Georgia Boat Registration Numbers: GA Prefix, Legal 3-Inch Block
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Legal 3-inch block numbers starting with GA, cut from marine vinyl, pre-spaced on one sheet for each side of the hull. Free shipping, shipped the next business day.
Georgia in peach and red clay
2.8% of every registered boat in the country is in Georgia. Registration counts from the US Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024, Table 38, 2024 figures. Source.
What a Georgia number looks like
A Georgia registration number is built from three parts: the state prefix GA, a block of digits, and a letter suffix. Written out with the spacing the law requires, it looks like GA 1234 AB.
The federal rule, in full. Under 33 CFR 173.27, a registration number must:
- be painted on or permanently attached to each side of the forward half of the vessel;
- be in plain vertical block characters of not less than 3 inches in height;
- contrast with the colour of the background and be distinctly visible and legible;
- have spaces or hyphens between the letter and number groupings equal to the width of a letter other than “I” or a number other than “1” — so TX 1234 AB, not TX1234AB;
- read from left to right.
Getting the number in the first place
Register the boat through the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division first. That is where the number and the validation decal come from. We are a vinyl shop, not a registry — we cannot look your number up or issue one, so order once you have the certificate in hand and copy the line straight off it.
The rule most people miss is contrast. There is no required colour — but white numbers on a white hull are not “distinctly visible and legible,” and that is a failed inspection. Dark hull, light numbers. Light hull, dark numbers. Our order form flags the combination before it gets cut.
Ordering for a Georgia boat
Type the number as it appears on your card, pick a colour that contrasts with your hull, and leave the height at 3 inches unless you want it bolder. You will see your exact lettering in the preview before you pay — that is what gets cut.
Where people boat in Georgia
Georgia boating is reservoir boating, concentrated in a ring around metro Atlanta, plus the Golden Isles on the coast.
- Lake Lanier38,000 acres north-east of Atlanta, and one of the most visited Corps of Engineers lakes in the country. Summer weekends are genuinely crowded.
- Clarks Hill Lake71,000 acres on the South Carolina line, where it is called Thurmond Lake. The biggest Corps lake east of the Mississippi.
- Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclairthe Milledgeville-to-Greensboro water, warm year round below the dam.
- Lake Allatoona12,000 acres north-west of Atlanta, closest big water to the city and busy because of it.
- West Point Lake and Lake Seminolethe Chattahoochee reservoirs, with Seminole on the Florida line.
- The Golden Isles and the ICWSt. Simons, Jekyll and the salt marsh behind them.
The season. Year round in the south of the state. The lake season runs hard from April through October.
What has to be registered in Georgia
Georgia registers: all motorized vessels and sailboats >12' in length.
That is the Coast Guard’s own summary of the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division system. It matters because it decides whether you need a number on the bow at all — the answer for a kayak or a canoe is different in nearly every state, and a boat that does not need registering does not need numbers from us either. If you are not required to register it, we would rather tell you that than sell you a set.
Ready to order?
$19 a pair, free shipping, cut and shipped the next business day. The preview shows your exact lettering before you pay.
Georgia questions
How tall do Georgia boat registration numbers have to be?
Not less than 3 inches, in plain vertical block characters. That is the federal minimum under 33 CFR 173.27 and it applies in Georgia like everywhere else. Taller is always legal.
What do Georgia boat numbers start with?
GA. Your full number runs prefix, digits, then a letter suffix — for example GA 1234 AB. Copy it off your registration card exactly rather than guessing the spacing.
Who issues boat registration in Georgia?
You register through the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division. We only make the decals — you get the number from them first, then we cut it.
Do the numbers need a space or a hyphen?
Yes. The rule requires a space or hyphen between the letter and number groups, about as wide as one character. So GA 1234 AB, not GA1234AB. Ours arrive pre-spaced correctly, so you cannot get this wrong.
Where do they go on the boat?
Each side of the forward half of the hull, reading left to right, in a colour that contrasts with the hull. The validation decal goes near the number — Georgia publishes the exact offset, and it is usually within a few inches.
Do I have to register a kayak or canoe in Georgia?
Georgia registers all motorized vessels and sailboats >12' in length. If your boat falls outside that, it does not need a registration number on the bow — and it does not need a set from us either. This is the Coast Guard's own summary of the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division system.
How many registered boats are there in Georgia?
324,676, which puts Georgia 11th in the country. That is the Coast Guard's 2024 count, from Recreational Boating Statistics, Table 38.
Where are the best places to boat in Georgia?
Lake Lanier is the one most people name first: 38,000 acres north-east of Atlanta, and one of the most visited Corps of Engineers lakes in the country. Summer weekends are genuinely crowded. Others worth knowing: Clarks Hill Lake, Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair, Lake Allatoona, West Point Lake and Lake Seminole.
When is boating season in Georgia?
Year round in the south of the state. The lake season runs hard from April through October.