A multi-year documentation renewal is good news for long term liveaboard cruisers, but might not be a wise option for smaller vessels. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

“The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 was signed into law on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018. Included in this Act is a provision providing recreational Certificate of Documentation (COD) holders the ability to select a multi-year renewal (1-5 years) during an implementation period (January 1, 2019-December 31, 2021), after which a five-year document (recreational vessels only) will become automatic.

Implementation of this provision will require an update to automated systems at the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) in order to accommodate multi-year renewals. Additionally, the Coast Guard is evaluating what revisions to existing regulations may be needed to incorporate the provisions of the Act. Recreational vessel owners should continue to follow the current process for requesting/renewing CODs.

Please visit our website under ‘NVDC Latest News’. Updates will be posted as received. You may also elect to receive automated messages by registering under ‘SUBSCRIBE TO NVDC INFORMATION.”

And this note added 1/4/2019:

Recreational vessel owners who wish to renew for more than one year may do so by including additional fees in the amount of $26.00 per extra year requested, and annotating same on the CG-7042 Credit Card Form, or in the Memo line of checks.

For more information, please see Instructions under the Instructions and Forms tab on our website [above].