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Coast Guard Documentation process times.

19K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  jerryrlitton 
#1 ·
I sent my transfer of ownership request into the CG three months ago. They cashed my check exactly two months ago. I have not received any thing back from them and their data base has not updated the vessel ownership info. Is this common? and if so, how the hell and I supposed to keep updated registration docs if it takes 6 months to renew? :mad:


(its like being at a bar where the service is so slow that each time they bring you a beer you have to order a new one)
 
#2 ·
Curious -- sounds like your paperwork may have slipped through a crack.

I think I'd call the Documentation Center if I were in your shoes. We called them a couple of weeks after our application was submitted, and they told us that the previous owner's bank needed to formally notify the Center that his loan had been satisfied. Once that was done, we got our certificate within a week.

Hope it all works out for you.
 
#4 · (Edited)
We bought a boat about 3 months ago, and used a documentation service. They let us know in early December that it was taking about 12 weeks to process new documentation.

We also have not heard anything back from the documentation center, so you are not alone.


I just spoke with the documentation service. Applications submitted mid October to CG are being processed now. Backed up due to weather they say.
 
#6 ·
Hey,

Here is the latest info on processing dates:

National Vessel Documentation Center
Case Processing Dates as of 02/20/15

Fish Initial Application: 02/18/15
Fish Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 02/18/15
Commercial Initial Application: 02/19/15
Commercial Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 02/20/15
Recreational Initial Application: 10/17/14
Recreational Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 10/16/14
Mortgage: 10/22/14
Notices of Claim of Lien: 07/24/14
Satisfactions: 05/02/13
Deletion with fees: 02/10/15
Certificates of Ownership: 02/20/15
Research (Including Complex): 02/18/15
Abstract Processing (Including Abstract Pending Review): 02/13/15


So if you sent in a recreational exchange, they are only up to the middle of October.

Barry
 
#12 ·
When I bought my boat, it took 5 months to get the official documentation... Until then, I kept copies of the application and the check aboard.
 
#13 ·
Be nice to the ladies at the Documentation Center, they always got the job done ticki po when left to their own devices. Then Sen Byrd moved the operation to Falling Waters, still things went along and the natives there were much more friendly than the Port Documentation Officer locally in Buffalo. But then you elected that band of loonies that felt the service was not the province of the govt. and what the hell they were all just serving the yachties and you know their kind. Then your Congressman (you did vote, didn't you)? figured they could make a good buck by charging you $26 for an annual letter saying you were still registered. Now the nice ladies have to handle the added load with even less budget. Well you elected him so shut up and take it like a man. It's all your fault.
 
#16 ·
Just got my annual renewal in the mail today.

Mailed it February 9th.
Was signed on February 26th.
Returned to me on March 2nd.

That's 17 days to process and 4 days for return mail.
 
#19 ·
Also the Exchange and Reinstates.........I'm planning on submitting a, I assume, Exchange or reinstatement since the PO let it expire and I just completed the purchase of my CaboRico 38. My broker has submitted a registration for MD so I'll be legal until the CG process is complete.

Stephen
 
#23 ·
Real life facts!

We bought our new (to us) sailboat the first of January. I submited the paperwork for the transfer via fax on January 25th. I had been checking the website weekly for two things: 1) you can verify that they got your paperwork and it is actually there, just in "waiting status"., and 2) how close there were getting.

As someone else pointed out earlier, they are now working on October submissions. About a 4 month wait.

I was VERY concerned by this because we have a trip planned to the Bahamas in late April. While I'm ok with a copy of bill of sale and USCG application in our own waters, I'm pretty sure the Bahamian authorities would want the "real thing."

Searching through the USCG site, I found a page that talked about requesting Priority Handling. Following the instructions there EXACTLY, I sent that request in (no extra fee required). Three days later I had the Certificate of Documentation in my mailbox.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvdc/instr/inst Priority Handling.pdf

Yep, it takes a long time for normal processing, but if there are some circumstances requiring a faster turnaround, their process worked WONDERFULLY. I was extremely pleased.

Easy to do - just follow the rules exactly.

Very pleased with the system,

~markb
 
#26 ·
We just received documentation for a boat we purchased at the end of November, so I can verify that the standard process intervals are accurately indicated on the CG site.

Case Processing Dates as of 03/20/15

Fish Initial Application: 03/06/15
Fish Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 03/06/15
Commercial Initial Application: 03/05/15
Commercial Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 03/02/15
Recreational Initial Application: 11/28/14
Recreational Exchange, Reinstatement, and Replacement of COD: 11/28/14
Mortgage: 10/22/14
Notices of Claim of Lien: 07/24/14
Satisfactions: 05/06/13
Deletion with fees: 03/12/15
Certificates of Ownership: 03/12/15
Research (Including Complex): 03/12/15
Abstract Processing (Including Abstract Pending Review): 03/12/15
 
#30 ·
Minne-
Ten year terms would be nice, but poor administration. Consider, you get a ten year registration and sell the boat two years later. For eight more years it is a ghost ship, STILL IN YOUR NAME.
There are enough problems with registrations that expire annually or every second year, considering that something like 20% of all city dwellers (or perhaps that Americans in general?) were said to move very year. So in ten years...pretty much all the registrations could be way wrong.
Sure, you could require corrections and updates, but we all know how well folks comply with those already.(G)

Just tie it in with your smartphone, your AIS, and your bank account on autopay, and make it all mandatory and automatic, right? (sigh)
 
#32 ·
"
Just to confirm, you sent the paperwork via Fax and you got it back in 3 days?"
yes, exactly. I faxed in the priority notification and 3 days later the Certificate was in my mail box.

In answer to your question about "why doesn't everybody request priority filing", it states that you must have a valid reason for requesting the priority handling. In our case, we have an impending trip to a foreign country (with the boat). And there's a bunch of super serious sounding language about the implications of being dishonest in making the request.
 
#35 ·
"

yes, exactly. I faxed in the priority notification and 3 days later the Certificate was in my mail box.

In answer to your question about "why doesn't everybody request priority filing", it states that you must have a valid reason for requesting the priority handling. In our case, we have an impending trip to a foreign country (with the boat). And there's a bunch of super serious sounding language about the implications of being dishonest in making the request.
Yes, you can also send in your renewal early if it conflicts with your trip plans. As long as you give them a reason for early renewal, they will do it without a hassle. I have rarely seen a more efficient government operation than the USCG documentation process. They have always been knowledgeable and polite to deal with.
 
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