A few words of warning for boaters needing to renew their vessel documentation. To the unwary, there have been third party vendors over the last several years not affiliated in any way with the U.S. Coast Guard offering services via mail and/online that can amount to triple the government charged fees. And some tout expedited processing not existing. (This is confirmed as definitely not true by U.S. Coast Guard concerning its processing requests.)
These vendors, which are legal, have very official looking website addresses and names that can easily be mistaken for the actual Falling Waters, West Virginia, U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Documentation Center site: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization which offers complete information on renewing a vessel's documentation, registering, transferring, and other services (800-799-8362).
While the Center's 'Forms Collection' expired in July of 2019, these versions will be accepted until replacements are available.
Boaters may receive forms and other materials in the mail as one person did shortly before his renewal was due. If you examine any forms or letters as well as clearly printed on the website there will be a "_________ is NOT Affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard" or similar required disclosure wording.
Avoid paying unnecessary fees next time you need a vessel documentation service by being observant as you would on the water!
Author Joan Wenner, J.D. is a longtime and widely published marine safety writer with a law degree.
Comments welcomed at joan_writer@yahoo.com
