Title 14, Coast GuardRelease 119-102
§549 Lighthouse and Other Sites; Necessity and Sufficiency of Cession by State of Jurisdiction
Title 14 › SUBTITLE I — ESTABLISHMENT, POWERS, DUTIES, AND ADMINISTRATION › CHAPTER 5 — FUNCTIONS AND POWERS › SUBCHAPTER III — AIDS TO NAVIGATION › § 549
Summary
No lighthouse, beacon, public pier, or landmark may be built on a site until the state gives control of that site to the United States. If the state’s cession says the state’s legal papers can still be served there, that is fine. If the cession says nothing about serving legal papers, those papers may still be served and carried out there as if the state had not given up control.
Full Legal Text
Title 14, §549
Coast Guard, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)No lighthouse, beacon, public pier, or landmark, shall be built or erected on any site until cession of jurisdiction over the same has been made to the United States.
(b)For the purposes of subsection (a), a cession by a State of jurisdiction over a place selected as the site of a lighthouse, or other structure or work referred to in subsection (a), shall be deemed sufficient if the cession contains a reservation that process issued under authority of such State may continue to be served within such place.
(c)If no reservation of service described in subsection (b) is contained in a cession, all process may be served and executed within the place ceded, in the same manner as if no cession had been made.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
14 U.S.C. § 549
Title 14, Coast Guard
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102