Answer Hub
The Hull Identification Number (HIN) is a permanent 12-character serial number assigned by the manufacturer and stamped on the starboard transom. The registration number is issued by your state when you register the boat, and it is the number you display in 3-inch block characters on both sides of the bow. They are not interchangeable, and you never make decals of a HIN.
Reviewed August 22, 2026
The Hull Identification Number is a 12-character code assigned once, by the builder, when the hull is made. It identifies the manufacturer, the hull serial, and the model year, and it never changes for the life of the boat — not when it is sold, and not when it moves to another state. Federal rule requires it to be permanently affixed to the starboard outboard side of the transom, or to the aft starboard hull if there is no transom.
The registration number is issued by your state boating or motor-vehicle agency when the vessel is registered. It is short — a state prefix, digits, and usually two letters — and it is the number that goes on the hull as displayed characters. It changes when the boat is registered in a different state, and it is the number law enforcement reads from the water.
You display the registration number, in plain vertical block characters at least 3 inches tall, on each side of the forward half of the hull. The HIN stays stamped or plated at the transom; it is never re-created as vinyl lettering, and covering or altering it is a federal violation.
A registration number's first two characters are the state prefix, and it is not always the postal abbreviation — Washington issues WN and California issues CF, for example. That prefix is part of the displayed number, not part of the HIN.
Order from the registration card or the state's confirmation letter, using the assigned registration number exactly as issued. If you type a HIN into the designer you will get 12 characters of vinyl that do not satisfy any state's display requirement.
The prefix that begins your displayed registration number, as published by each state's agency. The HIN has no state prefix.
| State | Published wording | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | WN | Washington State Department of Licensing |
| California | CF | California Department of Motor Vehicles |
| Texas | TX | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
| Florida | FL | Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles |
| Michigan | MC | Michigan Secretary of State / Michigan DNR |
| Wisconsin | WS | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |
| Minnesota | MN | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
| North Carolina | NC | North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission |
| South Carolina | SC | South Carolina Department of Natural Resources |
| New York | NY | New York Department of Motor Vehicles |
Rules change. Confirm with your state agency before ordering, and see the full 48-state requirement guide.
No. The HIN stays at the transom where the manufacturer affixed it. Only the state-issued registration number is displayed on the forward half of the hull.
No. The HIN is permanent. Your registration number usually changes, which means new decals.
Homebuilt and older vessels are handled by the state, which typically assigns a state-issued HIN. Contact your registration agency before ordering decals.
The designer lays out a true 3-inch plain block set with correct spacing, cut from six-year marine vinyl and shipped ready to apply.
Editorial review date: August 22, 2026. We publish state-specific rules only where an official agency source confirms them.
