder?

A boat builder/manufacturer is a person or company building recreational boats for sale to the public. They can build anything from one boat to thousands of boats. The crucial issue is, are the boats intended to be sold to the public for recreational use?

Some people don't want to get a MIC. They build boats, tell their customer to register it as a homebuilt boat, and get a state issued HIN. This is illegal under both Federal law and State law. It could result in a penalty.

Getting a MIC and assigning HINs costs nothing and does not involve navigating through a maze of government bureaucracy. There are no fees. Assigning a MIC is all handled by a small Coast Guard staff at Coast Guard HQ. The U.S. Coast Guard is going to ask you to complete an on-line course on Federal Regulations which only takes a few minutes looking at videos. They will ask for your address, phone and email. They will also ask what type of boats you are building and an estimate of how many annually.

New boat builders start here:

Commercial Boats: If you are building boats for commercial use and marking them "For Commercial Use Only" See Commercial Boats. Commercial boats do not have HINs.

Bare Hulls: There are a few companies or individuals who make bare hulls without any interior fixtures or engines. They sell them to manufacturers who then complete the construction, assign a HIN and sell them as recreational vessels. These bare hull makers are not boat manufacturers and do not need a MIC. But if there is a question contact the Coast Guard at 202-372-1077.

How do I get Hull Identification Numbers and a Manufacturers Identification Code for my boat building company?  (MICs And HINs)

New Manufacturers: Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What do I need to do to build boats and sell them?

See the U. S. Coast Guard's site for boat manufacturers at Safe Afloat for more information. You need to look at this site before you will be issued a MIC anyway.

Or:

Call the U S Coast Guard and request a MIC application. 

202-372-1052  Mr. Mike Jendrossek

Or:

E-Mail the U.S. Coast Guard at MICapp@uscg.mil.  Use this e-mail address for MIC applications only. For general inquiries call 202-372-1077

or write to:  

Commandant
U.S. Coast Guard
Chief, Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch (CG-BSX-23)
Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety
2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20593-7501

Look up the U. S Coast Guard's Boatbuilder's Handbook.  At the bottom of the page there is a link to download the Boatbuilder's Handbook in PDF format.

If you do the above, you will be assigned a Manufacturers ID Code (MIC). This will be a three character code that identifies you as the manufacturer such as:

ABC

This is a MIC. It will be the first three characters in the Hull Identification Number (HIN)you place on every boat.

Q. What is a Hull Identification Number?

An HIN is a unique number assigned to every boat. You assign this number.

Here's how.

The USA rules for HINs are in 33CFR Subpart C 181.21 -181.35

In Canada the rules for HINs are contained in TP1332

A HIN is a 12 character number that looks like this:

ABC12345L495

So, what does it all mean? The ABC is the MIC that identifies the manufacturer.

The next five characters can be anything you want to assign. It can be 12345, or 00001, or 0000A, or 32001. Whatever you want to put in there except: O, I or Q. These characters look too much like zeros or ones. Some manufacturers use a sort of code in this area. For instance, if they build a 30 footer and this is the first one then they would use 30001. Others just assign consecutive numbers, 00001, 00002, 00003, etc.

The ninth character identifies the month when the boat was certified (or built, I will explain this later) as shown in the chart below. So if it's built in May the ninth character would be an E.

It works like this:

The tenth character is last digit of the year when the boat was certified (or built), for example if the year is 1997, then the tenth character would be a 7, or if it is the year 2000, it would be a zero. If it is a 2023 the number will be a 3.

The last two characters are the model year.  The definition of model year in the Code Of Federal Regulations is: For boats with model year 2018 or earlier:

33 CFR 181.3 Model year means the period beginning August 1 of any year and ending on July 31 of the following year. Each Model year is designated by the year in which it ends.

This means that if a boat is built between Aug 1, 2010 and July 31, 2011 then the boat is a 2011 model year.

Model year has Changed: Effective model year 2019

"On February 8, 2016 Congress included a provision within the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 that moved the start of the recreational boat model year from August 1st to June 1st , extending through July 31st of the following year. This change allows for a 14-month model year window for recreational boats, and the definition of model year can now be found in Title 46 U.S. Code, Chapter 4302. "  USCG Boating Safety Circular #91 Dated Fall 2018

46 U.S. Code § 4302 - Regulations

Do not designate a boat as a model year other than as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations.  Then cops will come around and start asking nosy questions. Also the owner will have a difficult time insuring the boat. The agent will suspect some sort of fraud if the model year is significantly different from the year built.

Q. Where do I put the HIN?

On boats with transoms it goes in the upper right hand corner of the transom. On boats without transoms, that is, rounded sterns or pointed sterns (as in canoes), it goes to the right of center if you are facing the stern of the boat. It should be just a short ways down from the gunwale, no more than two inches. It must be at least one quarter inch high and (here comes the hard part) permanently affixed. What does permanent mean. Well, it's permanent until if comes off.

Let's get to the point. The whole reason for having this number is to identify who made the boat, when it was made, and what regulations apply. Also the HIN has become a very effective tool in detecting and recovering stolen boats. So, put it where it can be seen. There is nothing that baffles me more than why a manufacturer would put the HIN under a swim platform. How in the world do they expect anyone to read it there? No, put it where a boarding officer, boarding your boat at sea can read the HIN with relative ease, not at risk of life or limb.

Q. Is that the only number I have to put on the boat?

No. You must also put an identical HIN somewhere else on the boat in a less than obvious location. Don't hide it where no one will ever be able to find it. Put it under a seat, behind a removable panel, under an easily removed fitting. It's there so that the number can be compared to the one on the transom if the boat is suspected of being stolen, or if someone suspects that the HIN has been illegally altered. (No one would do that, would they? Don't count on it!) . This secondary HIN has to meet the same requirements as the first, 1/4 inch high or greater, and permanently affixed.

Q. So why do I need an HIN?

Every recreational boat (that means any kind of recreational boat) sold in the U.S including imported boats, has to have an valid U.S. HIN. It's so you can track who you sold the boat to, and so the states can register the boats and know that they are not stolen.

Q. What does Certification Date mean?

When you put an HIN on a boat you are certifying (yes that means guaranteeing) that the boat meets all the standards that the law requires it to meet. That's why I said that the ninth and tenth characters are the certification date. Not really the date of manufacturer. This causes a lot of confusion among builders, dealers and the general public. That date can actually be from any time when you started building the boat until when you put it on the truck for delivery. For boats that are built in a short time, like production boats this can be as short as a day. For large yachts it can be more than a year.

Q.What if I build a boat for myself? Back Yard Boat Builders:

The state will assign the legitimate backyard boatbuilder a HIN when you register the boat. See State Boating Contacts.  This also applies if you build a boat for yourself, use it for a while and then sell it.  What matters is your intent when you built the boat. When you built it, did you build it for yourself?  For Example, Oregon has a form certifying you built the boat yourself.

However, if you think you can build a few boats, sell them and just tell the owner to tell the state it was a backyard built boat, think again. You may get away with it for a while but eventually they will catch you. Those computers are programmed to catch these things. And why go to all that trouble? I costs you nothing to get a MIC and it saves you and your customers a lot of trouble. See the above on how to get a MIC.

Q. Are there any other rules I have to follow?

Keeping Track of HINs:

The Coast Guard requires that you keep track of who you sold your boats to. This is so you can recall them if necesary. The easiest way to do that is to keep a list of the HINs and who bought it. It also is an easy way to track how many boats you have sold. If one ever gets stolen and a cop calls you looking for the location of the hidden HIN then you can easily cross reference it to the list of HINs, or if they have found a boat they can tell you the HIN and you can tell them who bought it.

Q. Kit boats: Does this apply if I make Kit boats?

Kit boats are backyard built boats, but kit boat manufacturers are still subject to the regulations. The law says a "recreational vessel manufacturer" is "a person engaged in the manufacturing construction, assembly or importation of recreational vessels, components, or associated equipment." This means that a kit boat manufacturer is subject to the same rules as any boat manufacturer and must obtain a MIC from the U.S. Coast Guard. They must assign Hull Identification Numbers and supply any required labels. Also they must supply instructions to the builder so that the boat is built in compliance with the regulations

Q. Can I change an HIN?: FAQs

Who would do such a thing?  Oddly enough, a lot of people do this.  The Federal Regulations say very specifically that you cannot alter an HIN once the boat has left the factory: Here's the words.

Sec. 181.35 Removal of numbers. No person may remove or alter a number required by this subpart unless authorized by the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

So where does it say I can't do it once it's left the factory?  In the original act, now in the U.S. Code, it says that a boat must be in compliance when it is sold, offered for sale, or introduced into interstate commerce.  That has been interpreted to mean that as soon as that boat leaves the factory it is in interstate commerce.  From that point the HIN cannot be changed.  Here is the actual wording.

A person may not-- (1) manufacture, construct, assemble, sell or offer for sale, introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce, or import into the United States, a recreational vessel, associated equipment, or component of the vessel or equipment unless-- (A)(i) it conforms with this chapter or a regulation prescribed under this chapter

Q. What if I made a mistake?

 You can write, e-mail, or phone the Coast Guard, explain the problem and ask for permission to make the change.   They will send you a letter which you should keep in your files, authorizing the change.

When will they not authorize it?  Almost never under any circumstances other than a bonafide mistake in putting the HIN on the boat.  Here are some examples that have arisen.

Q. What are Country Codes?

Country Codes: The International Standards Organization (ISO) has accepted the format of the U.S. HIN except they have added two additional characters as a code for the country of origin. The code for the USA is US.  For Canada it is CA.

So the complete HIN would look like this: 

US - ABC12345L495

You must leave a space, a hyphen and a space between the Country Code and the 12 character HIN. Below is a Canadian HIN.

This is a link to the ISO Country Codes English country names and code elements

As of January 1, 2017 States will be required to check an HIN when the boat is registered to insure it is in the correct format: 
33CFR 174.16(b) As of January 1, 2017, before taking any action relating to a vessel imported or manufactured on or after November 1, 1972, the issuing authority must determine whether the vessel has a primary HIN meeting the requirements of 33 CFR Part 181, supart C.

This means state agencies when registering boats will check to make sure the HIN is correct, not only in format, but is the Manufacturers Identification Code correct for the boat. Does it match the name of  the manufacturer. With some imported boats the HIN is not a valid U.S. HIN.  In the case that the MIC is not valid the state will notify the Coast Guard.