Free Boat Recall Check by HIN

Enter your hull number and we will check it against every recall the US Coast Guard has on record — 1,107 campaigns covering 609 manufacturers and more than 1.5 million boats. Free, no account, no email.

The HIN is the 12-character number stamped on the starboard side of the transom. Not sure where to look? See where the HIN is located on a boat.

What a boat recall actually is

When a defect is found that affects safety, the manufacturer must notify owners and repair it at no cost. It works the same way as a car recall. On boats the defects that get filed are rarely cosmetic — the common categories are fuel system leaks, wiring that can start a fire, steering failures, and carbon monoxide entering the cabin.

Three things most owners get wrong

1. "Closed" does not mean your boat was fixed

A recall campaign is closed when the manufacturer finishes the programme — not when every hull is repaired. If a previous owner ignored the notice, the defect is still on the boat. On a used purchase this is the single most important thing to verify, and it is the reason a closed recall is still worth reading.

2. Recalls follow the build date, not the model year

Campaigns are defined by when hulls came off the production line. A boat titled as a 2019 may have been built in late 2018, which can place it inside or outside a recall range regardless of what the paperwork says. Both dates are in the HIN — see how to read a boat HIN.

3. No recall on record is not a clean bill of health

It means the builder never filed one. It says nothing about damage, poor repairs, flood history or wear. Those show up in a title and history search, not in the recall database.

Recent unresolved recalls

These are the most recently filed campaigns the Coast Guard still lists as unresolved — 12 of the 125 currently open. If your boat is one of these builders, it is worth a call.

Source: US Coast Guard Boating Safety Division. Some campaigns are filed without a published date or model year; those are shown as "not published" rather than guessed at.

What the numbers look like

Check recalls by manufacturer

Each brand page lists that builder's full recall history alongside its Coast Guard manufacturer codes: Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, Yamaha, Bennington and Rinker.

Related guides

What is a HIN on a boat · How to read a boat HIN · Where is the HIN located · Boat title vs HIN