1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a motorboat need not be numbered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter if it is:

(a) Already covered by a number in effect which has been awarded or issued to it pursuant to a federally approved numbering system of another state.

(b) A motorboat from a country other than the United States temporarily using the waters of this State.

(c) A public vessel of the United States, a state or a political subdivision of a state.

(d) A ship’s lifeboat.

(e) A motorboat belonging to a class of boats which has been exempted from numbering by the Department after the Department has found:

(1) That the numbering of motorboats of that class will not materially aid in their identification; and

(2) If an agency of the Federal Government has a numbering system applicable to the class of motorboats to which the motorboat in question belongs, that the motorboat would also be exempt from numbering if it were subject to the federal law.

2. If the owner or operator of a motorboat which is not numbered in this State is a resident of another state, and if this State is or will be the state of principal operation of the motorboat during a calendar year, the motorboat must be numbered and a certificate of number issued for the motorboat pursuant to this chapter. As used in this subsection, “state of principal operation” means a state in whose waters a motorboat is primarily operated during a calendar year.

3. The Department may, by regulation, provide for the issuance of exempt numbers for motorboats not required to be registered under the provisions of this chapter.

4. A motorboat need not be titled pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, if it is:

(a) Covered by a certificate of ownership which has been awarded or issued to it pursuant to the title system of another state; or

(b) Documented pursuant to 46 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.

(Added to NRS by 1960, 479; A 1963, 260; 1965, 1063; 1971, 759, 1380; 1973, 631; 1977, 134; 1985, 1965; 1993, 1648; 2003, 1570, 2823; 2017, 3640)