Whilst it may seem tedious and irrelevant – the requirements for placement of your boat’s registration numbers are actually very specific and come with some hefty fines if ignored. In this blog we’ll cover the correct and legal way of placing your boat stickers so you can be sure that you’re compliant.
Don’t rock the boat – the basics
It seems pretty straightforward – your boat is registered so you have your registration number applied to the hull of your boat. Next thing you know, you’re being approached by the water police questioning their placement, their size, even their colour! There are some general rules of thumb for boat sticker placement as well as structured requirements in each state, so let’s break these down.
To start with, your registration numbers need to be clearly visible to other boats and stand out from the hull. To ensure your boat is compliant, each state requires you to follow a few basic principles:
- Registration numbers need to be visible from 30-60m away, on both sides of the vessel
- They need to be large, bold and sit well above the water line
- The colour of your registration numbers needs to contrast with the hull of your boat. I.e.; If the hull of your boat is white, choose black or a similar dark colour for your stickers
A compliant state of mind
As mentioned, each state has a slightly different set of requirements for how, where, and precisely how big your registration numbers need to be. You can check out our dedicated location pages on this topic for more detail, but for a high-level overview:
Victoria
Victoria is the place to be – compliant. For most water vessels the registration numbers need to be at least 150mm tall, with the top of each number being no lower than 75mm below the gunwale. Personal Watercrafts (PWC’s) require numbers to be at least 100mm tall and no lower than 25mm below the gunwale.
South Australia
In the festival state requirements are as easy as can be – simply have registration numbers at least 150mm tall or 100mm if your boat is less than 3 metres long.
New South Wales
Australia’s oldest state has some pretty specific requirements when it comes to boat sticker placement. Commercial boats/ships and mechanically propelled water vessels need to have registration numbers of at least 150mm. While sailing boats and PWC’s require numbers of at least 100mm high
Western Australia
This big state has a small list of requirements. Power boats are required to have registration numbers of 150mm in height and yachts with motors need numbers at least 50mm high.
Queensland
The sunshine state breaks down its requirements to a couple of specifics. If your boat is capable of planing then it requires registration numbers at least 150mm high. If it’s not capable of planing then 75mm will suffice. All PWC’s are required to be at least 100mm in height.
Boat registration stickers
Now that we’ve broken down the individual requirements for boat sticker placement in each of the states, the easiest way for you to ensure you’re compliant is by teaming up with Boat Names Australia. We design and print awesome boat stickers that are compliant and look great! You can either have your registration numbers stand alone or we can create custom numbers that align with your boat name stickers. We also have a range of custom boat decals for a very cool finishing touch.
Reach out to the friendly team at Boat Names Australia to get started.
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