462A.77  Owner’s certificate of title — in general.
  1.  Except as provided in subsection 3, an owner of a vessel seventeen feet or longer in length principally used on the waters of the state and to be numbered pursuant to section 462A.4 shall apply to the county recorder of the county in which the owner resides for a certificate of title for the vessel. The requirement of a certificate of title does not apply to canoes, kayaks, or inflatable vessels regardless of length.
  2.  Each certificate of title shall contain the information and shall be issued in a form the department prescribes.
  3.  a.  A person who, on January 1, 1988, is the owner of a vessel seventeen feet or longer in length with a valid certificate of number issued by the state is not required to file an application for a certificate of title for the vessel. A person who, on or after January 1, 1988, purchases a vessel seventeen feet or longer in length which was registered with a valid certificate of number issued by this state before January 1, 1988, shall obtain a certificate of title for the vessel.
  b.  A person who is the owner of a vessel that is documented with the United States coast guard is not required to file an application for a certificate of title for the vessel and the vessel is exempt from the requirements of section 462A.82, subsections 1 and 2, and section 462A.84.
  4.  Every owner of a vessel subject to titling under this chapter shall apply to the county recorder for issuance of a certificate of title for the vessel within thirty days after acquisition. The application shall be on forms the department prescribes, and accompanied by the required fee specified in section 462A.78 and the writing fee specified in section 462A.53. The application shall be signed and shall include a certification signed in writing containing substantially the representation that statements made are true and correct to the best of the applicant’s knowledge, information, and belief, under penalty of perjury. The application shall contain the date of sale and gross price of the vessel or the fair market value if no sale immediately preceded the transfer, and any additional information the department requires. If the application is made for a vessel last previously registered or titled in another state or foreign country, it shall contain this information and any other information the department requires.
  5.  If a dealer buys or acquires a used vessel for resale, the dealer may apply for and obtain a certificate of title as provided in this chapter. If a dealer buys or acquires a new vessel for resale, the dealer may apply for a certificate of title in the dealer’s name.
  6.  Every dealer transferring a vessel requiring titling under this chapter shall assign the title to the new owner, or in the case of a new vessel assign the certificate of origin. Within thirty days the dealer shall forward all moneys and applications to the county recorder.
  7.  The county recorder shall maintain an electronic record of each certificate of title issued by the county recorder under this chapter until the certificate of title has been inactive for five years.
  8.  A person shall not sell, assign, or transfer a vessel titled by the state without delivering to the purchaser or transferee a certificate of title with an assignment on it showing title in the purchaser or transferee. A person shall not purchase or otherwise acquire a vessel required to be titled by the state without obtaining a certificate of title for it in that person’s name.
  9.  A person who owns a vessel which is not required to have a certificate of title may apply for and receive a certificate of title for the vessel and the vessel shall subsequently be subject to the requirements of this subchapter as though the vessel was required to be titled.
  10.  The buyer of a vessel sold pursuant to section 578A.7 shall present documentation that such sale was completed in compliance with that section.
87 Acts, ch 134, §4
CS87, §106.77
88 Acts, ch 1008, §2; 92 Acts, ch 1073, §1
C93, §462A.77
96 Acts, ch 1020, §1; 97 Acts, ch 23, §55; 2005 Acts, ch 137, §18; 2012 Acts, ch 1050, §44, 60; 2013 Acts, ch 140, §98; 2014 Acts, ch 1026, §143; 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §100; 2014 Acts, ch 1141, §72; 2019 Acts, ch 50, §16; 2019 Acts, ch 80, §8; 2023 Acts, ch 71, §112
Subsection 4 amended