Vessel Documentation Address Change
How to change an owner's address for vessel documentation purposes.
The managing owner of a documented vessel must notify the National Vessel Documentation Center within 10 days whenever there is a change of address. This does not involve a re-issuance for the existing Certificate of Documentation and there is no fee required for submitting a request.
Notification Requirements
Federal Regulations - Address change regulations for vessel documentation are prescribed in 46 CFR 67.113, a link to which
can be found in the Referrals for this page. These have been further
interpreted into administrative rulings by the National Vessel Documentation
Center as shown these guidelines.
Authorized Party - A change of
address can only be requested by the managing owner or a duly appointed agent. The agent must
accordingly obtain a letter of such designation which is to be included with
the request.
Physical Address - A physical address for the
managing owner is required unless living aboard with no permanent domain.
This must be in the United States unless none of the owners reside in this
country.
Postal
Box Address - The managing owner may designate an alternate postal box
address for mailing purposes provided that it is accompanied by a physical
address.
Live-aboard - If an owner is living aboard with no
permanent domain, it will be necessary to provide a live-aboard
certification. An example can be found in the Referrals for this page.
Notification Methods
Online - Address changes can now be implemented online at by
visiting the National Vessel Documentation Center's website. A link to their eStorefront can be found in the Referrals for this page.
Regular Mail - A
special form is available from the Referrals for this page when submitting
an address change by regular mail.
Email - The address change form
can be emailed to the documentation center. This must be sent to the email
address shown on the form in an Adobe PDF format.
Conclusion
Requesting a change of address takes only a few minutes and is quite easy to implement on your own behalf without the additional cost for professional assistance. You should maintain a copy of your address change request with the existing certificate of documentation until it is ultimately renewed. You may contact the documentation center direct with any concerns about the address change or whether your request was received.
References and Referrals
Comments - Suggestions - Corrections