A HIN is 12 characters on the hull. Match it to the bill of sale before you pay. This is a visual check, not a title search.
Boats built for the Canadian and US market carry a 12-character hull identification number. The first three characters identify the manufacturer, the next five are the serial, and the last four encode the month and year of production. Older boats may have no HIN at all.
You will usually find it on the transom, on the starboard side, and on a second plate hidden inside the boat. Write it exactly as it appears. Do not invent characters to fill a form.
Read the HIN on the hull out loud and compare it with the bill of sale, the licence paperwork and any service records. They should be the same boat. A mismatch is a reason to stop.
BoatHandoff asks for the HIN on the bill of sale and includes an HIN-match item on the inspection checklist. That is a buyer and seller walk-through. It is not a police check, a lien search or a marine survey.
The free download covers the proof-of-ownership fields. The full kit adds the walk-through and both signatures.