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On February 18, 2021 a final rule extending the validity of a recreational vessel endorsement on a Certificate of Documentation (COD) from 1 to 5 years goes into effect.

Congress passed and the President signed the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, which requires the Coast Guard to issue recreational vessel CODs for 5 years. By updating the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect this change, the Coast Guard anticipates this final rule to harmonize with the requirements of the 2018 Act that decreased the burden on recreational vessel owners by requiring COD renewals every 5 years rather than annually.

For more information about the final rule, view the Federal Register notice or search docket number USCG-2020-0215 on https://www.regulations.gov.

For information about this document, call or email Mr. Ronald Teague, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, National Vessel Documentation Center, 792 T J Jackson Drive, Falling Waters, WV 25419; telephone 304 271-2506; email ronald.s.teague@uscg.mil.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.