How to Check a Used Yacht for Liens Before Buying

This guide concerns purchases involving U.S. vessel records and U.S. maritime lien law. Foreign registration or overseas work requires a separate review of the relevant records and laws. Confirm the legal position for your purchase with a qualified maritime adviser.

Before commissioning a search, ask the seller for the ownership documents and reconcile the vessel identifiers. Treat the following as your minimum document request:

• The current Certificate of Documentation or state certificate of title, as applicable.
• The yacht’s federal official number, if documented.
• The hull identification number and a photograph of its marking.
• The seller’s full legal name and, for an entity, evidence of authority to sell.

Ask the closing professional to explain every mismatch before proceeding. A shortened company name, a former yacht name or an unexplained ownership transfer deserves attention, even when the seller has a plausible explanation.

For a federally documented yacht, request an Abstract of Title, Form CG-1332, from the National Vessel Documentation Center. It shows the recorded chain of ownership and encumbrances. The published federal fee is $25 under the September 2025 fee schedule available for checking this purchase in November 2026; professional search and closing services are separate charges. (fam.state.gov)

For a state-titled vessel, use the relevant state title records rather than treating a federal search as a substitute. Florida’s transfer procedure requires satisfaction of recorded liens unless an applicable transfer-of-equity arrangement is used; electronic liens must show as satisfied in the state system. (flhsmv.gov)

The distinction that catches buyers is between a recorded encumbrance and an underlying maritime lien. Federal law gives a qualifying provider of necessaries a lien against the vessel when those necessaries were ordered by the owner or another authorized person. The creditor can pursue the vessel itself through an admiralty action. (uscode.house.gov)

That lien arises by operation of law, not simply because someone files a notice. Consequently, the absence of a recorded notice does not establish that no maritime lien exists. This is why checking service accounts belongs alongside the title search, not after it. (ca4.uscourts.gov)

The reverse also matters. A Notice of Claim of Lien on an abstract is an allegation, not a Coast Guard judgment that the claim is valid or enforceable. Do not automatically accept the claimed amount, but do not dismiss it because the seller calls it a nuisance. (dco.uscg.mil)

An expired notice is another trap. Its expiration does not, by itself, settle the validity of the underlying lien, and historical filings are not simply erased from the abstract. Ask for the underlying instrument and the evidence of resolution, not just an assurance that the entry is old. (dco.uscg.mil)

The practical instruction is straightforward: have each unresolved entry explained in writing. A seller’s explanation may be entirely correct. It still needs supporting paperwork.

Make unpaid-account disclosure a specific request. “Are there any liens?” is too easy to answer narrowly. Ask instead for the yacht’s open purchase orders, unpaid invoices, disputed charges and services performed but not yet invoiced.

For a yacht recently prepared for sale in Fort Lauderdale, a sensible review should include:

• The yard that performed the latest haul-out, paintwork or mechanical repairs.
• The current marina and any previous berth with an unsettled account.
• Engine, generator and electrical contractors with recent work orders.
• Fuel deliveries and other substantial operating purchases.
• Crew payroll and reimbursable expenses, where crew are employed.

Use that list as a diligence checklist, not a declaration that every account creates an enforceable lien. Whether a particular claim qualifies requires legal analysis. The buyer’s job is to uncover the account before closing rather than debate its legal status after paying. (uscode.house.gov)

Request the seller’s written authorization for the closing representative to contact relevant creditors directly. Ask each creditor to identify the vessel, the balance through the proposed delivery date, and any work not yet billed.

A zero-balance statement dated before the final sea trial is insufficient for your own checks if the yard subsequently replaced a pump. Ask for an updated statement covering that work. Likewise, do not treat a captain’s spreadsheet as a substitute for creditor confirmation.

Pay particular attention to disputed invoices. Recommend that the seller resolve them before closing, or have counsel design a specific settlement and security arrangement. “The yard overcharged” is a negotiating position, not a closing document.

Before signing, ask counsel to review the title-and-encumbrances clause and explain what happens if the seller cannot deliver the promised title by the closing date. Do not assume the survey contingency provides the same protection.

As drafting instructions, ask for the agreement to address:

• The seller’s obligation to disclose mortgages, claims and unpaid vessel accounts.
• The title condition required at delivery.
• Which debts will be paid directly from closing proceeds.
• What releases or satisfactions must accompany payment.
• The buyer’s remedies if the required documents are missing.
• Responsibility for pre-delivery charges invoiced after closing.

Also ask for a seller indemnity covering undisclosed pre-closing liabilities, with wording that survives completion. Treat it as a second line of protection, not a reason to skip investigation. Prefer a resolved account to a promise to reimburse a future problem.

If a holdback is proposed, insist on written instructions identifying the claim, the retained amount, the evidence required for release and the procedure if the dispute continues. Avoid language that merely says funds will remain in escrow until everyone is satisfied.

Set the amount against the actual exposure under review. Do not choose a small round number simply to get signatures that afternoon. If the parties cannot agree on a workable resolution, recommend postponing delivery rather than improvising at the wire deadline.

Consider an illustrative purchase of a 60-foot motor yacht for $1,250,000. The initial abstract shows no unresolved recorded encumbrance, but the buyer’s account review identifies a $28,000 yard bill and $11,000 of marina charges.

For this example, assume both amounts are accepted by the seller and payable at closing. The illustrative allocation is:

• Purchase price: $1,250,000.
• Direct payment to the yard: $28,000.
• Direct payment to the marina: $11,000.
• Remaining proceeds before commission, other expenses and adjustments: $1,211,000.

Those payments are allocations of the agreed price, not an extra $39,000 charged to the buyer. The closing statement should make that distinction unmistakable. Have counsel approve the creditor release language and the conditions under which each payment is made.

Now change one fact: the yard says another $9,500 invoice is being prepared for work completed before delivery. Do not recommend ignoring it because the invoice has not been issued. Obtain the final figure, postpone closing if necessary, or agree a specifically drafted holdback.

These figures are illustrative, not estimates of typical yard debt or recommended escrow amounts. Their purpose is to show why the settlement statement must connect each unresolved account to money and documents. A clean-looking search result cannot perform that reconciliation.

Use a written closing sequence rather than exchanging documents piecemeal. A recommended order is:

1. 1Refresh the title review close to closing and ask the closing professional to address pending filings.
2. 2Obtain final creditor balances through delivery, including newly completed work.
3. 3Approve the closing statement and all proposed releases before authorizing disbursement.
4. 4Make agreed creditor payments under the documented closing arrangement.
5. 5Submit the required transfer and satisfaction instruments, then retain filing confirmations and recorded copies.

For a recorded mortgage or Notice of Claim of Lien, the federal satisfaction or release must identify the vessel and the instrument being released. The requirements include the relevant parties, amount, execution date, appropriate signatures and notarized acknowledgment. A paid invoice should not be assumed to satisfy those recording requirements. (dco.uscg.mil)

Check the recording reference carefully. The release should clearly identify the mortgage or claim, normally using its book and page or batch and document identification. Ask the closing professional to verify that the signatory has the required capacity, especially if the original creditor has merged or changed names. (dco.uscg.mil)

Finally, request the completed closing file rather than stopping at the handover of keys. Keep the searches, creditor confirmations, signed releases, settlement statement, payment evidence and recorded documents together. Make delivery of that file an explicit instruction to the closing team.