Last verified: June 15, 2026
Someone in the deal mentions getting the paperwork notarized, and it is easy to assume the whole BTR-1 needs a notary stamp before SCDNR will take it. It does not. You sign the BTR-1 application yourself, and no notary is involved. A notary only ever touches one part of the form, the bill of sale in Section H, and even then only when your sale actually relies on it. Here is when you genuinely need a notary to title and register a boat in South Carolina, and when you can skip the trip.
What the BTR-1 Actually Asks You to Sign
The BTR-1 is officially the Watercraft/Outboard Motor Application (SCDNR, BTR-1 PDF). The signature you give on it lives in Section F, and it is a certification, not a sworn oath. The form reads: “I certify that the information contained on this application and all attached documents are true and correct and that no other liens or encumbrances except those noted exist.” Right after that, it warns that “False statements within applications and bills of sale are punishable pursuant to Section 50-23-270.”
That penalty is doing the work a notary would. South Carolina backs your signature with criminal liability instead of a stamp. Section 50-23-270 makes a false statement to the department a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of fifty to five hundred dollars or up to thirty days in jail (SC Code Title 50, Chapter 23). The titling law itself asks only that “the application must be signed by the person who acquires the watercraft or outboard motor” (Section 50-23-60). Signed, not sworn. The application has signature lines for the applicant, a co-owner, and the dealer, and no notary line anywhere on it.
The One Part That Gets Notarized: the Section H Bill of Sale
Turn the BTR-1 over and Section H is headed “Certified and True Bill of Sale for Watercraft and Outboard Motors.” This is the only block on the entire form with notary language. Below the seller’s signature there is a jurat: “Sworn before me this ___ day of ___,” followed by lines for the notary’s signature, printed name, and commission expiration date. If your transaction uses Section H, that section has to be sworn in front of a notary.
So why this part and not the application? Section H stands in for a title. When a seller hands you a signed title, the title is your proof the boat changed hands and that the seller had the right to sell it. When there is no title to sign, the bill of sale becomes that proof, so the state wants it sworn before a notary to carry the same weight. The form also guards that evidence. It states plainly that “erasures or alterations void this bill of sale,” and SCDNR notes on the form that Section 50-23-345(d) prohibits updating a bill of sale after it is signed. Fill it out cleanly, have the seller sign it in front of the notary, and do not go back and change anything afterward.
Which Situations Need a Notary
Most boat sales in South Carolina never need a notary, because most come with a title the seller can sign over. The notary question really comes down to one thing: are you leaning on a bill of sale because there is no title? Here is how the common situations sort out.
| Your situation | Notary needed? | What gets notarized |
|---|---|---|
| Used boat with a clean SC title | No | Nothing; the seller signs the back of the title |
| New boat from an SC dealer | No | Nothing; the dealer supplies the origin paperwork and signs the application |
| Private SC sale, title in hand | No | Nothing; you submit the signed title |
| Registration renewal | No | Nothing; you just sign the application |
| Family gift (Section I exemption) | No | Section I is signed, not notarized |
| No title: lost, never issued, or from a non-titling state | Yes | The Section H bill of sale |
| Boat bought from an out-of-state dealer | Yes | The bill of sale, “signed and notarized” |
| Paying off a recorded lien | Yes | The lienholder’s lien satisfaction form |
The pattern is consistent. A signed title transfers a boat on its own. Section 50-23-120 says the owner “shall execute the assignment and warranty of title to the transferee in the space provided on the back of the certificate of title,” and nothing in that step calls for a notary. SCDNR’s own checklist only attaches the word notarized to two things: a bill of sale from an out-of-state dealer, and a lien satisfaction form from a lienholder (SCDNR, Titling and Registration FAQ).
The notary becomes necessary when there is no title to sign and Section H comes into play. A lost title, a boat that was never titled, a boat from a state that does not title boats, or an out-of-state dealer sale all push you onto the bill of sale to establish who owned the boat before you, and that bill of sale has to be sworn. A recorded lien adds its own notarized paper: the lienholder has to give you a signed, notarized lien satisfaction before SCDNR will clear the old loan off the record.
When You Do Not Need a Notary
To put it the other way around, you can leave the notary out of it when:
- You have the boat’s title and the seller signs it over to you. SC titles transfer by signature on the back, not by notarization (Section 50-23-120).
- You are renewing a registration you already hold. There is no new transfer to prove.
- You are claiming the immediate family exemption in Section I. You sign that certification yourself, and the form provides no notary line for it.
- You are buying new from an in-state dealer, who supplies the manufacturer’s paperwork and signs the application.
In each of these, your signature on the BTR-1 is enough, because the title or the dealer paperwork already proves the boat is yours. One caveat on gifts: if a family boat has no title to hand over, you are back to the notarized Section H bill of sale, exemption or not.
Affidavits and Lien Releases Are Separate Documents
Two related papers come up often enough to be worth separating from the BTR-1 itself. A lien satisfaction form, which a lienholder signs and has notarized to release a paid-off loan, is its own document, not part of the application (SCDNR, Titling and Registration FAQ). And when a boat has no clean proof of ownership at all, SCDNR can require a supporting affidavit: Section 50-23-290 says such an application “must be supported by an affidavit setting forth the circumstances under which the watercraft or outboard motor was acquired.” Inherited boats and long-undocumented finds run on that separate track, which we break down in the guide on a bill of sale, affidavit, or title in SC.
Quick Reference
- The BTR-1 application is signed, not notarized. Section F is a certification backed by the Section 50-23-270 false-statement penalty.
- Section H, the bill of sale, is the only part of the form with a notary jurat.
- You need a notary when you rely on a bill of sale because there is no title: out-of-state dealer purchases, lost titles, never-titled boats, and boats from states that do not title.
- A paid-off lien needs a separate notarized lien satisfaction form from the lienholder.
- You do not need a notary for a clean title transfer, a renewal, or the Section I family exemption.
- A signed SC title transfers the boat on its own (Section 50-23-120), and SCDNR does not ask for it to be notarized.
For which document does what when the title is missing, see our guide on a bill of sale, affidavit, or title in SC. For everything you gather before a transfer, use the SC boat title transfer checklist. A missing or expired notary seal is a common rejection, covered in why SC boat registrations get rejected, and if you are on the selling side, see how to sell your boat in SC.
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