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Cal. HNC § 501

This is the official text of Cal. HNC § 501, part of California’s Harbors and Navigation Code — regulates ports, harbors, and boating.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

As used in this article:

(a) “Department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles or any successor agency thereto which registers vehicles.

(b) “Mail” means first-class mail, postage prepaid, unless registered mail is specified. Registered mail includes certified mail.

(c) “Services” means the making of repairs or performing labor upon or to, and the furnishing of supplies or materials for, any vessel or any trailer used in connection with a vessel.

(d) “Storage” means the safekeeping, mooring, berthage, wharfage, or anchorage of a vessel and the providing of parking space for any trailer used in connection with the vessel.

(e) “Vessel” means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water or a floating home, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water and required to be registered, excluding any vessel which has a valid marine document issued by the United States or any agency thereof. For the purposes of this article, “vessel” includes any trailer used in connection with the vessel which is in the possession of the lienholder at the time the lien arises.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.