U.S. tender and dinghy registration reference — all 50 states

Last reviewed: October 17, 2026.

How to use this list

This reference addresses recreational motorized tenders, especially a 9.9 hp dinghy, and whether lettering should use the tender’s own assigned number or the parent boat’s number with a suffix.

There is no universal U.S. “add -1” rule, and no universal 9.9 hp registration exemption. Washington, Vermont and Texas have specific parent-number-plus-1 provisions. Idaho also has a parent-number provision, with a character discrepancy needing confirmation. New Jersey and South Carolina have tender-specific exemptions requiring care.

“Standard” below means the cited source’s general motorboat rule calls for registration and the boat’s own assigned number. No parent-number exception was identified in that source. It is not a certification that every possible exception in that state’s laws has been excluded. Special tender provisions are described explicitly.

Scope: an ordinary resident/principal-use boat on waters subject to state registration requirements. Visiting boats, interstate reciprocity, foreign registration, commercial craft, federal documentation, taxes, fees and titling may have separate rules. A tender is not automatically an exempt emergency lifeboat. “Tender to [boat name]” alone is not a substitute for a required registration number.

For lettering orders, use the customer’s actual registration certificate unless a specific tender exception has been established. A parent boat’s USCG documentation number should not automatically be substituted for a state registration number.

State-by-state list

Registration lettering size and display: Where registration numbers are required, the letters and numerals must be at least 3 inches high (height, not width), in plain upright block characters that contrast with the background. Display the number on both sides of the forward half of the boat, reading left to right, with the required spaces or hyphens between groups. Larger characters are permitted. The federal tender-number provision applies the same display requirements to qualifying parent-number-plus-1 markings, including the suffix. This display standard does not itself determine whether a tender must be registered or qualifies for an exemption. 33 CFR §173.27.

Click a state name for its registration guidance or law. Historical sources are linked beside the date they support. “Statutory lineage” identifies an earlier law cited in the current section’s history; it is not a verified first effective date for today’s tender requirements. “Not verified” describes a research gap, not an exemption.

The “standard” entries apply at 9.9 hp and generally to smaller motors too; Hawaii’s lower threshold and the tender-specific exceptions are shown. Electric propulsion can also trigger registration.

Tender exceptions and points that affect lettering

Washington

RCW 88.02.570(7) exempts a qualifying tender with propulsion less than 10 hp: the same owner must own the validly numbered parent boat; the tender must display the parent number followed by 1; and its use must be solely direct transportation between parent and shore. Thus 9.9 hp qualifies on horsepower, but 10 hp does not qualify under this particular exception. Fishing or independent recreational trips do not satisfy the shore-transfer-only condition.

WAC 308-93-145(9) specifies 1 for the first tender, 2 for the second, and so on, separated by a hyphen or space. Example: WN 1234 AB-1. This is not a requirement to append “-1” to every separately registered dinghy.

A separate RCW 88.02.570(8) exemption concerns boats under 16 feet with engines of 10 hp or less used outside waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Do not apply that inland-water exception automatically to coastal or federally navigable waters.

History: the tender exemption appears in section 44 of Washington Laws of 1983, 2nd Extraordinary Session, chapter 3; section 67 made that section effective June 30, 1983. This establishes the statutory exemption’s age, not necessarily the adoption date of every current WAC formatting detail. Original session law.

Vermont

23 V.S.A. §3305(b)(3)(D) treats a tender under 10 hp to a registered motorboat as registered without extra charge. It must show the parent boat’s number followed by 1 on both sides of its bow. The cited subsection does not itself set out Washington’s explicit shore-transfer-only wording; do not assume all states’ conditions are identical. Statute.

Texas — tender exception, registration and titles

Qualifying tender: 31 TAC §53.91(d) waives the registration decal when the engine is less than 10 hp, the tender and validly numbered parent share an owner, and use is exclusively direct parent-to-shore transportation. Display the parent registration number followed by 1, for example TX-1234-AB-1, under the normal statutory display rules. A 9.9 hp engine meets the power limit; a 10 or 25 hp engine does not. Fishing or independent cruising falls outside this exception. Although §53.91 is headed “Documented Vessels,” subsection (d) refers to a parent with a valid certificate of number and gives a TX-number example; it does not expressly restrict that parent to USCG-documented vessels. TPWD supplement, §53.91(d); readable rule text.

Ordinary state-registered boats: TPWD requires registration for motorized boats on Texas public water, including while docked, moored or stored. A tender outside the special provision follows this general rule, using its own TX number and decals. Registration normally lasts two years. Registration requirements; TPWD transaction guide.

Titles and applications: Texas generally requires a title for the motorized boat and a separate title for its gasoline outboard. The tender decal provision does not state a title exemption. Use PWD 143 for boat title/registration and PWD 144 for an outboard title, with ownership evidence and applicable fees/tax. An ordinary recent 9.9 hp gasoline outboard is not exempt simply because it is under 10 hp. A distinct current exception covers outboards at least 40 years old and no more than 25 hp; it is not a tender exception. TPWD title guidance; forms; 2025 title-exception amendment.

Lettering for ordinary numbered boats: Put the assigned TX number on both sides of the forward half, reading left to right, in contrasting block characters at least 3 inches high. Separate TX, numerals and ending letters with spaces or hyphens. Place each validation decal in line, 3 inches aft of the number. Keep the registration certificate aboard.

USCG-documented boats: Texas registration can still be required. These boats display the validation decals on both sides of the bow, without displaying the assigned TX registration number; current federal documentation must be maintained. Their tender does not automatically acquire the parent’s federal documentation status. TPWD display and certificate rules.

History and interpretation: The final adopted rule contains the under-10-hp, same-owner, shore-transfer and parent-number-plus-1 conditions and took effect February 19, 2006. Texas Register, February 10, 2006, printed page 853. TPWD’s 2005 rulemaking explanation described allowing tenders to use the parent’s registration instead of obtaining separate registration and title. That explanation provides relevant context, although the operative subsection itself is written as a decal exemption. Confirm the current application and title treatment for a qualifying tender with TPWD, particularly any separate outboard title; do not apply the ordinary-boat paperwork instructions above automatically to an exempt tender. This review did not obtain a direct agency determination.

Idaho — confirm the suffix character

Idaho Code §67-7009(5) exempts qualifying tenders from numbering. Section 67-7003(27) defines a tender as under 10 hp, same owner as a validly numbered parent, displaying the parent number plus a suffix, and used only for direct parent-to-shore transport.

The 2025 statute reproduced by Justia and FindLaw prints the suffix as capital “I”. Older official administrative-rule material prints “1”. The current official legislature page was inaccessible during this review. Ask Idaho Parks and Recreation which character to produce before cutting lettering. Do not silently resolve this discrepancy.

Sources: §67-7003, 2025 reproduction; §67-7009; official 2022 pending-rule compilation. The pending-rule document is historical evidence of wording, not proof of the current rule.

New Jersey — tenders, ordinary registered boats and documented boats

Tender exemption confirmed in the numbering law: N.J.S.A. 12:7-34.38(h) expressly includes a tender used solely for direct transportation between a vessel and shore. MVC also lists that use among its title/registration exceptions. Neither cited provision specifies a 9.9 hp cutoff, a same-owner condition, or a parent-number-plus-1 requirement. Do not import Washington’s conditions into New Jersey. MVC guidance; State Police statutory compilation, §12:7-34.38.

Unresolved powered-tender interpretation: The statute groups the tender with “non-motorized” craft; the State Police’s April 2024 manual similarly groups it with “non-powered” craft. MVC instead lists shore-only tenders separately without that qualification. Consequently this review cannot certify that a 9.9 or 25 hp powered tender is exempt. The remaining question is motorized eligibility—not whether a tender exemption exists at all. For a powered tender, obtain an MVC/NJSP determination before relying on exemption; there is no verified NJ parent-plus-1 alternative. Fishing or other independent use does not meet the stated shore-transfer condition.

Ordinary state-registered boats: The State Police manual says powerboats require registration regardless of length, subject to applicable exemptions. A motorized dinghy that does not qualify for an exemption therefore uses its own assigned NJ number and valid decals. Being 12 feet or shorter does not by itself exempt a powered boat from registration.

Lettering specifications: Use NJ 1234 AB or NJ-1234-AB as the format, copying the actual assigned number. Place it on each side of the bow/forward half, reading left to right, in contrasting block characters at least 3 inches high. Keep other numbers off the bow. Place the validation decal on each side, 3 inches aft of the number; expired decals must not remain visible. Carry the registration certificate aboard. State Police Boating Safety Manual, printed pages 16–19.

Titling is separate: MVC says boats 12 feet or less do not receive a title; USCG-documented boats also do not receive an NJ title. Other boats generally need a title unless an exemption applies. For ordinary initial registration/title transactions, MVC lists BA-51 (registration), OS/SS-UTA (title), ownership documentation, identification, and applicable fees. Use the transaction requirements appropriate to a titled versus untitled boat. MVC applications and instructions.

USCG-documented parent boats: NJ-based documented boats still require state registration under the applicable residence/mooring rules, but do not display NJ registration numbers. They display validation decals on both sides adjacent to the main steering station on a visible vertical surface. This does not transfer documented status or a registration exemption to the dinghy. State Police manual, printed pages 17–18.

Question for the agency: Does the shore-transfer exemption in §12:7-34.38(h) apply to a gasoline-powered tender of the specified horsepower and length, or only an unpowered tender? If exempt, what identification, if any, must it display? This review checked publications; it did not obtain a direct agency ruling.

South Carolina — exemption verified, qualifications need care

S.C. Code §50-23-320(A)(7) exempts a vessel’s tender from numbering. Section 50-21-10(25) defines the tender by its attendant role, compliance with USCG requirements, and sole use ferrying supplies, passengers or crew between parent and shore. Those sections do not specify a simple horsepower threshold or a parent-plus-1 format. Confirm the applicable USCG-linked qualifications and marking with SCDNR; do not infer that every motorized dinghy qualifies.

Sources: numbering exemption; definition.

Hawaii — a different horsepower threshold

The state’s guidance exempts propulsion machinery less than 5 hp from registration. A 9.9 hp tender does not qualify on that basis; neither does an engine rated exactly 5 hp. No parent-plus-1 alternative was identified in the cited guidance. DLNR guidance.

How long have these rules been law?

The table distinguishes verified effective dates, dated legislative evidence, and unresolved original dates. Washington’s statutory parent-plus-1 provision took effect June 30, 1983; the adopted Texas provision took effect February 19, 2006. Alaska’s agency identifies January 1, 2019 as the effective date of the changes expressly including tenders. New Jersey’s 1980 legislative record contains the shore-transfer exemption, but its approval date should not be substituted for a verified operative date.

For other entries, a statute’s history may establish a legislative starting point without proving when the particular tender or horsepower language first applied. Original effective dates remain unverified for many states. A latest-amendment date, a renumbering date and a website-update date are not interchangeable with the date a requirement first became law.

Research limits

This is a sourced working reference, not a completed 50-state historical or legislative audit. Most standard entries rely on the state agency’s published general registration guidance; tender-specific exceptions received closer statutory review. Idaho’s character discrepancy and New Jersey’s powered-tender eligibility ambiguity remain unresolved. The source links allow the relevant agency or customer to verify applicability before an order is produced.