Boat Hull Number Validation
BoatWiki - Databases
Introduction
Feb 20, 2023 - This free boat hull number validation check is provided courtesy of Team BoatWiki. It offers a complete analysis of whether a particular HIN number conforms with federal regulations. The search is a must-have resource for any kind of boat transaction from ski-boats to mega-yachts.
Search Criteria
The search criteria will only allow for a standard 12 character hull identification number. It may not contain any hyphens or spaces. Although perfectly valid, the search will not validate most hull numbers issued prior to 1972 or those for boats not intended for domestic consumption. It will also not respond to country code prefixes or HIN number extensions.
Implementation
Upon entering a HIN number in the field provided, you may click the submit button. If the number does not conform with the input criteria, it will return a warning message and you can make a correction or click the reset button to clear the field for another attempt.
Results
If the number is accepted, the search page will be overlaid by a result page. This will show a message at the top indicating whether the number in within conformity. It will also show a breakdown of the overall federal formatting standards. The results may be printed by simply clicking the appropriate button. You finally return to the main search page by clicking either the return button or browser back button. Do not close the browser itself as this will also close the BoatWiki page.
Conclusion
A HIN number may not conform with federal standards for any number of reasons. The most common relate to a misreading from the boat itself and typographical errors in the title or registration documents. However, this could also be a red flag indicating it has been tampered with for nefarious reasons. In any event, this calls for an immediate investigation and steps should be taken to rectify any problem before re-registering or operating the boat. More information about hull numbers can be found by visiting the WikiTags for this page.
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