46 U.S.C. § 12304 — Certificates of numbers
U.S.C. Title 46 - SHIPPING 46 U.S.C. United States Code, 2023 Edition Title 46 - SHIPPING Subtitle II - Vessels and Seamen Part H - Identification of Vessels CHAPTER 123 - NUMBERING UNDOCUMENTED VESSELS Sec. 12304 - Certificates of numbers From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov
§12304. Certificates of numbers
(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.
(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 591; Pub. L. 117–263, div. K, title CXV, §11506, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 4136.)
Historical and Revision Notes Revised sectionSource section (U.S. Code)
12304 46:1469
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".