Florida boat bill of sale, on your phone
Meeting at the ramp with cash? Write it up before the boat leaves the dock. The form opens set for a boat and trailer: year, make, length, hull ID, FL number, motor and the trailer's VIN and plate. The buyer scans a code, you both tap agree, and you both keep the same copy.
We never see it. The receipt lives in the link and on your two phones, not on our server. Free, no sign-up.
What goes on it
- Year, make and length
- Hull ID (HIN), checked for the right shape as you type
- Florida registration number (FL 1234 AB)
- Motor make, model and serial
- Trailer VIN and plate, if it goes with the boat
- Price, how it was paid, and "sold as-is" if it was
- Both names and the minute you both agreed
- A photo of the boat, kept on your phones (never in the link)
What Florida still wants
- The Florida title, filled in to the buyer and signed by the seller.
- The state's bill of sale, form HSMV 82050, signed by you both. Paper Trail is your extra copy; it doesn't replace that form.
- The trailer has its own title if it weighs 2,000 lb or more. Under 2,000 lb, there's no title.
- 30 days. The buyer titles the boat at a county tax collector's office within 30 days, or pays a late fee.
- Sales tax is paid by the buyer at the tax collector's office, on top of the price. That's why they'll want the price in writing.
From flhsmv.gov, checked Nov 6, 2026.
Questions
Is this the official Florida bill of sale?
No. Florida's own form is form HSMV 82050, and you still need it plus the signed title. Paper Trail is the receipt you both keep on your phones, with the price, the hull ID and the minute you agreed, so nobody is texting the other side a week later.
Does the buyer need it at the tax collector?
They need the signed title and HSMV 82050. The price in writing on their phone answers the "what did you pay?" question without a second trip.
Do you keep a copy?
No. The receipt lives in the link and on your two phones, not on our server.
Paper Trail is a written record of what two people agreed to. It doesn't check IDs, prove an item is real or not stolen, or hold money. It isn't legal advice or a title, and Florida's title paperwork still applies. Selling something else? Write any receipt.