(A) A vessel is not required to be numbered under this chapter if it is:

(1) covered by a certificate of number in effect which has been issued to it pursuant to federal law;

(2) a federally approved numbering system of another state. However, this vessel must not be held or used in this State for more than sixty consecutive days;

(3) from a country other than the United States and temporarily using the waters of this State;

(4) a vessel whose owner is the United States except recreational-type vessels;

(5) a vessel whose owner is the United States, a state, or political subdivision to a state used for governmental purposes and which is clearly identifiable as such;

(6) a vessel's lifeboat if the boat is used solely for lifesaving purposes;

(7) a vessel's tender;

(8) boats designed, constructed, and used for racing;

(9) a vessel belonging to a class of boats which has been exempted from numbering by the department after the department has found that the federal government has exempted the vessel or class of vessels from their numbering provisions or as otherwise permitted by the federal government;

(10) documented by the United States Coast Guard or a federal agency successor to it;

(11) used under authority of a valid temporary certificate of number issued by the department or its agent; or

(12) a sailboat or paddle boat when no propulsion machinery of any description is installed in or attached to the boat.

(B) Nothing in this chapter prohibits the numbering of an undocumented vessel upon request by the owner even though the vessel is exempt from the numbering requirements of this chapter.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 70-295.22; 1955 (49) 299; 1959 (51) 409; 1961 (52) 588; 1972 (57) 2791; 1993 Act No. 128, Section 5; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1269; 1999 Act No. 124, Section 2.N, T; 2008 Act No. 344, Section 24, eff six months after approval (approved June 11, 2008).

Editor's Note

1999 Act No. 124, Section 2.T, provided for the transfer of the sections from Article 3, Chapter 21 where this section was numbered Section 50-21-320.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment created item (2) from the last part of item (1); redesignated items (2) to (5) as items (3) to (6); added items (7) and (8); and redesignated items (7) to (9) as items (10) to (12).