Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-4002

This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-4002, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 63, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 63,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Definitions

Official statutory text

As used in the Oklahoma Vessel and Motor Registration Act:

1. “Boat livery” means a business establishment engaged in

renting or hiring out vessels for profit;

2. “Canoe” means a light narrow vessel with both ends typically

tapered to a sharp point which is propelled solely by its occupants,

using a single-bladed paddle as a lever without the aid of a fulcrum

provided by oarlocks, thole pins, crutches, or similar arrangements;

3. “Certificate of documentation” means a document issued by

the United States Coast Guard which is legal proof of ownership of a

vessel;

4. “Certificate of registration” means a document which is

legal proof of registration of a vessel or motor;

5. “Certificate of title” means a document which is proof of

legal ownership of a vessel or motor;

6. “Service Oklahoma” means:

a. Service Oklahoma, or

b. the equivalent vessel registration and licensing

agency of a federally recognized Indian tribe in this

state;

7. “Dealer” means any person engaged in the business of

selling, trading, renting with option to purchase, or attempting to

negotiate or negotiating sales or exchanges of interests in new or

used vessels or motors, or new and used vessels or motors, or any

combination thereof;

8. “Dealer agreement” means the agreement, authorization, or

written contract between a manufacturer and distributor and a new

vessel dealer which purports to establish the legal rights and

obligations of the parties to the agreement, authorization, or

written contract with regard to the purchase and sale of new vessels

or new motors;

9. “Designated successor” means one or more persons nominated

by the new vessel dealer, in a written document filed by the dealer

with the manufacturer or distributor at the time the dealer

agreement is executed, to succeed the dealer in the event of the

dealer’s death or incapacity. If a designated successor is not able

to succeed the new vessel dealer because of the designated

successor’s death or legal incapacity, the dealer shall execute a

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety Page 1605

new document nominating a designated successor within sixty (60)

calendar days after the date of the death or incapacity;

10. “Distributor” means a person, resident or nonresident, who

in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes a new

vessel or new motor to a new vessel dealer or who maintains a

factory representative, resident or nonresident, or who controls a

person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for

sale, sells, or distributes a new vessel or new motor to a new

vessel dealer;

11. “Distributor branch” means a branch office similarly

maintained by a distributor or wholesaler for the same purposes a

factory branch is maintained;

12. “Distributor representative” means any person, firm,

association, corporation, or trust and each officer and employee

thereof engaged as a representative of a distributor or distributor

branch of vessels or motors, for the purpose of making or promoting

the sale of his, her, its, or their vessels or motors, or for

supervising or contacting his, her, its, or their dealers or

prospective dealers;

13. “Documented vessel” means any vessel in this state which

shall have and carry on board the original certificate of

documentation in legible form as issued by the United States Coast

Guard or federal agency successor thereto. All documented vessels

shall be required to display a current State of Oklahoma annual

registration decal;

14. “Factory branch” means a branch office maintained by a

person, firm, association, corporation, or trust who manufactures or

assembles vessels or motors for the sale of vessels or motors to

distributors, or for the sale of vessels or motors to dealers, or

for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its

representatives;

15. “Factory representative” means any person, firm,
on decal;

14. “Factory branch” means a branch office maintained by a

person, firm, association, corporation, or trust who manufactures or

assembles vessels or motors for the sale of vessels or motors to

distributors, or for the sale of vessels or motors to dealers, or

for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its

representatives;

15. “Factory representative” means any person, firm,

association, corporation, or trust and each officer and employee

thereof engaged as a representative of a manufacturer of vessels or

motors or by a factory branch, for the purpose of making or

promoting the sale of his, her, its, or their vessels or motors, or

for supervising or contacting his, her, its, or their dealers or

prospective dealers;

16. “Hull identification number” means the serial number

affixed to the outside of the hull of a vessel on the upper

starboard side (right) corner of the transom (back wall) which is

assigned by the manufacturer or Service Oklahoma;

17. “Inboard motor” means an internal combustion engine mounted

inside a vessel which provides the transfer of power to move a

vessel through the water;

18. “Inboard/outboard motor” means an internal combustion

engine mounted inside a vessel and an external stern drive attached

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through the transom of the vessel providing the transfer of power to

move the vessel through the water;

19. “Johnboat” means a narrow, flat-bottomed square-ended

vessel propelled by a pole, paddle, or a motor of less than ten (10)

horsepower;

20. “Kayak” means a light, narrow vessel with both ends

typically tapered to a sharp point and propelled by human muscular

effort by one or more individuals seated inside or on top of the

vessel using double-bladed paddles, hand cranks, or pedals;

21. “Kiteboard” means a vessel, similar in appearance to a

surfboard, with or without foot straps or bindings, combined with a

large controllable kite to propel the rider and board across the

water;

22. “Lifeboat” means a vessel carried on another vessel in

excess of sixty-five (65) feet for use if such other vessel has to

be abandoned;

23. “Manufacturer” means a person who manufactures or assembles

new vessels or new motors, or a distributor, factory branch, or

factory representative;

24. “Motor” means any internal combustion engine mounted at the

stern of a vessel or placed inside a vessel which provides the

transfer of power to move the vessel through the water;

25. “New vessel dealer” means a person who holds a dealer

agreement granted by a manufacturer or distributor for the sale of

the manufacturer’s or distributor’s vessels or motors, who is

engaged in the business of purchasing, selling, exchanging, or

dealing in new vessels or new motors, and who has an established

place of business;

26. “Operate” means to navigate or be in actual physical

control of a vessel or otherwise use a vessel or motor;

27. “Outboard motor” means an internal combustion engine

capable of being externally mounted at the stern of a vessel which

provides the transfer of power to move a vessel through the water;

28. “Owner” means a person, other than a lienholder, having a

property interest in or title to a vessel or motor. The term

includes a person entitled to the use or possession of a vessel or

motor subject to an interest in another person, reserved or created

by agreement and securing payment or performance of an obligation,

but the term excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as

security;

29. “Paddleboard” means a vessel, similar in appearance to a

surfboard, intended to be propelled only by its occupants using a

single- or double-bladed paddle as a lever without the aid of a

fulcrum provided by oarlocks, thole pins, crutches, or similar

arrangements;

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30. “Paddleboat” means a vessel less than eight (8) feet in
29. “Paddleboard” means a vessel, similar in appearance to a

surfboard, intended to be propelled only by its occupants using a

single- or double-bladed paddle as a lever without the aid of a

fulcrum provided by oarlocks, thole pins, crutches, or similar

arrangements;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 63. Public Health and Safety Page 1607

30. “Paddleboat” means a vessel less than eight (8) feet in

length designed to be propelled solely by human power through a

belt, chain, or gears;

31. “Permanent number” means the distinctive and unique number

which:

a. Service Oklahoma permanently assigns to a vessel,

irrespective of any change of ownership of the vessel.

The permanent number shall begin with the letters

“OK”, followed by four numerals, and then followed by

two letters, or

b. any federally recognized Indian tribe in this state

assigns to a vessel;

provided, the number is configured as prescribed in 33 C.F.R., Parts

173 and 174;

32. “Person” means a natural person, partnership, corporation,

association, trust, estate, or other legal entity;

33. “Proposed new vessel dealer” means a person who has an

application pending for a new dealer agreement with a manufacturer

or distributor. Proposed new vessel dealer does not include a

person whose dealer agreement is being renewed or continued;

34. “Purchase date” means the purchase date on a bill of sale

or the date of complete assignment of title by the current owner;

35. “Sailboard” means a vessel, similar in appearance to a

surfboard, equipped with a swivel-mounted mast and sail not secured

to a hull by guys or stays;

36. “State” means the State of Oklahoma;

37. “State of principal use” means the state where the vessel

or motor is used, is to be used, or remains for any period in excess

of sixty (60) calendar days;

38. “Vessel” means every device, other than a seaplane on the

water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on

water;

39. “Waters of this state” means and includes all waters within

the territorial limits of this state; provided, such phrase shall

not mean or include waters which are entirely owned by a private

person or persons, and to which the public is not permitted access;

and

40. “Water-thrust device” means a device tethered to the water

jet mechanism of a vessel in a manner so that the water jet of the

powering vessel provides propulsion for the attached device. Such

devices shall be considered a component of the powering vessel.

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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.