Changing Documented Status to State Registration

[Sand crab]

I am trying to help my friend out who has purchased a boat here in Washington State. He is not a citizen therefore cannot own a documented boat and will have to change to WA state title and registration. The boat does have current WA registration. It appears that the boat will have to be delisted from the feds but the next step is elusive so I have a few questions.


1. Do documented boats have a title similar to the state titles and can someone post a pic?

2. The seller has said that he is delisting the boat. Can I assume the USCG will issue a document that shows that the boat has been delisted? What exactly is that? Is there something else official that will be issued?

3. This last question is specific the Washington. What federal documents do they want to see to make the transfer to the state.


English is not a first language for my friend so that is why I am doing this. I do have a query into the DOL here but haven't heard back so I thought I'd check here. Thanks everybody.

[dcstrng]

You should be able to go onto the USCG site and see what the status of the vessel is – I had to do the reverse – someone had attempted to move a documented vessel to a state registry and then dropped the ball halfway across – everything lapsed – but I Googled the documented hull number and then backtracked, USCG had its status listed. In my case it took about 6-7 months and several hundred bucks to straighten it out(and no small amount of aggravation) , but it eventually worked – just don’t let the vessel’s paperwork fall into a black-hole or you’ll get to wade through the whole process…

[Sand crab]

Thanks Larry. NOAA fisheries used to have the vessel search but now they say the CG does it. I was just on the CG site but can't find the vessel search on there. Anybody got the new link? This is the old dead site:
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/Coa...selByName.html

[letsgetsailing3]

The link you posted works, doesn't it? Try it with just the first name of the boat.



https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/Coa...selByName.html


At the bottom of this page, they discuss the backlog: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organiz...tation-Center/



Looks like changes in ownership now take about a month.

[Sand crab]

Thanks, the first name trick worked. The boat has 2 names like a person. When I typed in both I got a dead page, it didn't even say they it wasn't in the database. I do see that it is still in the previous owners name.

[Zzmeyer]

Just went through something similar. The current owner can remove the documentation as one of the options of the USCG site. I doubt that the buyer can do it, but don't know.

[Steven UK]

I just went through the same thing, previous owner delisted and provided a bill of sale that was stamped by a notarary. Then walk into the local dmv with said bill of sale and ten minutes later you have a state registration. Try to hold onto the bill of sale though as mine was destroyed, they told me they didn’t return those...!

Regards Steven

[Sand crab]

Thanks Steven, It looks like you are not in Washington so I hope it is that easy. We just found out that the PO has an official letter titled "Evidence of Deletion from US Documentation" which he took a pic of. He is mailing the hard copy to my friend who already has the notarized Bill of Sale. I hope that will do it. Anyway, I am helping him moving it tomorrow to a new location (30 miles) tomorrow. I expect we will be mostly motoring because it's predicted wind on the nose, of course at about 4 knots. It's supposed to be above average temps and you know any day on the water is a good day.

[Zzmeyer]

Hope all go well. Documentation stays with the boat no matter the owner unless you switch to state registration. Things like Mexico temporary import permit (TIP) is by owner and a major problem if not cancelled by previous owner. Go figure.

[Dougtiff]

Having done this in California, this is how you can do it, just let the documentation laps, the coast guard could care less [ no fines or fees], have some form of ownership, i.e., bill of sale, ect., go to DMV, walk out with State registration, Done !.

[newhaul]

Bob call me on that issue I will explain

[Sailor647]

Originally Posted by Zzmeyer

Documentation stays with the boat no matter the owner unless you switch to state registration.

This is not entirely accurate. You don't HAVE to obtain a Certificate of Documentation from the Department of Homeland Security/United States Coast Guard. In fact, only some boats qualify for one. Non-citizen owners are not able to obtain a US Certificate of Documentation.

The Certificate of Documentation needs to be changed anytime there is any change in the information on the form. The owner information, hailing port (if applicable), and vessel name (if applicable) should all be changed when the boat is sold. Endorsements, entitlements, restrictions, and remarks are also changeable.

The only things that stays the same are the Official Number issued by Homeland Security/USCG, the IMO Number (hull identification number), and the boat build information etc.

You can register the boat with a state and have a Certificate of Documentation at the same time. Some states will allow you to bypass state registration if the vessel is documented, some states will require state registration regardless.

Washington state info: https://boat.wa.gov/Register.asp

Good luck!

[Zzmeyer]

Sailor647. Totally agree. My point was simply that if you buy a boat and want to document it then you amend the existing documentation not get a new one.