Boat owners in Kentucky can typically begin registration renewals for their watercrafts in March, but because of a delay in the delivery of registration decals, that won't be the case this year.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said motorboat registration requests cannot begin until April 3; typically, the registration window opens at the beginning of March.
The delay is because the decals for those boats simply aren't in yet, KYTC said.
"We want boat owners who opt to renew early aware of the temporary delay to honor their time and avoid an unnecessary trip," said Jim Gray, KYTC secretary, in a press release. "We expect to have new decals available at county clerk offices well ahead of the April 30 registration expiration for owners to update their tags and continue enjoying the open water."
Motorboats registered in Kentucky have to have a valid, unexpired tag displayed; those tags are stickers that are peeled and placed on each side of the boat.
KYTC said there was a label defect with these stickers, which necessitated a reprint so the tag will maintain its durability once exposed to water. Deliveries of the new tags will be made to each county clerk office.
In 2022, more than 187,000 motorboat decals were issued in Kentucky, KYTC said.
