Boat Documentation Renewal to Get You on the Water Legally Faster

boat documentation renewal

You’re all ready for your big boat trip. You’ve got everyone together, you’ve got a boat plan, you’ve got the necessary supplies, the weather is fantastic, everything is ready to go. Then, you get on the boat, and… you notice it’s out of fuel. Or, you notice the fuel line has a hole, the engine won’t come on — you find that there’s something wrong with the boat that will keep you from going out how you wanted. If you’ve had a boat long enough, you’ve probably had something like this happen to you. Getting boat documentation renewal done on time makes sure that, if something keeps you on the land, it’s not your documentation. 

Do You Have to Get Your Documentation Renewed? 

In a word, yes. You have to do it annually. In an easier, more perfect world, perhaps you could register your vessel once and be done with it, but that’s not how the law works. Indeed, with some airplanes, you can go three years without registering, but when it comes to boats, you have to do it annually. If you don’t, then you won’t be able to use your vessel legally on the water. That’s essentially the last thing you want. If you’re using your vessel for coastwise trade or something similar, for example, this could be a serious problem for your business. Getting your renewal done fast is important. 

boat documentation renewal

The Time for Boat Documentation Renewal 

Before it’s due – that’s the short answer. You don’t want to let this go on and on until you forget. Getting this done on time can help your peace of mind quite a bit. Fortunately, we’ve made it so that you don’t have to agonize about it. Instead, you can go to our site and fill out everything you need in just a matter of minutes. Honestly, renewal is probably the most common use for our site. That’s why it’s at the top of the page on the left. Everything that you need to fill out is marked with an asterisk so that you can type it out in a matter of minutes. 

Renew for Years in Advance

If you’ve renewed your vessel documentation before elsewhere, then you know that you have to do it each year. If you’re late or forget a year, then you’re out of luck. We never liked that system and always sought to make something better. So, at our site, you can renew for years in advance. In fact, you can renew for up to five years in advance here. Imagine not having to worry about your vessel documentation for the next half-decade. This is a great way to give yourself one less concern. 

In Addition to Renewal 

While renewing documentation may be the most common use of our site, it’s far from the only one. You can find vessel documentation forms to help you at essentially every stage of vessel ownership, from buying it through selling to someone else. For more, give us a call at (866) 981-8783.