New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Chapter 82 - BOATING REGULATIONS
Subchapter 8 - REGISTRATION AND LICENSING
Section 13:82-8.21 - General provisions; hull identification numbers

(a) Any vessel offered for sale in New Jersey must have a hull identification number assigned to it. The number assigned to said vessel shall be in the form approved by the United States Coast Guard.

(b) Registration numbers shall not be issued to any vessel that does not comply with the above requirement.

(c) Vessels which are homemade or for other reasons that do not have a hull identification number assigned to them by their builders shall be assigned a number by the Commission once the Commission receives satisfactory proof on a form approved by the Chief Administrator that they have been examined by the State Police. The series used by the Commission shall be composed of three parts. The first section shall be NJZ-followed by a second section composed of a five digit number commencing with 00001; the third section shall consist of the word "HULL." An example of a hull identification number is as follows: NJZ-00001 HULL.

(d) The hull identification number must be carved, burned, stamped, embossed, or otherwise permanently affixed to the outboard side of the transom or, if there is no transom, to the outermost starboard side at the end of the hull that bears the rudder or other steering mechanism, above the waterline of the boat in such a way that alteration, removal, or replacement would be obvious and evident.

(e) The character of the hull identification number must be no less than 1/4 of an inch in height.