A Cass County boat deal creates three paper trails

A boat, its outboard motor, and its trailer are three separate records in Texas. TPWD titles and registers boats and separately titles qualifying outboard motors. It does not title or register trailers; those go through TxDMV and county vehicle offices.

Cass County adds one more split. The Linden tax office stopped doing boat titles on August 1, 2025, and now limits its boat work to registration renewals. Boat-title work goes to a TPWD office. The nearby Mount Pleasant office is at 212 S. Johnson Avenue, and its number is 903-572-7966. Call before traveling because TPWD warns that office availability can change.

For a used boat or motor that already has a title, get the original title signed on the front and back plus a bill of sale signed by every listed owner. A representative also needs the document that authorizes that person to sign. TPWD generally uses Form PWD 143 for the boat and PWD 144 for the motor, with applications due within 45 working days. Keep the boat, motor, and trailer prices separate on the bill of sale. That small step makes the three paper trails much easier to sort.