Since November 1, 1972, a federal mandate requires that all watercraft, including inflatables such as rafts, inflatable kayaks (IKs), and stand-up paddle (SUP) boards, produced or imported into the United States, must possess a distinct 12-character identifier known as the Hull Identification Number (HIN). This identifier, commonly termed the “boat serial number” or “boat ID number,” is typically located at the stern, either engraved on a plate or stamped into the boat material.
How to Determine Your Boat’s Age and Decode the HIN:
You will find the hull identification number located at the upper, outer transom, usually imprinted into the gelcoat. The HIN consists of 12 digits, sometimes accompanied by a country designator at the front, like US-. Not every boat will have the US or another country designator.
For example, if your boat’s transom has been engraved with US-ABT33546K415, here is the breakdown:
– Country Code:Â US
– Manufacturer ID Code (MIC):Â ABT
– Hull Serial Number:Â 33546
– Date of Manufacture:Â K4
– Model Year:Â 15
Decoding the Components:
Country Code:
Not every boat has it, but some do. For example:
– US: USA
– FR: France
– FI: Finland (boat was manufactured by or for a Finnish company)
– GB: Great Britain
Manufacturer ID Code:
Inputting the MIC into the United States Coast Guard database will provide details about the manufacturer and their location.
In the UK the register of MIC is maintained by British Marine on behalf of the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). For inquiries regarding existing MIC registrations, you can visit MIC CODES and input the MIC code you are inquiring about, including the Country Code.
Hull Serial Number:
The Hull Serial Number serves as the unique serial number for each boat. The initial two digits represent the boat model code. The subsequent three digits indicate the serial number, signifying that this particular boat holds the 11th position in line.
Date of Manufacture
The letter succeeding the serial number designates the month of production, with the alphabetical order corresponding to calendar months. In the given instance, the letter ‘K’ signifies November as the production month. The subsequent number denotes the production year, with ‘4’ indicating that the boat was manufactured in 2014.
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
Model Year
The last two characters provide the model year; for this boat, it is 2015.
Watch this short but very informative video to understand HIN codes: