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HULL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (HIN) |
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All boats manufactured or imported on or after November 1, 1972 must bear a HIN (Hull Identification Number),
a 12 character serial number that uniquely identifies your boat.
A HIN is not the same as a State registration number, which may be required to be displayed on the bow of your
boat. The HIN is a Federal requirement; your boat’s registration number is a State requirement similar to the
license plate on your car. The HIN, however, is required to be shown on the State certificate of registration.
The boat manufacturer must display a hull identification number, no less than one-fourth of an inch high, on
each boat hull. The primary HIN must be permanently attached to or engraved into the outer right (starboard)
side of the transom within two inches of the top. On boats without transoms or on boats on which it would be
impractical to affix a number to the transom, the HIN must be affixed to the starboard outboard side of the
hull, aft within one foot of the stern and within two inches of the gunwale. Catamarans and pontoon boats may
have the HIN on the rear crossbeam within one foot of the starboard hull attachment.
Boats manufactured or imported on or after August 1, 1984, also have a duplicate secondary HIN somewhere on
an unexposed location inside the boat or beneath a fitting or item of hardware. It is illegal for anyone
(manufacturer, dealer, distributor, or owner) to alter or remove a HIN without the express written authorization
of the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.
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DECIPHERING HULL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (HIN) |
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The first three characters are letters of the alphabet: These are the Manufacturer Identification Code (MIC)
assigned by the Coast Guard to the manufacturer or the person importing the boat.
Characters four through eight: serial number assigned by the manufacturer
Last four characters (9-12): Model year and/or date of manufacture.
The last four digits are very confusing thanks to stupid government agents who invented the system.
Here is an attempt to clarify interpretation of the last four characters in a HIN.
EARLY HULL IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS
From November 1, 1972 through July 30, 1984, the manufacturer had the option of giving either the model year
or date of manufacture. One could not know which was intended without insider information. As with cars, a
model year can be several months different from the date of manufacture. The following pertains only to
boats built prior to August 1, 1984. For boats built after that date, see "LATER HULL IDENTIFICATION"
below.
STRAIGHT DATE HIN:
Example: ABC123451272
ABC= Manufacturer Identification Code
12345= Serial number given to this particular boat
1272= December, 1972
MODEL YEAR HIN:
Example: ABC12345M67J
ABC= Manufacture
12345= serial number given to this particular boat
M97J= May, 1967
Explanation of last four digits:
The 9th digit is always an "M", which stands for model year.
The 10th and 11th characters give the last two digits of the year.
The 12th and final digit gives the month of manufacture using letters of the alphabet. "A" stands for August,
but not because the name of that month begins with an "A". March and May share first initials, as do January,
June and July, sa that would not work. The new MODEL YEAR rules were initiated in August, and the
super intelligent(!) government agents decided to start identifying months with the alphabet in that
month.
Here is the sequence in case you don't want to calculate it yourself.
F-January
G-February
H-March
I-April
J-May
K-June
L-July
A-August
B-September
C-October
D-November
E-December
LATER HULL IDENTIFICATION
After August 1, 1984, the arrangement of the last four digits was altered but it is just as confusing.
The 9th character now designates the month of manufacture in alphabetical form, but the sequence is changed
(A= January and L= December). That may be more understandable, but the 10th character is now the confusing one.
It designates the year of manufacture by giving only the last digit. This must be interpreted by the final
two characters, which designate the model year.
Example: ABC12345J900
ABC= Manufacture
12345= serial number given to this particular boat
J900= 2000 model boat built in November, 1999
The Manufacturer's Identification Code may be similar or identical to the company name,
such as "AMF" but that is rare. My
Mistral 12 dinghy, for example, was manufactured in 1982 by Canadian Yacht Builders
of Quebec. You would
never guess by this weird HIN. Of course I don't speak French, so I may be
wrong!
Coast Guard maintains a searchable database of MICs if you want to check yours out -
click here.
Individuals building boats for their own use and not for the purposes of sale are what are referred to as
"backyard boat builders." They must obtain a 12 character HIN from their State boating agency. The Manufacturer
Identification Code at the beginning of the HIN for a "home built" boat is an abbreviation for the State followed
by a "Z" which indicates that it is a State identification.
If you have all that memorized, you are far ahead of me!
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