Change from State Registration to CG Documented

So my boat has been in St. Thomas last two years and is registered in Delaware . I am bringing the boat to Florida and want to change the Delaware registration to coast guard documentation. I know that even with CG documentation I have to register in Florida. That is not a problem.

It's the paperwork.

Has anyone made the change from state to Coast Guard? The coast guard documentation instructions are not clear on what is required. There is no change of ownership, no change of name. Coast Guard seems to be asking for a bill of sale. But I bought the boat more than three years ago. Can I just use the back of the Delaware registration form to list the change of status as no longer registered in Delaware?

Before I bumble off sending out paper work I thought I would reach out and get some clarity from someone who has done it before.

I'd just call the National Vessel Documentation Center and talk to them. They're usually pretty helpful. 800-799-8632.

If the boat was never documented, it may be tough. The USCG usually requires a certificate of origin from the manufacturer to document a boat.

David

And I think you have to get a sign off from any/all previous owners. They have to make sure it was never stolen and has no open liens. This may be a case where one of the documentation broker services would come in handy.

I documented a well used boat and it couldn't have been hard because I'm not terribly bright. Although I confess that I don't remember the process. I did follow the written instructions found on the website.

I agree with calling them if you have a specific question. For a government agency, they are surprisingly helpful. On my boat, I did have a bill of sale, but I had to complete the initial request (which required some educated calculations of various measurements). Before you hire someone, give it a shot yourself by downloading the initial documentation forms and calling if you have a specific question (such as what you could use in lieu of a BOS).

I know they didn't require me to have a sign off from any prior owners.

Does Delaware not title boats? That’s ideally what you would send in to show proof of ownership. Otherwise I expect it’s the registration if that’s how you transfer ownership in DE.

In Washington State at least, you can add CG documentation but you are still required to pay for state registration every year. The documentation substitutes for the title.

I think there are other states with similar requirements …

What are you having trouble with? The state registration or the documentation.

State registration is generally easy.

Homeland Security for documentation can be troublesome.

pete

I've done it. Really not a problem. Mine was on a boat that had been previously documented but last owner had dropped it from the system and done state registration. I just had to send a copy of the last registration and bill of sale. In your case shouldn't be a bill of sale necessary since it is in your name. But to be on the safe side just call them, they are very helpful.

I just had my secretary do it online for USCG renewal and renewed for 5 years. Address change and initial should do it if you have the original reg and bill of sale.

jgwinks said:

And I think you have to get a sign off from any/all previous owners. They have to make sure it was never stolen and has no open liens. This may be a case where one of the documentation broker services would come in handy.

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No. If you have the current title you will have to admeasure the boat to determine the net tonnage and fill out the required forms. It isn’t hard to do if you have the measurements of the boat. I had line drawings of a previous boat and scaled them up to get the necessary measurements. You could also take it to a documentation company and have them do it for you.

This is the people I use and they make it painless.
Just give Connie Crews a call and it can be handled over the phone

https://allyachtdocumentation.com/services

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/...TION 12-2021.pdf?ver=rwqVu92CdR95QpkthNEOvg==

The Simplified Method will use a state title. In Non-Title States the registration is generally used as the title. The Registration itself includes a form on the back to transfer the ownership. The owner is implied by the registration, unless that registration shows as having ownership transferred.

There are 16 states which don't title boats. People document their boats all the time. If this were really a problem, it would have been discussed ad nauseum on this site and our sister site Cruisers Forum.

Best bet would be to contact the USCG. You could pay fees for a 3rd party documentation company to handle it for you. Despite popular belief, they are not 'scams'. They are paid a fee (albeit high) to provide services such as navigating the bureaucracy and paperwork for you.

Good luck.

It is difficult to retroactively get a vessel documented, especially if it is older.

Why do you really want to do it. There is very little advantage to having a documented vessel. In fact, about none, as far as I know. Just more paperwork and fees.

pete

Pete Meisinger said:

It is difficult to retroactively get a vessel documented, especially if it is older.

Why do you really want to do it. There is very little advantage to having a documented vessel. In fact, about none, as far as I know. Just more paperwork and fees.

pete

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Because it's saltier -- more nautical -- and has cache'. That's really the only reason we've maintained the fed documentation our boat. I'm being facetious of course, but I think for most purposes Pete is exactly right. I've sometimes heard that federal documentation is helpful if you leave US waters, but then I've heard just as many boaters say that state registration works just fine for most purposes in Canada and Mexico, and it's not required transiting the Panama Canal for example, if you're doing the "Big U." And then others say it gives you a rock solid ownership history for insurance and financing, but I'm not sure that really makes much of a difference either. I've never seen a percentage quoted but I'll bet the vast majority of recreational boats are financed and insured with just state titles. In fact, our local county registrar and bank and insurance company here (State Farm) didn't even know what federal boat documentation was, they required a state title. Now of course I know it's improper (illegal?!) to state title a federally documented boat, but good luck telling that to the boat cops, banks, counties and insurance companies around here, and I'll bet in lots of other "landlocked" states that aren't familiar with bigger boats and other nautical stuff.

Pete Meisinger said:

It is difficult to retroactively get a vessel documented, especially if it is older.

Why do you really want to do it. There is very little advantage to having a documented vessel. In fact, about none, as far as I know. Just more paperwork and fees.

pete

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It is actually pretty easy to do. Just fill out the forms and submit them to the CG NVDC in West Virginia.

As to the benefits, they may or may not apply to you. Some financial institutions require it because it gives them a stronger title to the boat than a state registration. It is better to have a federally titled vessel if you are going out of the country. You don’t have to display state registration numbers on the boat.

One of the biggest reasons is financing....preferred mortgage.

Comodave said:

...It is better to have a federally titled vessel if you are going out of the country. You don’t have to display state registration numbers on the boat.

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Dave -- For all the times this has been discussed on the forum, I'm still not sure what the benefits are though. Do you know how or why it's better? Easier to check through Customs and border patrols? I've chartered in the PNW a number of times (San Juan Charters and Nanaimo Charters), and Mexico once. Passports, fruit and other deadly foods (!!) were heavily scrutinized especially trying to get back into the US, but I don't recall any official asking anything about boat documentation or ownership. But maybe you're talking about beyond North America, although that's very rare for most of us I'll bet.

You also mentioned not having to display state registration numbers on the bow. That's actually one reason we do keep up the federal documentation. Relatively trivial, just aesthetic reason I know, but it's worth $26 to me for a clean-looking bow. And the salty cache'. Makes me feel like Joshua Slocum to explain the federal regs to the state Fish & Game water cops, ha!

Can't confirm this but I have heard that if USCG Documented and you get into issues in some foreign countries, the state department will get involved. I would bet even if state only registered, they would too as a citizen of the USA.

..... but with documentation they have more leverage..... might be something to do with more directly "flagged" in the USA.

psneeld said:

Can't confirm this but I have heard that if USCG Documented and you get into issues in some foreign countries, the state department will get involved. I would bet even if state only registered, they would too as a citizen of the USA.

..... but with documentation they have more leverage..... might be something to do with more directly "flagged" in the USA.

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That is my understanding too.

All I know is the one time I was stopped by a LEO, the USCG in my case, the Coasties wanted to see my certificate.

fgarriso said:

This is the people I use and they make it painless.
Just give Connie Crews a call and it can be handled over the phone

https://allyachtdocumentation.com/services

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What did they charge?

We used Connie crews @ All Yachts Documentation. 386-462-1144. She is an expert and took care of everything. Cost was around 700 I think. She knows the ins and outs of each states tax ru,es and can guide you.

I emailed several that processed the paperwork, $350-$900.

I called the CG filled out form 1258 with bill of sale really simple, cost $84

merman64 said:

I just had my secretary do it online for USCG renewal and renewed for 5 years. Address change and initial should do it if you have the original reg and bill of sale.

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Yes, you just spent around $800 or so. If your secretary had dealt directly with the Coast guard Documentation office, it would have been less than $250. They charge about $100 for initial documentation and $26 per year renewal. You probably paid around $4-500 for documentation and $75 per year renewal.

I think the bottom line is the doc services are over charging for a simple task.

lipets said:

I think the bottom line is the doc services are over charging for a simple task.

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They ARE charging for their service... OVER or UNDER charging is up to the user.
If everyone thought they were over charging they wouldn't exist.

Many do their own taxes because they feel the services over charge for what they get. Others don't want to be bothered figuring it all out... just pay the fee and let someone else do the work.

kthoennes said:

I'm still not sure what the benefits are though. Do you know how or why it's better?

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There are two purposes for US citizens to document a vessel in the US.

1) It 'flags' the vessel officially as a US vessel. This isn't really needed for travel to Mexico, Canada, or the Bahamas. Those neighbors give us to leeway, mostly due to proximity. However, it becomes an issue when you travel to foreign countries beyond our neighbors. Australia doesn't care are about Florida registration. You're vessel needs an officially flagged. To a degree, it acts like a passport for your vessel.

2) It titles the vessel. While many states title vessels, 16 states don't. A bank needs to be lien holder on the title when there is a loan. Most banks don't want to have a process for 34 states, then another process for 16 states. It's just easier to have all the titles via USCG documentation.

Bacchus said:

They ARE charging for their service... OVER or UNDER charging is up to the user.
If everyone thought they were over charging they wouldn't exist.

Many do their own taxes because they feel the services over charge for what they get. Others don't want to be bothered figuring it all out... just pay the fee and let someone else do the work.

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I don’t disagree with what you said. However, a lot of people use services just because they don’t know they can go direct to the Coast Guard Doc office to get everything done for a lot less money.
This is especially true about all the people who got scammed into using a service for a simple renewal paying $75 when the CG office charges $26.

Chuck34 said:

I don’t disagree with what you said. However, a lot of people use services just because they don’t know they can go direct to the Coast Guard Doc office to get everything done for a lot less money.
This is especially true about all the people who got scammed into using a service for a simple renewal paying $75 when the CG office charges $26.

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Please stop with the 'scam' angle. The fact that people don't do their due diligence doesn't make it a scam. As stated... it's a service. They are entitled to charge what they want for the service. You are entitled to do your own research.

Lack of due diligence doesn't make the service a scam. Please stop the insanity.