Vessel Certificates of Documentation for US Coast Guard Documented vessels expire annually unless the Managing Owner elects for multiple years of registration. The process of Reinstatement is fairly straightforward and may be processed online, as outlined below. Reinstatement is not necessary if you are selling/transferring ownership of the vessel. There is no maximum timeframe and there are no additional fees or penalties for long-expired Certificates of Documentation.
The typical processing time for Reinstatement of Documentation is 8-16 weeks. This timeframe can change drastically, depending on the workload of the National Vessel Documentation Center. There is no method of expediting this timeframe.
Once the application for reinstatement is completed and approved by the NVDC, the new USCG Certificate of Documentation will be mailed to the Managing owner with expiration of one year, unless the Managing Owner elected to have multiple years of registration (up to five years, selected on the reinstatement application).
To proceed to the webform for Reinstatement of Documentation, you may follow the link below:
https://unitedstatesvessel.us/return-to-documentation/
