Boat Hull Number Decoder Chart

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Hull Number Decoder

How to decode the meaning of a boat hull identification number.

All boats manufactured for consumption within the United States after November 1, 1972 are required to have a twelve character hull identification number. Federal regulations specify that it must be formatted according to the elements shown below.

New Format Mandatory - August 1, 1984
Manufacturers Identification Code	Production or Serial Number	*Month of Production	Year of Production	Model Year
ABC	12345	A	7	88
* A - January D - April G - July J - October B - February E - May H - August K - November C - March F - June I - September L - December

Straight Year Format

November 1, 1972

Manufacturers
Identification Code

Production
or Serial Number

Month
of Production

Year
of Production

ABC

12345

Model Year Format Optional - November 1, 1972
Manufacturers Identification Code	Production or Serial Number	Indicates Model Year Format	Model Year	*Production Month
ABC	12345	M	75	A
* A - August D - November G - February J - May B - September E - December H - March K - June C - October F - January I - April L - July

Note: The letters "I", "O", and "Q" are forbidden in the Production or Serial Number

In addition to the above formats, you may encounter those which are preceded by country codes such as "US" for the United states, "CN" for Canada, and "FR" for France. This means that the vessel was built for consumption in that respective country. You may also find hull numbers on two separate lines. In this case the second line is not typically considered as part of the hull number. State assigned hull numbers are not always consistent with federal standards.

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