§12103. Certificates of documentation

(a) Except as provided in section 12123 of this title, on application by the owner of a vessel eligible for documentation, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue a certificate of documentation endorsed with one or more of the endorsements specified in sections 12105–12109 of this title.

(b)(1) The Secretary may prescribe the form of, the manner of filing, and the information to be contained in, applications for certificates of documentation.

(2) The Secretary shall require each person applying to document a vessel to provide-

(A) the person's social security number; or

(B) for a person other than an individual-

(i) the person's taxpayer identification number; or

(ii) if the person does not have a taxpayer identification number, the social security number of an individual who is a corporate officer, general partner, or individual trustee of the person and who signs the application for documentation for the vessels.

(c) Each certificate of documentation shall-

(1) identify and describe the vessel;

(2) identify the owner of the vessel; and

(3) contain additional information prescribed by the Secretary.

(d) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures to ensure the integrity of, and the accuracy of information contained in, certificates of documentation.

(e) The owner and master of a documented vessel shall make the vessel's certificate of documentation available for examination as the law or Secretary may require.

( Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 585 ; Pub. L. 100–710, title I, §104(a)(4), (6), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4750 ; Pub. L. 101–225, title III, §301(a)(3), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1920 ; Pub. L. 102–388, title III, §348(c)(1), Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1554 ; Pub. L. 102–587, title V, §5213(a)(1), Nov. 4, 1992, 106 Stat. 5077 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised section	Source section (U.S. Code)
12103	46:65e

Section 12103 provides that a certificate of documentation shall be issued upon application by the owner of any vessel eligible for documentation on the form and in the manner prescribed by the Secretary and that it shall be available for examination. This section also provides that each certificate of documentation shall contain the name, the home port, the description of the vessel, identity of its owner, and be in the form and contain the additional information that the Secretary prescribes. The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe procedures to ensure the integrity of, and the accuracy of, information contained in, certificates of documentation.

Amendments

1992-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–388 and Pub. L. 102–587 amended subsec. (a) identically, substituting "Except as provided in section 12123 of this title, on" for "On".

1989-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(3)(A), substituted "endorsed with one or more of the endorsements" for "of one of the types".

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(3)(B), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).

1988-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–710, §104(a)(4), inserted "of Transportation" after "Secretary".

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 100–710, §104(a)(6), in amending par. (1) generally, substituted "identify and describe the vessel" for "contain the name, the home port, and a description of the vessel".

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–225 effective on the 180th day after Dec. 12, 1989, see section 309(b)(2) of Pub. L. 101–225, set out as a note under section 12101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 100–710 effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as an Effective Date note under section 30101 of this title.