Federally Documented Vessel Requirements You Need to Know

The criteria for vessels specified by the federal government are critical for vessel owners to understand. Maintaining your USCG documentation is subject to strict rules and regulations that must be adhered to. This section will provide a high-level summary of the most significant criteria you should be aware of. Suppose you aren’t acquainted with the…

How to Maintain Your US Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation

You finally got your US Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation – are you worried about how you’re going to maintain it? Have you forgotten exactly when and for how long your certificate is valid? It can take a lot of work and time to get your initial documentation. So, the last thing any vessel owner…

Ways USCG Vessels (and All Others) Can Stay Safe this Spring

Are you finally ready to take your vessel out on the water this spring, but want to make sure that everything is safe? Has the weather gotten warm enough to the point where it’s time to get your vessel out of storage? There is nothing, nothing like taking your boat out after it’s been locked…

Coast Guard Documentation Center: A “Small” Vessel Waiver with “Big” Upside

Do you have a vessel that isn’t documented that you want to use on American waters? Did you recently come into possession of a foreign-built vessel and you want to see what you can use it for legally? Some folks think that if they have such a vessel, there isn’t much that they can do…

What is USCG Documentation and Why Does it Matter?

Do you ever find yourself thinking: “just what is USCG documentation anyway? Where did this come from and why would I need it?” These are natural questions to ask. USCG documentation isn’t something new, it actually comes from the very First Congress of the United States. As the national form of vessel documentation, it has…

A Basic Guide to USCG Documentation Standards and Requirements

The USCG documentation standards and regulations for boats serve many purposes. One of them is to successfully prove the vessel’s nationality at the moment of navigating international waters. So if you sail on foreign waters, your certificate of documentation provides you the status and protection of a U.S. flag vessel. If you own a ship…