FAQ's

We recommend that you renew boat registration within 60 days of the expiration date on your Certificate of Documentation.

If you renew 60 days or fewer before your expiration date, your Certificate of Documentation will have the same expiration date in the following year.

Renewing earlier than 60 days before the expiration date is acceptable, but, you will be given a new expiration date in the following year. This new expiration date will be earlier in the year.

To use an example, if your Certificate of Documentation has an expiration date of November 30th and you decide to renew it in August, then the expiration date next year will be earlier than November. By doing this, you will “waste” money and time.

However, renewing your documentation 60 days or fewer before the expiration date maintains the same expiration date next year.

You can renew your vessel’s documentation for up to 30 days after the expiration date (at the risk of late fees). You cannot renew your Certificate of Documentation later than 30 days after the expiration date, you can only reinstate it.

For more, read Title 46/Chapter I/SubchapterG/Part 67 in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Use this link to renew vessel documentation.

You can use this to reinstate your boat documentation.

Should you wish to use your USCG documented vessel, currently with a “Recreational” endorsement, as a fishing charter vessel, you have to change the vessel’s endorsement/trade indicator. You can do so at this link for updating your boat documentation.

Choose the appropriate commercial endorsement for how you wish to use your vessel. For example, if you wish to engage in commercial fishing activities on the navigable waters of the United States or the Exclusive Economic Zone, select the “Fishery” endorsement.

If you’re going to transport people and/or merchandise (such as operating a “6-pack charter vessel,”) then select the “Coastwise” endorsement.

If you wish to engage in foreign/international trade, choose the “Registry” endorsement.

If you have further questions, you can email us at info@usvesselregistrar.us

The easiest way to determine whether or not a documented US vessel has a mortgage on it is to apply for an Abstract of Title.

That Abstract will include whether or not there are any mortgages/liens against the vessel. Additionally, it will tell you the status of those mortgages/liens, whether or not they have been satisfied, and so forth. Plus, the Abstract will include the vessel owner as well as its chain of ownership among other information.

At our site, if you have a vessel’s Official Number or Hull Identification Number (HIN), you can conduct a vessel documentation search. This will give you a vessel’s dimensions, information about its flag, name, vessel documentation status, and more. It will not include any mortgages/liens against the vessel nor will it include any information about the vessel owner(s).

To transfer a vessel’s documentation into your name after your spouse’s passing, complete this form for the Transfer Exchange of USCG Documentation.

As you complete the form, upload any pertinent documentation in regards to Estate/Inheritance granting you vessel ownership, the death certificate, as well as documentation establishing Right of Survivorship (if necessary).

According to 46 CFR 67.79, “Passage of Title Without Court Action Following Death of Owner,” “when title to a vessel formerly owned in whole or in part by an individual now deceased passes without court action, an applicant for documentation must present (1) when title passes to a surviving joint tenant or tenants or to a tenant by the entirety, a copy of the death certificate, certified by an appropriate State official; or (2) where the laws of cognizant jurisdiction permit passage of title without court action, evidence of compliance with applicable State law.”

For further questions, contact us at info@usvesselregistrar.us

Documented Vessel Names Do Not Have to Be Original 
In this context, “original” can mean “names used by other vessels.”
Documented Vessel Name Rules 
That said, there are rules to naming your vessel.

Specifically, 46 CFR 67.17 states that “the name designated: must be composed of letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals; may not be identical, actually or phonetically, to any word or words used to solicit assistance at sea; and may not contain nor be phonetically identical to obscene, indecent, or profane language, or to racial or ethnic epithets.”

When choosing a name for your vessel, use common sense. The name of your vessel will be associated with you. Choose something that you will be glad to be associated with.

At all times. According to the Navigation Center of the United States Coast Guard (Rule 5), “every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.”

To be clear, this does not just refer to USCG documented vessels. This refers to any boat on the water of any size.

In this context, the phrase “look-out” is a noun, referring to someone who watches and listens so as to be fully aware of the vessel as what happens in its vicinity. This person should always be ready to act and not just to watch.

In just about any size vessel, the look-out is not the captain or person at the helm, but rather, someone towards the front of the boat. Typically, they are to be at a remove from distractions on the vessel so that they can better focus on what is ahead, what is around, what is on the water, etc.

Neither Rule 5 nor any other rule stipulate where the look-out must be. However, common sense and competent navigation suggest that the look-out be placed anywhere they could best be equipped to hear and see anything that could potentially collide with the vessel.

If your vessel is eligible, you can use this link to apply for vessel documentation.

Documented Vessel Number Search 

Through the Vessel Registrar Center site, vessel owners can search for vessels by documented vessel number (Official Number) or HIN (Hull Identification Number). 

Use this link to conduct a documented vessel search. 

To find the previous owner of a vessel, you can apply for an “Abstract of Title” through our site. This Abstract will contain the name of the previous owner as well as other owners during the time the vessel has been documented.

Additionally, this Abstract will contain whether or not there are any liens/mortgages against the vessel, whether they have been satisfied, and other information.

If you have a vessel’s official number or HIN (Hull Identification Number), you can conduct an NVDC vessel search through our site. This will provide information such as the status of the vessel’s Certificate of Documentation, its particulars, and more. This will not, however, provide the identity of the owner.

Yes, You Can Transfer Coast Guard Boat Registration

Through the Vessel Registrar Center, you can utilize this form for a Coast Guard documentation transfer. 

A “Registry Endorsement” on a Certificate of Documentation permits a vessel entry into foreign/international trade. Additionally, the vessel can operate in any other foreign/international employment that does not require a Fishery or a Coastwise endorsement.

According to The Code of Federal Regulations 46 CFR 67.17: “A registry endorsement entitles a vessel to employment in the foreign trade; trade with Guam, American Samoa, Wake, Midway, or Kingman Reef; any other employment for which a coastwise, or fishery endorsement is not required.”

Vessel owners can change their vessel’s endorsement/trade indicator at any time through this link to our boat documentation.

If your vessel is no longer usable then you should remove it from the Coast Guard boat registry. To do that, you should file for deletion of your Certificate of Documentation.

The laws regarding Deletion; requirement and procedure can be read here.

At this link, you can file for deletion of your vessel documentation.

Your Hailing Port Does Not Have to Be in the State Where Your Vessel is Registered 
While documented vessels must have a designated “hailing port on boat” or, as it’s also referred to, a “hailing port.” This hailing port does not have to be the port at which the vessel most often docks. The hailing port can be anywhere you choose, so long as it is a location in America. 

This is the port that the USCG will associate with your vessel. It will be on your Certificate of Documentation as well as on the hull of your vessel. 

Remember: the hailing port is not where the vessel owner hails from, but rather, where the vessel hails from.