Certificate of Documentation Renewal

If the boat is documentated for the very first time it is $475.00 plus if you want to pay the first year in advance it is another $75.00. Just paid online and got mine done. Just don’t want folks on here to get the wrong impression of the true initial cost to Federally Document your vessel. That being said you You don’t need to pay someone $600.00 they are just putting $125.00 of your money in their pocket for something you can easily do online yourself.

Is it too late for you to cancel your transaction with these guys??? They're putting a lot more than $125 of your cashola in their pockets...
 
Try calling the phone number on the real site and see how long it takes you to speak with a real person.
 
Just went onto the site and did my initial documentation. It was super easy. Only question was “depth” of the vessel, I hope that meant draft.

It does not mean draft. Depth for documentation purposes is the vertical measurement taken at amidships, excluding deck plates, to the bottom of the outer most hull skin, excluding the keel. The definition is on the documentation website under a section dealing with measuring tonnage.
 
If the boat is documentated for the very first time it is $475.00 plus if you want to pay the first year in advance it is another $75.00. Just paid online and got mine done. Just don’t want folks on here to get the wrong impression of the true initial cost to Federally Document your vessel. That being said you You don’t need to pay someone $600.00 they are just putting $125.00 of your money in their pocket for something you can easily do online yourself.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organi...s-DCO-D/National-Vessel-Documentation-Center/

Initial documentation with the USCG for a recreational vessel that has never been documented before is $133.00. Renewals are $26.00 each year.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO Documents/NVDC/Initial_Vessel_Documentation.pdf?ver=2017-05-09-113141-553

If you aren’t on a USCG.MIL website you’re probably dealing with a private vendor.

To document a boat in your name (transfer) that has been documented before is $84.00.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO Documents/NVDC/Exchange_or_Return_to_Documentation.pdf?ver=2017-05-09-113141-567

Additionally, once your boat is documented you will probably get a renewal a few months ahead of time in the mail from a private company that is official looking. Don’t fall for it. Cost of renewal is $26.00 each year. You can do it yourself directly with the USCG either by mail or online.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO Documents/NVDC/CG-1280_Renewal_of_Certificate_Of_Documentation.pdf?ver=2017-05-09-113141-363
 
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Try calling the phone number on the real site and see how long it takes you to speak with a real person.

I must have gotten lucky when I called the USCG a few years ago. They answered right away.
Anyway, with the links I included in the above post, there is really no need to call. The instructions and forms are all readily accessible on the USCG website.
 
Additionally, once your boat is documented you will probably get a renewal a few months ahead of time in the mail from a private company that is official looking. Don’t fall for it. Cost of renewal is $26.00 each year. You can do it yourself directly with the USCG either by mail or online.

That type of scam is run in many areas of life. Get a home warranty when you bought your home? You will get an official looking warranty renewal, Offers to get you a copy of your property deed, that you usually can get free, just $89.99. LOL

MM
 
That type of scam is run in many areas of life. Get a home warranty when you bought your home? You will get an official looking warranty renewal, Offers to get you a copy of your property deed, that you usually can get free, just $89.99. LOL

MM

It’s a shame that people fall for this stuff.
When MarineMax connected me with the company they use in Florida, and they told me what the price was, I told them to forget about documenting the boat. NYS registration was good enough for me.
NY requires the registration for documented boats anyway so they know you paid the state sales tax.
Once I closed on the boat and had all the paperwork I decided to call the USCG myself. The lady I spoke to directed me to the correct website and told me what I needed to download, complete, and mail to them.
The two benefits of having it documented for me are:
1. I don’t have to put registration numbers on the bow.
2. If I sell the boat to someone who finances it the lender may require it.
 
It seems like someone here put a refresher warning up about this scam, pretty recent I think. WV320 is already reaming some ass I'd bet.

That website is very well done, to the point you'd think the real doc center could have a complaint. Maybe they don't care, either way they get their money.
 
It seems like someone here put a refresher warning up about this scam, pretty recent I think. WV320 is already reaming some ass I'd bet.

That website is very well done, to the point you'd think the real doc center could have a complaint. Maybe they don't care, either way they get their money.

I just reviewed it and they have at the bottom of their page: "© 2018 Maritime Documentation Center. All Rights Reserved. Maritime Documentation Center is NOT the U.S. Coast Guard or the National Vessel Documentation Center; we are a third party private agency that handles USCG Documentation processing to NVDC."

The have on their three steps to documentation, in step #2: "Your documents will be processed and screened for any omissions or errors by our private company's documentation processors. Once complete, we will change your status to pending."

Step #3: "Our private company will submit your documentation to the proper authorities, and you're done! Your docs will be issued by the US Coast Guard. We will keep you updated as to their current wait list times."

I guess the cool photo of the CG ship could mislead, but the text seemed clearly a private company. But I am used to being skeptical of the digital world.

MM
 
Thanks for the heads up we are trying to cancel as we speak.
 
No luck so lesson learned... To all those who brought to my attention that I got my ass burned thank you....
 
Hey all - bumping this thread as I just got scammed (again) for the $75 renewal fee. Like a dipshit I didn't know that it was only $25 direct w/ Coast Guard. I got suspicious when I was past the expiration date and they tried to get me for $450 PLUS another $75 that they already took. A quick google search and I see said the blind man. This is a bullshit scam and you will not get your money back from them. Try to get it from your credit card and that is 50/50 as well. The site (as others have said) are very well done and hell, i'm in data security field and I got burned! Go direct to the Coast Guard to renew your documentation! -jamie
 
Purpose of documentation is to help track mortgages and ownership, i.e., financial. Does not effect search and rescue ops funding, and adds to the paperwork tracking workload of the agency. Used to be free and now the government charges fees that go up with time. No decernable benefit to you.
It's just another tax.
 
Not to rain on everyone's parade, but remember these renewals used to be free, and there is no decernable benefit to having the certificate. Agree the online experience works.

Depends on where you live. That cert allows me to avoid paying CA dmv fees which are significantly more costly than $26.
 
Do not renewal too early as the USCG will move your renewal date up.... Don't ask me how I know this - lol !!!
 

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