Sec. 104.6. Registration of boat dealers

(a) Section 2257 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law requires that any person engaged in the business of buying, selling or trading boats be registered with the commissioner as a boat dealer. However, that section exempts from the registration requirement, a person who sells no boats other than boats determined by the commissioner to be boats or devices which would not ordinarily be considered as usable for transportation on water. For the purposes of that section and this regulation, any boat or device which is not designed to be equipped with a motor by which it can be mechanically propelled, provided it is not sold with a motor for such use, shall not be considered as usable for transportation on water.

(b) A person applying for registration as a boat dealer shall submit to the commissioner the appropriate registration fee together with an application form or forms supplied by the commissioner completed and submitted in the manner prescribed on such form. A separate boat dealer registration must be obtained for each separate location at which a person is operating as a boat dealer.

(c) A dealer registration shall not be issued unless the commissioner is satisfied that the applicant has a place of business which is either owned by the applicant or leased to him for a period of at least one year, and such place of business contains a structure of sufficient substance to adequately provide for the transaction of business and to afford reasonable security for records required to be kept by the dealer. The commissioner shall require the applicant to display a sign or other acceptable means of identification visible to the public which contains the name of the applicant as it appears on the application for registration and the applicant's status as a registered boat dealer. In addition, proof of compliance with other statutory requirements, such as worker's compensation, shall also be required to be filed. However, the commissioner may issue a temporary registration pending final approval of an application.

(d) A registered dealer shall not hold a boat for sale on the dealer premises unless the dealer has acceptable evidence of ownership or evidence of right to possession of the boat nor shall the dealer sell or transfer a boat unless acceptable evidence of ownership is in the dealer's possession at the time of sale.

(e) As hereinafter provided, a registered boat dealer must either provide the transferee with acceptable evidence of ownership and a bill of sale which conforms to the requirements of subdivision (g) of this section or the dealer must submit such evidence of ownership and a copy of such bill of sale to the commissioner along with an application for registration on behalf of the transferee and the appropriate registration fee.

(f) Whenever a dealer issues a temporary registration the dealer must make application for registration (and certificate of title, if appropriate) to the commissioner on behalf of the registrant. Whenever a dealer transfers a boat which is required to be titled in this State and which is subject to a security interest, the dealer must make application to the commissioner for registration and title on behalf of the transferee. A dealer may make application for registration (and certificate of title, if appropriate) in this State for any other boat transferred by the dealer if the transferee agrees. In any case in which the dealer makes such application for registration (and certificate of title, if appropriate) in this State, the dealer must deliver to the transferee a copy of the application for registration, copies of all evidence of ownership, and the original of the bill of sale which he submitted to the commissioner. Whenever a dealer makes application for registration and/or title in this State on behalf of his transferee, such application to the commissioner must be made by mail to the central processing unit of the department.

(g) Bill of sale.

Every bill of sale issued by a registered boat dealer shall be consecutively numbered with a unique bill of sale identification number and shall contain the name and address of the dealer, the dealer's registration number, the name and address of the transferee, the boat registration number, if assigned by the dealer or previously issued for that boat, a complete description of the boat, including make, model year, hull identification number, hull material, length, type of propulsion, whether the boat is new or used, and a statement that all New York State and local sales tax has been collected.

(h) Temporary registrations.

A registered boat dealer will, upon request, be furnished with temporary registration certificates and a series of registration numbers by the commissioner which the dealer may assign upon the sale or transfer of a boat. After issuance of such temporary registrations, the dealer must mail a completed registration application, with appropriate documentation and the appropriate fee to the commissioner at the central processing unit of the department no later than five calendar days after the issuance of such temporary registration. He must provide the transferee with the temporary registration document properly completed in conformity with the instructions contained thereon. The dealer must also assign a registration number from the series assigned to the dealer by the commissioner, unless the boat being transferred was previously registered and numbered in this State.

(i) Required records.

(1) A boat dealer is required to maintain a permanently bound book of registry in which shall be recorded a complete description of all boats acquired for the purpose of sale, traded or sold, the name and address of the person from whom the boat was obtained, the registration number of the boat and the location of the boat, if it is being held elsewhere than on the premises described in the dealer registration. Boat description shall include make, model year, hull identification number, hull material, length, type of propulsion, if any, and whether the boat is new or used. The book shall also contain the name and address of the person to whom the boat is transferred, the date of sale, the number of the dealer's bill of sale, whether any temporary registration was issued, and if so the date of issuance, and the registration number of the boat. If the boat requires a certificate of title, the number of liens listed on the application must also be listed in such book. In addition, a copy of the bill of sale given to the transferee must also be maintained.

(2) When a purchaser trades in a boat not subject to the Certificate of Title Law, its registration must be completely filled out showing transfer of the boat to the dealer and must be signed by the transferor at the time of trade-in. If the boat is subject to the Certificate of Title Law, the certificate of title properly assigned to the boat dealer and signed by the transferor at the time of trade-in must be obtained by the dealer.

(3) All dealer records must be maintained for a period of five years. Such records shall be open for inspection by the commissioner or agents of the commissioner during regular business hours.

(j) If a person acts as both a boat dealer and a yacht broker, such person must both register as a boat dealer and certify as a yacht broker and must keep separate records as a dealer and as a yacht broker, including separate books of registry for each function.

(k) Dealer demonstrator numbers.

Upon request, the commissioner shall assign a series of demonstrator numbers to a registered boat dealer together with a set of two validating stickers for each such number assigned. The number of demonstrator numbers to be assigned can be limited in the discretion of the commissioner. It shall be the dealer's responsibility to fabricate each such number assigned in conformity with the dimensions required for registration numbers set forth in subdivision (3) of section 2253 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law in such a manner that such numbers can be temporarily affixed to any boat owned or controlled by the dealer and held for sale, for the purpose of sale or demonstration. Such numbers, together with the validating stickers shall be temporarily affixed to the boat being used for demonstration at the same locations that regular registration numbers and validating stickers are attached.

(l) A dealer retiring from business must return all registration forms, numbers and plates which may have been received by the dealer from the commissioner.