Have you been waiting for the right time to renew boat registration, but aren’t sure what that is? Does the process of going about renewing your vessel registration seem far, far more complicated than it should be? The latter is what we found to be true in our experiences. It’s a major reason why we started the Maritime Documentation Center. At our site, you can renew your vessel documentation in a matter of minutes, whenever and from wherever you would like. It’s important to do so at the right time.
Try Not to Renew Boat Registration Too Early
If you consider yourself a “go-getter,” like many of us do, then it makes sense to renew your vessel registration as early as possible. After all, who wants to wait till the last minute to do something? That said, there can be a problem with renewing it too early. For example, if you renew your documentation a month earlier than your deadline, you lose a month of validity. So, say your documentation expires in November. You, being a forward-thinking person, renew it in October. Then, the next year, you have to renew it in October. That’s how you lose a month. It saves money when you renew it in the deadline month.
What to Do if Your Boat Registration Expires
Even if you plan for it, remind yourself, set reminders and so forth, it’s easier than you think to lose track of when your vessel registration should be renewed. If the deadline passes, and your registration is no longer valid, don’t panic. It’s not good, but it can be dealt with. Then, the right move is to click on the “Reinstatement” link on our site. There, you can go through the process of getting your registration back. It’s too late, at this point, to click on “Renewal.” But, through “Reinstatement,” you can get back in compliance.
How Not to Have to Worry About Boat Registration for Years to Come
There’s an easy way to avoid the scenario laid out in the prior paragraph. At our site, when you initially register or renew your vessel’s registration, you can choose to do so for up to five years in advance. So, instead of having to do it annually, year by year by year, instead, you can do it for up to a half-decade. We see it as one more way we can make things easier for vessel owners.
Beyond Vessel Registration at the Maritime Documentation Center
While this blog has been entirely about renewing your vessel documentation, that’s far from all that we offer at the Vessel Documentation Center. You can find all of the forms you’ll need to stay in compliance with the Coast Guard throughout the course of owning your vessel. Whether you need to change your address, hailing port, name of your vessel, get a mortgage, or anything else, you can do it at our site in a matter of minutes. For more: (800) 535-8570 or fill out our contact form.