Keeping documentation valid: renewal, changes and selling the boat

Registration & documentation · Power & sail

A recreational Certificate of Documentation can be issued or renewed for 1 to 5 years at the owner's choice. Owners must report changes to the certificate's information within 30 days, and a sale or a change of name or hailing port ends the certificate's validity at once (46 CFR 67.163, 67.167, 67.319).

How long a certificate lasts

• Under a law signed December 27, 2021 (Pub. L. 117-81, sec. 3511), the owner of a recreational boat may choose a certificate, or a renewal, valid for 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years (46 U.S.C. 12105(e)(2)(A)).
• The Coast Guard updated its rules to match in a final rule published November 14, 2023 and effective December 14, 2023. Version read: 46 CFR 67.163 and 67.317 as of September 1, 2026.
• A certificate that carries a commercial endorsement as well as the recreational one is limited to 1 year (46 CFR 67.163(a)).
• The renewal fee is charged for each year of validity you choose (46 U.S.C. 12105(e)(2)(B); 46 CFR 67.550).

Renewing

• Before the endorsement expires, apply for renewal to the National Vessel Documentation Center on form CG-1280, certifying that the certificate's information is still accurate and the certificate is not lost or withheld (46 CFR 67.163(b)).
• A late renewal carries an extra fee, and failing to renew can get the boat deleted from documentation (46 CFR 67.517, 67.171(a)(10)).
• Renewal can be refused if the owner has an outstanding civil penalty from the Coast Guard (46 CFR 67.163).

What to report, and when

• Report every change in the information your certificate is based on within 30 days. If you don't, the certificate terminates when the 30 days run out (46 CFR 67.319; 46 U.S.C. 12105(e)(3)).
• The managing owner must report a change of address to the National Vessel Documentation Center within 30 days (46 CFR 67.113(e), 67.321).
• Changing owners, the boat's name or hailing port, its tonnage or dimensions, or the legal name of an owner all require an exchanged certificate (46 CFR 67.167(b), 67.167(c)).
• If the certificate is lost or mutilated, apply to the documentation center for a replacement (46 CFR 67.169).
• If the boat is destroyed or otherwise can no longer be used to travel on the water, send the documentation center a statement of the reason; the boat is then deleted from documentation (46 CFR 67.171(a)(6), 67.171(b)).

Selling the boat

• Any change of ownership, in whole or in part, makes the certificate and its endorsements invalid immediately (46 CFR 67.167(b)(1)).
• To keep the boat documented, the new owner applies for an exchange of the certificate on form CG-1258 with title evidence such as the bill of sale (46 CFR 67.141).
• Since January 15, 2025 the old certificate no longer has to be sent in with an application for exchange, replacement or deletion (Coast Guard final rule FR Doc. 2024-29555).
• If a mortgage is recorded against the boat, the exchange needs the lender's consent on form CG-4593 (46 CFR 67.145).
• If the buyer won't keep the boat documented, or isn't a US citizen, the boat is deleted from documentation and the owner sends a statement of the reason. A boat used only for recreation doesn't need Maritime Administration approval to go to a non-citizen (46 CFR 67.171, 67.11(b)).

The rules: 46 CFR 67.11 · 46 CFR 67.113 · 46 CFR 67.141 · 46 CFR 67.145 · 46 CFR 67.163 · 46 CFR 67.167 · 46 CFR 67.169 · 46 CFR 67.171 · 46 CFR 67.317 · 46 CFR 67.319 · 46 CFR 67.321 · 46 CFR 67.517 · 46 CFR 67.550 · 46 U.S.C. 12105

A plain-language summary of federal rules for recreational boats, checked against the rules’ own text and a second source, and written in our own words. It isn’t legal advice. States add rules of their own, and rules change — the links above go to the current official text.