23-2-512. Identification number. (1) The owner of each motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft requiring numbering by this state shall file an application for number in the office of the county treasurer in the county where the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft is owned, on forms prepared and furnished by the department of justice. The application must be signed by the owner of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft and be accompanied by a fee of $3.50. Any alteration, change, or false statement contained in the application will render the certificate of number void. Upon receipt of the application in approved form, the county treasurer shall issue to the applicant a certificate of number prepared and furnished by the department of justice, stating the number assigned to the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft and the name and address of the owner.
     (2) The applicant, upon the filing of the application, shall pay to the county treasurer the fee in lieu of tax required for a motorboat 10 feet in length or longer, a sailboat 12 feet in length or longer, or a personal watercraft for the current year of certification before the application for certification or recertification may be accepted by the county treasurer.
     (3) If the ownership of a motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft changes, a new application form with the certification fee must be filed within a reasonable time with the county treasurer and a new certificate of number assigned in the same manner as provided for in an original assignment of number.
     (4) If an agency of the United States government has in force a comprehensive system of identification numbering for motorboats in the United States, the numbering system employed pursuant to this part by the department of justice must be in conformity.
     (5) Every certificate of number and the license decals assigned under this part continue in effect for a period not to exceed 1 year unless terminated or discontinued in accordance with the provisions of this part. Certificates of number and license decals must show the date of expiration and may be renewed by the owner in the same manner provided for in the initial securing of the certificate.
     (6) Certificates of number expire on December 31 of each year and may not be in effect unless renewed under this part.
     (7) In the event of a transfer of ownership, the purchaser shall furnish the county treasurer notice within a reasonable time of the acquisition of all or any part of the purchaser's interest, other than the creation of a security interest, in a motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft numbered in this state or of the loss, theft, destruction, or abandonment of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft. The transfer, loss, theft, destruction, or abandonment terminates the certificate of number for the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft. Recovery from theft or transfer of a part interest that does not affect the owner's right to operate the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft does not terminate the certificate of number.
     (8) A holder of a certificate of number shall notify the county treasurer within a reasonable time if the holder's address no longer conforms to the address appearing on the certificate and shall furnish the county treasurer with the new address. The department of justice may provide by rule for the surrender of the certificate bearing the former address and its replacement with a certificate bearing the new address or the alteration of an outstanding certificate to show the new address of the holder.
     (9) (a) The number assigned must be painted on or attached to each outboard side of the forward half of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft or, if there are no sides, at a corresponding location on both outboard sides of the foredeck of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft. The number assigned must read from left to right in Arabic numerals and block characters of good proportion at least 3 inches tall excluding border or trim of a color that contrasts with the color of the background and be so maintained as to be clearly visible and legible. The number may not be placed on the obscured underside of the flared bow where it cannot be easily seen from another vessel or ashore. Numerals, letters, or devices other than those used in connection with the identifying number issued may not be placed in the proximity of the identifying number. Numerals, letters, or devices that might interfere with the ready identification of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft by its identifying number may not be carried in a manner that interferes with the motorboat's, sailboat's, or personal watercraft's identification. A number other than the number and license decal assigned to a motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft or granted reciprocity under this part may not be painted, attached, or otherwise displayed on either side of the forward half of the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft.
     (b) The certificate of number must be pocket size and available to federal, state, or local law enforcement officers at all reasonable times for inspection on the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft whenever the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft is on waters of this state.
     (c) Boat liveries are not required to have the certificate of number on board each motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft, but a rental agreement must be carried on board livery motorboats, sailboats, or personal watercraft in place of the certificate of number.
     (10) Fees, other than the fee in lieu of tax, collected under this section must be transmitted to the department of revenue, as provided in 15-1-504, for deposit in the state general fund.
     (11) An owner of a motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft shall within a reasonable time notify the department of justice, giving the motorboat's, sailboat's, or personal watercraft's identifying number and the owner's name when the motorboat, sailboat, or personal watercraft is transferred, lost, destroyed, or abandoned or within 60 days after a change of the state of principal use or if a motorboat becomes documented as a vessel of the United States.

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 285, L. 1959; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 219, L. 1961; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 336, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 348, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 45, Ch. 391, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 51, Ch. 511, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 514, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 52, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 124, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 45, Ch. 566, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 69-3504(1), (2), (3), (6) thru (14); amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 136, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 312, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 649, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 577, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 728, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 126, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 257, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 131, Ch. 574, L. 2001.