International Purchase Documentation Agent

[Muaddib1116]

Can anyone point me towards a Documentation Agent/Agency that can help with an American purchasing a boat in the EU with the intent of importing it back to the US?

[Dogscout]

When I bought my boat in Malta I handled the USCG documentation myself. It's easy and you really dont need an agent. Now on the other end it was helpful to have the broker help get the Maltese Deletion completed.

USCG doc center are efficient and easy to work with but it can be cumbersome if you dont do the right things.

[Muaddib1116]

Thanks for chiming in! That's promising to hear. The broker in Sweden is going to handle the de-registration in Sweden.

So you were able to get the boat USCG Documented remotely? Can you shed a little more light on what was involved? I've read some things suggesting that you have to go to consulates or embassies to get documents notarized.

Were there any other bureaucratic steps you had to go through? Or was it basically the USCG documentation and insurance?

[Montanan]

Just go to the USCG Documentation website and follow the instructions, no need for a third party. The agency is backlogged so expect a delay in their processing.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organiz...tation-Center/

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organiz...ons-and-Forms/
]

[Dogscout]

So the Bill of Sale must be notarized. This can be done abroad if the notary is in a country that is signatory to the Hague Convention AKA Apostile treaty. Sweden is.

Any original document that you send, the USCG will keep. Use the credit card form instead of sending a check.

Make certain that you have a chain of ownership from builder to you. I had to get a copy of the builders cert from Hanse and copies of the original registration to original owner and the deregistration. You can also ask for a Priority review since the CG is backlogged.

Instructions are online and easy to follow. Read carefully dont skip anything the CG reviewer will follow the book and fail you if anything is wrong. But it's all easy.

[Muaddib1116]

Thanks so much, that is all really helpful.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

So the Bill of Sale must be notarized. This can be done abroad if the notary is in a country that is signatory to the Hague Convention AKA Apostile treaty. Sweden is.

Any original document that you send, the USCG will keep. Use the credit card form instead of sending a check.

Make certain that you have a chain of ownership from builder to you. I had to get a copy of the builders cert from Hanse and copies of the original registration to original owner and the deregistration. You can also ask for a Priority review since the CG is backlogged.

Instructions are online and easy to follow. Read carefully dont skip anything the CG reviewer will follow the book and fail you if anything is wrong. But it's all easy.

Reference link for request for priority review. No guarantee that such request will be honored, the reason needs to be quite compelling because everyone wants their vessel to be documented in a timely fashion.

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/D...-05-105405-483

[Dsanduril]

We bought our boat in NZ from a Swiss couple residing in Germany. Documentation took less than an hour of our time (and was all handled from NZ by email/mail).

USCG Form 1258 - Application for Documentation

USCG 5397 - Simplified Measurement

USCG 1340 - Bill of Sale

As noted above, notarization/apostile was handled in Germany by the sellers. As long as you get it done in a signatory country you don't have to go far/work too hard for it.

Also had to submit the foreign registration complete with certificate of deletion. Since Switzerland (for us, the PO registration) is a document/title country that was all we had to submit, USCG accepted the Swiss registration as proof of chain-of-ownership from prior owners.

The NVDC is really good on the phone (slow on the paperwork), just give them a call if you have questions.

[Edit] far more important, from an importing perspective make sure any engine(s) are EPA compliant and have an affixed EPA emissions sticker. Have a look at EPA Form 3520-21. You really want to be able to check Box C in Section 1 and Box 1 or Box 17 in Section 2. Box 17 is for engines older than approximately 1999/2007 (depends on the size of the engine, see table at the back of the form). If you can't check Box 1 and/or don't have a sticker then things get complicated.

When we imported the boat the only things CBP cared about were the check for 1.5% of value and EPA Form 3520-21.

[Muaddib1116]

Wonderful, this is really helpful. Thank you!

[Dogscout]

Just an FYI. My compelling and true reason for my priority request was that upon issue if the Maltese deletion I became an unregistered boat in a foreign nation. I could not legally leave the dock and the mounting berthing fees were a problem.

They were very reasonable with that.

[Muaddib1116]

That will be my situation as well. I will call the NVDC tomorrow. Thanks!

[Muaddib1116]

Dogscout, when you were granted piority handling, how long did the processing of your documentation take? When your documentation was granted and processed, how did you receive it, an email with a pdf? or snail mail? Thanks!

[Montanan]

USCG Documentation FAQ:

MAY I RECEIVE FAXED COPIES OF COMPLETED PRODUCTS PRIOR TO MAILING?
Requests for faxing of Certificates of Documentation, Letters of Deletion, Certificates of Ownership and recorded instruments such as Preferred Mortgages, Bills of Sale, Notices of Claim of Lien, and Satisfactions of Mortgage in combination to mailing will require an additional Certified Copy fee of $4.00 for each item.