You finally did it, you have the boat of your dreams. Owning a yacht is a delightful way to leisurely enjoy the coast and the sea, but not before getting your yacht documentation in order, of course. Let’s go over what you’ll need to do before setting sail.
Yacht Documentation
There is a misconception regarding recreational vessel registration. Some people will say you only have to register commercial vessels, but they’d be mistaken. If your yacht fulfills the criteria outlined below, you will have to get your yacht documentation in order before setting sail. Why? Well, ships are documented according to use, be it commercial or recreational. While you can use a commercial vessel for recreational purposes, you can’t use a recreational one for commercial endeavors, so this registration exists to regulate and organize vessel use in a proper way. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard to get your vessel documentation in order. Our team makes an effort so that the process is as easy as possible.
Registration Criteria
So, first of all, you need to take the following requirements into consideration at the time of registering your recreational vessel with the United States Coast Guard.
- The vessel has to be wholly owned by a citizen of the United States.
- The vessel must measure at least five net tons (exceptions to this only apply for certain oil spill response vessels). A helpful hint: any vessel that measures more than 25 feet is likely to measure five net tons.
- The vessel needs to be given a name and a hailing port, both of which should be displayed in four-inch block letters on the hull of the vessel.
- Federally documented vessels are not required to display state registration numbers, but you may still be required to register the vessel with the state.
Register your Yacht
Now that you know whether you need to get your yacht documentation or not, how do you do it? Easy. First, head over to the initial registration form on our menu. All you need to do is fill out any relevant information regarding the vessel and yourself (or the owner, if you are acting on their behalf). What kind of information? Mostly contact information about the owner applying for the documentation and manufacturing data regarding the vessel. Once you’ve filled out the form, all you need to do is pay for the application fee and send it our way. Our team of checkers will make sure it’s all in order before submitting it to the Coast Guard so that you don’t have to deal with returned or rejected applications.
Vessel Documentation Online
Now, this is only one of the relevant yacht documentation processes out there, but we are here to help with just about any of them that is giving you trouble. All applications are available on our menu above and, if you are having trouble, our team is ready to help. If you have a question about a process or application, give us a call at 1-866-981-8783 or email us at info@nvdcrenewal.us and we’ll be in touch with you in no time.