§12304 — Title 46 Shipping | U.S. Code

Summary

Vessels must have a certificate that shows their assigned number. The certificate must be available when the vessel is operating. It can be paper or digital. A paper copy must be pocket-sized and it is good for no more than 3 years. For boats under 26 feet rented or leased for noncommercial trips under 7 days, the owner may keep the certificate ashore. If no certificate is aboard, the vessel must be identified and follow the issuing agency’s rules. The owner must tell the issuing agency within a reasonable time if they transfer any part of their ownership, destroy or abandon the vessel, or change their address, following the agency’s rules.

Title 46, §12304

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A certificate of number is granted for a number issued under this chapter. The certificate shall be at all times available for inspection on the vessel for which issued when the vessel is in operation, and may be in hard copy or digital form. Any certificate issued in hard copy under this section shall be pocketsized. The certificate shall be valid for not more than 3 years. The certificate of number for a vessel less than 26 feet in length and leased or rented to another for the latter’s noncommercial operation of less than 7 days may be retained on shore by the vessel’s owner or representative at the place from which the vessel departs or returns to the possession of the owner or the owner’s representative. A vessel that does not have the certificate of number on board shall be identified when in operation, and comply with requirements, as the issuing authority prescribes.

(b)The owner of a vessel numbered under this chapter shall provide—

(1)the issuing authority notice of the transfer of any part of the owner’s interest in the vessel or of the destruction or abandonment of the vessel, within a reasonable time after the transfer, destruction, or abandonment; and

(2)notice of a change of address within a reasonable time of the change, as prescribed by regulation.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource section (U.S. Code) 1230446:1469 section 12304 describes a certificate of number and stipulates when it must be carried on board a vessel. It also requires that the number issuing authority be notified when a boat is sold, transferred, destroyed, or abandoned, or when the owner’s address changes.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263 struck out “shall be pocketsized,” after “this chapter. The certificate” and inserted “in hard copy or digital form. Any certificate issued in hard copy under this section shall be pocketsized. The certificate shall be” after “operation, and may be”.

§12304 Certificates of Numbers