New York requires boat registration and issues titles for boats. Boaters must register their boats with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and display the registration number starting with "NY" on the hull. The DMV also records any liens on the boat title. While the DMV does not have a free online search, Boat-Alert.com provides boat history reports combining records from multiple databases to search for stolen boats, accidents, recalls and other information using the Hull Identification Number (HIN).