Have you owned your vessel for a while and aren’t sure how to keep your vessel registered? Did you recently go through some significant life changes and want to be certain that your vessel documentation is up to date? When you get your vessel registered, it really is an accomplishment. However, it doesn’t stay there forever. You have to take actions to not just renew your documentation, but to update it when your life changes. Otherwise, you risk penalties, not being in compliance, and so forth. Below are some of the most common life changes as well as the corresponding forms for compliance with the Coast Guard boat registration database.
Coast Guard Boat Registration Database
When you move, you have to update so many. Friends, family, businesses, the government, and so forth – it’s a long list. Add the Coast Guard to it. Once you’ve changed your address, use the corresponding “Change of Address” form at our site. The same goes for your vessel, too. If you move your vessel to a new hailing port, then you’ll want to use the same form then, too. It’s easy to procrastinate, to put this off, and figure “I’ll do it later.” Like so much else in life, the sooner you take care of it, the better.
When You Bring on a New Owner (or Let One Go)
So many vessel owners, when they marry their spouse, they want to make them co-owner of their vessel. Consequently, when marriages dissolve, one party or another decides that the best way to move on their life includes leaving vessel ownership. In either instance, the right form here is the “Transfer/Exchange” one. That way, no matter who owns the vessel with you, you’ll always be in compliance with the powers that be. Remember, this is the right form for whoever co-owns the vessel: whether it’s your partner, spouse, friend, a trust, a corporation, or anyone else.
When You Decide to Use Your Vessel for a New Purpose
Since the beginning, vessel owners have found different uses for their vessels. Boats that were used for fishing, for example, could be changed to vessels of warfare and conquest. If you decide that you want to use your vessel for a new purpose, we can help there, too. “Change of Endorsement/Trade Indicator” forms make it possible for you to change your vessel’s endorsement and use, whether it is endorsed as “recreational,” “coastwise,” “registry,” or “fishery.”
Always in Compliance on the Coast Guard Boat Registration Database
You can never accurately predict, not 100%, how your life will go. When it does change, we can be there to make the transition just a bit easier. The last thing you should ever be concerned with is “how do I make this in compliance with the Coast Guard?” No matter where your journey takes you, you’ll be able to find all of the forms right at our site. For more: (800) 535-8570 or fill out our contact form.