Lake Coun­ty, Illi­nois boat­ing FAQ

What do I need to do to register or title my boat?

Obtain an appli­ca­tion from either a boat deal­er, cur­ren­cy exchange, DNR office, state park, or down­load from the reg­is­tra­tion page. Com­plete the appli­ca­tion and send in the top copy to the DNR. Keep the mid­dle copy with you until you receive reg­is­tra­tion doc­u­ments from the DNR. Your copy allows you to use the water­craft in the inter­im. The back side of the appli­ca­tion iden­ti­fies reg­is­tra­tion fees and oth­er doc­u­ments (title, Cer­tifi­cate of Ori­gin, Dept. of Rev­enue receipt, etc.) which needs to be sent to the DNR. Allow 8 weeks for pro­cess­ing; dur­ing the peak boat­ing sea­son the pro­cess­ing time may increase. You may also call 217−557−0180 or 1−800−382−1696 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mon­day — Fri­day. If the water­craft has nev­er been reg­is­tered and titled in Illi­nois, com­plete the appli­ca­tion as a ​“NEW” registration.

How much does it cost to register my boat?

Find the lat­est fee infor­ma­tion at the DNR web­site.

New and Trans­fer Renew­al
Class 1 — All pow­ered Water­craft less than 16 ft. except non-pow­ered — $28.00
Class 2 — 16 ft. to less than 26 ft. — $60.00
Class 3 — 26 ft. to less than 40 ft. — $160.00
Class 4 — 40 ft. and over — $210.00

Renew­al
Class 1 — All pow­ered Water­craft less than 16 ft. except non-pow­ered — $18.00
Class 2 — 16 ft. to less than 26 ft. — $50.00
Class 3 — 26 ft. to less than 40 ft. — $150.00
Class 4 — 40 ft. and over — $200.00

Cor­rect­ed Title, Cor­rect­ed Reg­is­tra­tion, Dupli­cate Title, Dupli­cate Decals, Dupli­cate Reg­is­tra­tion
$7.00 for each transaction.

Title Search
$7.00 for each Title Search. 

Deal­er or Man­u­fac­tur­er Title
$10.00 for each transaction. 

USCG Reg­is­tra­tion Fees or Renew­al Fees
Class 2 — 16 ft. to less than 26 ft. — $50.00
Class 3 — 26 ft. to less than 40 ft — $150.00
Class 4 — 40 ft. and over — $200.00

Where can I register my boat?

All water­craft (oth­er than sail­boards) oper­at­ed on the waters with­in the juris­dic­tion of this State shall be reg­is­tered and titled.

State law requires that the pur­chas­er of a water­craft shall, with­in 15 days after pur­chase, make appli­ca­tion to the Depart­ment for registration/​title. Water­craft pur­chased from a deal­er, the deal­er must with­in 15 days mail or deliv­er the appli­ca­tion to the Department.

No titles, reg­is­tra­tion cards, and/​or decals are issued over the counter at any Nat­ur­al Resources Offices. Appli­ca­tions are processed by mail at the Spring­field Office.

Can I renew my registration online?

Yes, through the DNR web­site.

What to do when involved in a boating accident?

Boat­ing Acci­dent Report Form

Com­ple­tion of this Boat­ing Acci­dent Report form does not excuse you from report­ing an acci­dent for inves­ti­ga­tion to either the Illi­nois Con­ser­va­tion Police or your local law enforce­ment agency. This form only ful­fills your writ­ten report­ing require­ment per the Illi­nois Boat Reg­is­tra­tion and Safe­ty Act of 1959. You must report the acci­dent on this form if the acci­dent results in the loss of life, injury to a per­son greater than first aid, or total prop­er­ty dam­age (ves­sel, con­tents, and oth­er prop­er­ty) is $2,000.00 or greater.