How to run a lake association boat sticker program

Write the rules down before the season

Rules published before the season are easier to enforce than rules explained on the dock. Settle these before you announce anything, and publish them in one place:

Who registers. Motorized boats only, or kayaks, canoes and paddleboards too. Some lakes also sticker golf carts, UTVs or trailers.
What proof you need. Usually the boat’s current state registration and its insurance declaration page, which members call the dec page. Some lakes add a boating safety course or an inspection.
The insurance rule. A liability minimum, and whether the association must be named as additional insured. Collecting declaration pages and additional-insured proof covers what to ask for.
Fees. One fee for every boat, or a fee by kind of boat or horsepower.
The deadline and the late fee. Stickers on boats by May 1 is a common rule at lakes that open in spring.
What the sticker shows. The season and a number tied to one boat, so a number is all anyone needs to find the owner, the slip and the insurance.

Fees by kind of boat are common. Canyon Lake POA in California charges motorized boats a $62 registration fee plus a lake use fee of $160 (3 to 25 horsepower) or $320 (25 and over), and non-motorized boats $15 once. Cordry-Sweetwater Conservancy District in Indiana sells two-year decals at $166 for power boats, pontoons and personal watercraft, $86 for fishing boats and $10 for non-motorized boats.

Set the calendar

Before you open: publish the rules, the fees and the deadline, and send every member the same notice, with a link or the office hours.
While registration is open: remind members who haven’t finished, a few weeks before the deadline and again a few days before.
The deadline: stickers on boats. Lakewood POA in Missouri requires stickers on watercraft by May 1 and adds a $9 late fee after that; Lake Lotawana, also in Missouri, asks for boats on the common area to be stickered before May 1.
Leave room for the rush: Lake Winnebago in Missouri tells members that spring processing can take up to 10 days.
After the deadline: late fees, then whatever enforcement your rules allow.

Collect everything through one channel

Registration is easiest to track when every member uses the same path, whether that’s an online form, a member portal or the office counter. Ask for:

The member’s name, lot or address, phone and email.
The boat: kind, length, make, the hull ID and the state registration number.
A photo or PDF of the current state registration.
The insurance declaration page, showing the boat, the liability limit, the policy dates and the association named the way your rules require.
The fee, and how the member wants the sticker: by mail or picked up.

Published procedures show the range. Raintree Lake POA in Missouri has members upload the dec page to an owner portal, call the office to confirm, then book an appointment to sign and buy stickers, paying by check or exact cash. Lake Monticello Owners’ Association in Virginia takes the boat registration and the policy declaration as photo uploads on an online form. One path for everyone matters more than which path you pick.

Check each boat against the rules

The state registration is current and matches the boat’s hull ID.
The dec page covers this boat, the liability limit meets your minimum, the policy dates cover the season, and the association’s name appears the way your rules require.
The fee is paid.
Only then, assign the sticker number.

When something falls short, send it back with the exact reason, such as “The limit on this page is $100,000; the association requires $300,000.” A specific reason saves a round of phone calls.

Number the stickers

Order pre-numbered stickers and keep a record of which number went to which boat. The Lake Hayward Property Owners Association’s board minutes from January 2012 describe exactly this: a water-resistant, pre-numbered sticker on every boat kept on association property, and a spreadsheet tracking the member names and addresses that go with each sticker number.

Put the season in the number or on the sticker (27-0142 for the 2027 season), so last year’s sticker is obvious from the dock.
Decide whether a boat keeps its number from year to year, or numbers start over each season.
Void a lost sticker’s number before you issue a replacement.
Count the roll before the season and after it, so every number is accounted for.

Hand the stickers out

Offer two ways: by mail, to a full mailing address, or picked up at the office or on a sticker day. Print mailing labels from the same list the numbers came from, and have members sign for stickers they pick up. Cordry-Sweetwater asks for a photo ID at pickup.

Check boats on the water

A sticker shows a boat was current when the sticker was issued. If the insurance lapses in July, the sticker is still on the boat, so the registry, not the sticker, is the record. Whoever patrols needs a way to look a number up: a printed list of who’s current, or a status-only check page on a phone.

Enforcement is real work. In July 2019 Lake Lotawana reported that its Water Patrol had issued over 100 citations for boats without stickers or docks without lot and block or registration plates.

Running it in Baybook

Baybook for lake associations runs this program from one registry. You set the rules once, with different rules and fees for kayaks if you want them. Each member gets a personal link to upload the registration and the dec page and pay; Baybook reads each document and checks it against your rules; the office approves it, and the sticker is numbered your way: the next number on your own roll, the boat’s number from last year, or one typed in as it’s handed out. Members choose the mail or a pickup, the office prints the mailing labels, and patrol gets a status-only check page. See pricing, or try the lake demo.

Template: boat registration notice

Copy this into your newsletter, website or a letter, and fill in the parts in braces.

{Association name}: boat registration for the {year} season

Every boat kept or launched on {lake name} needs a {year} registration sticker by {deadline}.

Who registers
- Every motorized boat and personal watercraft.
- Kayaks, canoes and paddleboards: {register at no charge / register for a fee of ... / don’t need to register}.

What to send
- A copy of the boat’s current state registration.
- The declarations page (dec page) of the boat’s liability insurance, showing at least {minimum, such as $300,000} per occurrence and naming {association legal name}, {association mailing address}, as additional insured.
- The registration fee: {fee} per boat{, and {fee} for each kayak or canoe}.

How to send it
- Online: {link}. Upload photos or PDFs of both documents and pay by card or bank account.
- At the office: {address}, {days and hours}. Checks payable to {association name}.

Your sticker
- Each boat gets one numbered sticker for the season. Put it {where, such as on the port side of the bow, above the registration number}.
- Choose mail to your mailing address, or pickup at the office.

After {deadline}
- A late fee of {late fee} applies.
- Boats without a {year} sticker may be {asked to leave the water / cited} under {rule reference}.

Questions: {office email}, {office phone}.

Download as a text file

Questions

Do kayaks and canoes need stickers?

That’s your rule to set. Some lakes register non-motorized boats for a small fee and ask no insurance for them: Canyon Lake POA charges $15 once, and Lakewood POA requires no insurance for non-motorized boats. Others leave them out entirely. Write it down either way, so patrol knows what to expect.

What if a member loses a sticker?

Void the old number in your records and issue a new one, with a replacement fee if your rules have one. Anyone checking the old number should see that it’s no longer valid.

Do we need stickers at all?

No. Some lakes register boats without printing anything and check the state registration number on the bow instead. Every boat still gets a number for the season; it lives in the registry rather than on the hull.

Sources

The published rules and articles this guide quotes, as we read them in October 2026. Each community’s own documents are the final word on its rules.

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