Boats

Boats Purchased from an Individual

To register a boat purchased from an individual you must provide a Bill of Sale. The Bill of Sale must include the make, year, hull id. number, date of sale and sales price. The seller must sign the Bill of Sale. The County Clerk's Office collects the applicable tax and certifies to T.W.R.A. that sales tax was paid. If you purchased your boat from a Tennessee boat dealer, the dealer will certify the collection of sales tax to the T.W.R.A.

Tennessee state sales tax will be collected by the County Clerk. Contact the office for sales tax fees at 615-898-7800. Once the sales tax and the $7.00 certification fee has been paid to the Rutherford County Clerk the boat owner will be required to mail form APPLICATION FOR BOAT CERTIFICATION NUMBER to: T.W.R.A., BOAT REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT with the appropriate registration fees.

Boats Purchased from a Dealer

If a boat is purchased from a Tennessee Dealer, the Rutherford County Clerk's Office does not collect the Tennessee State Sales Tax. The dealer will issue form APPLICATION FOR BOAT CERTIFICATE to the customer after certifying payment of sales tax on the form. If a boat is purchased from an out of state dealer and no sales tax was collected you will need to bring in all paperwork provided by dealer including a Bill of Sale. The County Clerk's Office will collect the applicable tax and certifies to T.W.R.A that sales tax was paid.

New to State

For information on transferring boats from another state please contact our office. 615-898-7800. Ext. 1.

BOAT LICENSE RENEWALS

Renew your boat registration online by visiting https://www.tn.wildlifelicense.com/index.php.

Boat renewals are not processed trough the County Clerk's office, The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency authorized the County Clerk's office to register all boats but not to renew registrations. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will mail the renewal form APPLICATION FOR BOAT CERTIFICATE OF NUMBER to the current boat owner to complete and return along with the boat registration fee to the following address: Boat Registration P. 0. Box 41729 Nashville, Tennessee 37204-1729. Renewal form APPLICATION FOR BOAT CERTIFICATE OF NUMBER may also be obtained by calling the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency at (615) 781-6522. If you have questions about renewing your boat registration, you may call the mid-state TWRA office at l-800-624-7406.