republic-os/legal/us/code/title-46/chapter-121/section-12105.md

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LegalText	46 U.S.C. § 12105	Issuance of documentation	us	united_states_code	code_section	46	SHIPPING	121	DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS	12105	46 U.S.C. § 12105	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc46@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t46/s12105	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-46/usc46.xml	a1c1f6118ed998e0b1422b300229433515108ea96852dc98731fe126e1719dc2	eb1331aa3c08ed87231a3606d86b30d1b5942cdf8542f6a3df8ac1d66e86057f	b37315b04156f93bb813fc0404d9a4b66fdbb53a86beb8dce63f6dafbb431a80	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

46 U.S.C. § 12105 - Issuance of documentation

Text

(a) In General.— Except as provided in section 12152 of this title, the Secretary, on receipt of a proper application, shall issue a certificate of documentation or a temporary certificate of documentation for a vessel satisfying the requirements of section 12103 of this title. The certificate shall contain each endorsement under subchapter II of this chapter for which the owner applies and the vessel is eligible.

(b) Temporary Certificates for Recreational Vessels.— The Secretary may delegate, subject to the supervision and control of the Secretary and under terms prescribed by regulation, to private entities determined and certified by the Secretary to be qualified, the authority to issue a temporary certificate of documentation for a recreational vessel eligible under section 12103 of this title. A temporary certificate issued under this subsection is valid for not more than 30 days.

(c) Information To Be Included in Certificate.— A certificate of documentation shall—

(1) identify and describe the vessel;

(2) identify the owner of the vessel; and

(3) contain additional information prescribed by the Secretary.

(d) Procedures To Ensure Integrity and Accuracy.— The Secretary shall prescribe procedures to ensure the integrity of, and the accuracy of information contained in, certificates of documentation.

(e) Effective Period.— (1) In general.— Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a certificate of documentation issued under this part is valid for a 1-year period and may be renewed for additional 1-year periods.

(2) Recreational vessels.— (A) In general.— The owner or operator of a recreational vessel may choose a period of effectiveness of between 1 and 5 years for a certificate of documentation for a recreational vessel or the renewal thereof.

(B) Fees.— (i) Requirement.— The Secretary shall assess and collect a fee—

(I) for the issuance of a certificate of documentation for a recreational vessel that is equivalent to the fee established for the issuance of a certificate of documentation under section 2110; and

(II) for the renewal of a certificate of documentation for a recreational vessel that is equivalent to the number of years of effectiveness of the certificate of documentation multiplied by the fee established for the renewal of a certificate of documentation under section 2110.

(ii) Treatment.— Fees collected under this subsection—

(I) shall be credited to the account from which the costs of such issuance or renewal were paid; and

(II) may remain available until expended.

(3) Notice of change in information.— (A) Requirement.— The owner of a vessel shall notify the Coast Guard of each change in the information on which the issuance of the certificate of documentation for the vessel is based that occurs before the expiration of the certificate under this subsection, by not later than 30 days after such change.

(B) Termination of certificate.— The certificate of documentation for a vessel shall terminate upon the expiration of such 30-day period if the owner has not notified the Coast Guard of such change before the end of such period.

(4) State and local authority to remove abandoned and derelict vessels.— Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a State or local authority from taking action to remove an abandoned or derelict vessel.

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 5, Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1493; Pub. L. 115–282, title V, § 512, Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4275; Pub. L. 117–81, div. C, title XXXV, § 3511, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2238.)

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes RevisedSectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 12105(a)46:12103(a) (less filing by owner). 12105(b)46:12103a. 12105(c)46:12103(c). 12105(d)46:12103(d). In subsection (b), the words “eligible under” are substituted for “if the applicant for the certificate of documentation meets the requirements set out in” for consistency in the chapter and to eliminate unnecessary words.

Editorial Notes

Prior ProvisionsA prior section 12105, Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 586; Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 104(a)(4), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4750; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, § 301(a)(5), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1920; Pub. L. 109–241, title III, § 310, July 11, 2006, 120 Stat. 529, originally derived from section 65h of former Title 46, Shipping, related to registry endorsements, prior to the general amendment of this chapter by Pub. L. 109–304. See section 12111 of this title.

Amendments2021—Subsec. (e)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 3511(1), added subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A), which read as follows: “In general.—A certificate of documentation for a recreational vessel and the renewal of such a certificate shall be effective for a 5-year period.” Subsec. (e)(2)(B), (C). Pub. L. 117–81, § 3511, redesignated subpar. (C) as (B) and struck out former subpar. (B), which read as follows: “Phase-in period.—During the period beginning January 1, 2019, and ending December 31, 2021, the owner or operator of a recreational vessel may choose a period of effectiveness of between 1 and 5 years for such a certificate of documentation for such vessel or the renewal thereof.” 2018—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–282 added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Certificates of Documentation for Recreational VesselsPub. L. 114–120, title III, § 311, Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 57, provided that: “Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 8, 2016], the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue regulations that— “(1) make certificates of documentation for recreational vessels effective for 5 years; and “(2) require the owner of such a vessel—“(A) to notify the Coast Guard of each change in the information on which the issuance of the certificate of documentation is based, that occurs before the expiration of the certificate; and “(B) [to] apply for a new certificate of documentation for such a vessel if there is any such change.”