Ohio Code § 1547.53

§ 1547.53.

Every watercraft operated on the waters in this state shall be numbered by this state

in accordance with federal law or a federally approved numbering system of another

state.  A watercraft numbered by this state shall display the number on the watercraft as

provided in section 1547.57 of the Revised Code .  Watercraft exempt from numbering by the state are: (A) Those currently documented by the United States coast guard or its successor; (B) Those whose principal use is not on the waters in this state and that have not been

used within this state for more than sixty days and have a valid number assigned under

a federally approved numbering system by another state if the number is displayed

in accordance with the requirements of that system and the certificate of number is

available for inspection whenever the watercraft is on waters in this state; (C) Those from a country other than the United States, temporarily using the waters in

this state; (D) Those whose owner is the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a

state, that fit either of the following descriptions, and that are clearly identifiable

as such: (1) A powercraft that principally is used for governmental purposes other than recreational

purposes; (2) A watercraft other than a powercraft. (E) A ship's lifeboat.  As used in this division, “ lifeboat ” means a watercraft that is held aboard another vessel and used exclusively for emergency

purposes. (F) Those that have been exempted from numbering by the chief of the division of parks

and watercraft after the chief has found that the numbering of the watercraft will

not materially aid in their identification and, if an agency of the United States

has a numbering system applicable to the watercraft, after the chief has further found

that they also would be exempt from numbering by the United States government if they

were subject to the federal law; (G) Those temporarily using the waters in this state under a waiver issued by the chief

to an organization sponsoring a race, regatta, or special event.  The chief may issue a waiver upon application by the sponsoring organization at

least fifteen days before the date of the proposed race, regatta, or special event.  The waiver shall be effective for ten days including the day or days of the proposed

race, regatta, or special event.  Such a waiver does not obviate the need for compliance with section 1547.20 of the Revised Code . (H) Canoes, rowboats, and inflatable watercraft that are registered under section 1547.54 of the Revised Code and that an owner, in accordance with this division, chooses not to have numbered

under this section.  An owner of a canoe, rowboat, or inflatable watercraft may choose to do either of

the following: (1) Have it numbered under this section, pay a lesser registration fee under division (A)(2)(a) of section 1547.54 of the Revised Code , and obtain square tags under division (A) of section 1547.57 of the Revised Code ; (2) Not have it numbered under this section, pay a higher registration fee under division (A)(2)(b) of section 1547.54 of the Revised Code , and obtain a rectangular tag under division (C) of section 1547.57 of the Revised Code .