A boat loan doesn't show up on a Pleasure Craft Licence. A PCL is an identification number, not proof of ownership, and it says nothing about who is owed money. If the seller still owes a lender, that claim can follow the boat to you.
In BC, the check is a search of the Personal Property Registry (PPR), run by BC Registries. A boat on the Canadian Register of Vessels needs a second check with Transport Canada. This guide walks through both, step by step.
This is general information, not legal advice. On a large purchase, a lawyer or a licensed escrow and title firm can run and read the searches for you.
What the PPR records
Under BC's Personal Property Security Act, the Personal Property Registry records security interests and liens against personal property. That includes boats. Two kinds matter most to a buyer:
- Security interests. A lender that financed the boat, or took it as security for another loan.
- Liens for unpaid services. A repair shop or other service provider that wasn't paid can register a commercial lien under the Commercial Liens Act.
The PPR treats boats, outboard motors and trailers as separate collateral types. Each has its own serial number, and each can carry its own lien.
What you need before you search
Get these from the seller, then check them against the boat yourself:
| Item | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Hull serial number (HIN) | Usually the upper starboard corner of the transom |
| Outboard motor serial numbers | On each motor. Photograph each plate. |
| Trailer VIN | On the trailer and its ICBC registration |
| Seller's full legal name | Their government ID, or a company's exact registered name |
| Licence or registration number | PCL on the bow, or the Canadian Register number |
Don't search the numbers the seller typed into the ad. Read them off the boat. If a number doesn't match the paperwork, stop. Our HIN guide shows how to read one and spot tampering.
How to run a PPR search
- Pick a route. BC Registries says online PPR searching is for professionals with a premium BC Registries account, and it isn't open to the general public right now. You can:
- go to a Service BC location in person,
- mail a letter to BC Registry Services, PO Box 9431 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9V3, stating the type of search and the search details, with a $10 cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance (results come back by mail), or
- use a third-party search provider, which may charge more.
- Know the fee. As a private buyer, you pay $10 for a staff search at Service BC or by mail. The $7 online search is only for premium account holders.
- Search the hull serial number. Use a serial number search.
- Search each motor and the trailer. Run a separate serial number search for each outboard serial and the trailer VIN.
- Search the seller's name. Use an individual debtor name search for a person, or a business debtor name search for a company. Some registrations describe the collateral in general words instead of a serial number. A name search catches those.
- Search late, and keep the report. Run the searches close to closing, because a new registration can be added any day. The report is the official record of your search, so keep a copy with your bill of sale.
How to read the results
The PPR search results guide explains the report. It has three parts: report details, a table of contents, and the registration details.
- Report details. Check the search criteria first. One wrong character means you searched a different boat.
- NIL result. No exact matches, and no similar matches selected. This is what you want for every serial number and name.
- Exact matches. Shown in bold in the table of contents. Each is a registration against that serial number or name.
- Similar matches. Close but not identical. They can catch a serial number that a lender entered with a typo. Don't skip them.
- Each registration. Read the registration type, the base registration date, the expiry date, the secured party (who is owed), the debtor, and the collateral. For a boat, the collateral lists type, year, make, model and serial number. A repairers' lien also shows the lien amount.
- Discharged or Expired. The registration number carries a badge if it's in either state. With no badge, treat it as live and ask about it.
- History. Amendments, renewals and discharges, most recent first.
If a lien shows up
A registration doesn't kill the deal. It means the debt has to be paid off out of your money before the seller gets theirs.
- Ask the seller. Get the lender's name and the loan details.
- Get a written payout statement from the lender. It should state the exact amount to clear the debt on your closing date.
- Pay the lender directly from the purchase funds. The safe way is a lawyer, notary, or licensed escrow and title firm that holds your money in trust, pays the lender, and sends the rest to the seller.
- Confirm the discharge. The lender removes a PPR registration by filing a financing change statement. A total discharge has no registry fee. Run the search again and check that the registration now shows as discharged before the seller's share is released.
If the loan was paid off long ago but the registration was never discharged, that's the seller's job to fix before closing. Under section 50 of the Personal Property Security Act, they can demand a discharge using Form 4, Demand for Discharge. A commercial lien has a similar process under section 17 of the Commercial Liens Act, using Form 11.
Registered vessels: check the Canadian Register too
Most BC recreational boats only carry a PCL. Some are on the Canadian Register of Vessels, which Transport Canada describes as a title system. It has two parts: the Small Vessel Register, and the general part, often called the Large Vessel Register.
A marine mortgage can only be registered against a vessel in the Large Vessel Register. The Canada Shipping Act, 2001 says the Register holds details of every mortgage registered against those vessels. It also gives a mortgagee the power to sell the vessel, subject to the mortgage's terms. Check both the PPR and the Register.
- Find the number. A Small Vessel Register number starts with "C" and is marked on each side of the bow. A Large Vessel Register official number is 6 digits, shown with "O.N." on a visible interior structural part of the hull.
- Look it up. Transport Canada's Vessel Registration Query System searches by official number, vessel name or owner name. It covers registered vessels only, not PCL boats.
- Order a certified transcript. A certified transcript means Transport Canada checked that the record is current and has no pending transactions. An uncertified one is for general information only. You order online with the official number, and the service standard is 2 business days.
- Get any mortgage discharged. When a mortgage is paid in full, the mortgagee signs the Discharge of Mortgage section of the original mortgage deed (Form 7) and files it with Transport Canada. There's no extra fee for the discharge.
Boats coming from the US
A US Coast Guard documented boat can have mortgages and notices of claim of lien recorded with the National Vessel Documentation Center. Anyone can request an Abstract of Title (form CG-1332), and the fee is US$25. A state-titled boat is a different system. Our guide to boat title types covers both.
If you plan to register a formerly US-documented boat in Canada, Transport Canada's regulations require written evidence, such as a deletion certificate or a transcript. It must show the boat is no longer registered in the US and that the foreign register records it as free and clear of all encumbrances.
Where Yachts & Bids fits
Yachts & Bids hasn't run live auctions yet. When it does, the purchase price will go through a third-party licensed escrow and title partner, never through Yachts & Bids. That partner runs the lien search, pays off any loan out of the proceeds, and releases funds to the seller once title is clear. Tax is a separate line. See our guide to PST on used boats in BC.