Buying a Documented Boat With an Expired or Deleted Coast Guard Certificate

Ask the seller for the old COD (any copy) and the official number. Federal rules require the official number, preceded by "NO.", to be permanently marked on a clearly visible interior structural part of the hull (67.121); find it and make sure it hasn't been tampered with. Note the vessel name and hailing port. Compare them with the boat in front of you and the HIN.

Anyone can ask the NVDC for an Abstract of Title (46 CFR 67.301). It's ordered through the Coast Guard's official eStorefront and shows the recorded owners and the mortgages, liens and other instruments filed against the boat. This is the single most important check. Don't accept a printout the seller "got online"; order your own from the official system. The NVDC's Instructions and Forms page also lists a paper request form (CG-7043, Abstract of Title or Certified Copy of COD Request) if you can't use eStorefront.

Check:

• Owner of record: is it the person selling to you? If not, you'll need every bill of sale connecting that owner to your seller.
• Mortgages: any preferred mortgage not marked satisfied must be paid off and a satisfaction or release filed. Make payoff part of the closing.
• Notices of claim of lien: repair yards and suppliers can file these; ask how each will be cleared.
• Status: active, expired or deleted, and when.

Documented boats change hands by bill of sale. If the boat was sold once or twice without the paperwork being filed, there's a gap. Get the missing signed bills of sale from earlier owners before you pay. An unfixable gap may make documentation in your name very hard, and it can push you toward state processes for boats with incomplete ownership papers, which are slower and costlier.

What the NVDC expects (per its Exchange, Reinstatement or Return to Documentation instructions, revised June 2026):

• A bill of sale (the Coast Guard's form is CG-1340) signed by everyone transferring an interest, with the seller's signature acknowledged by a notary public. Altered bills of sale may be rejected.
• Instead of a separate bill of sale, the last documented owner can sign the transfer section on the back of the original or a copy of the COD (CG-1270), also before a notary.

A casual handwritten receipt that works for a state-titled skiff often won't be enough here, so bring a notary to the closing.

Keep it documented if you'll cruise to other countries, your lender requires documentation for a preferred mortgage, or you prefer the name-and-hailing-port look. BoatUS lists these as the usual reasons to document.

Move to state titling if none of those apply and you'd rather deal only with your state. You'll need the boat deleted from documentation first, because a documented boat can't also be state titled. The NVDC eStorefront offers a deletion letter for this. Ask your state titling agency exactly what deletion proof it accepts.

Either way, any recorded mortgage has to be dealt with first.

After the sale, the new owner applies to the NVDC for a COD in their name. Under 46 CFR 67.141, an application for an exchange, or for a return to documentation after deletion, includes the application form (CG-1258), title evidence such as the bills of sale, and mortgagee consent if a mortgage is recorded. The NVDC groups exchange (new owner, name or hailing port), reinstatement and return to documentation in one set of instructions. For an expired certificate, those instructions point owners to the eStorefront option "I need a Certificate of Documentation (COD) OR I need to make changes to a COD"; if you're not sure which case fits your boat, call the NVDC before you pay. Two details from the same instructions:

• If a mortgage is recorded, send either the lender's acknowledged satisfaction of mortgage or form CG-4593 signed by both the owner and the lender.
• If the boat was deleted and then state titled, the NVDC's "chain of title simplified method" lets you prove ownership from the state title or registration plus the bill of sale from the owner shown on it, instead of tracing every owner since it was last documented (with an exception for large commercial coastwise vessels).

Expect fees, and a late renewal fee may apply if the lapsed renewal has to be brought current (67.517). Check the NVDC fee schedule for current amounts.

• The owner of record (usually the seller) or an authorized agent requests the deletion through eStorefront, so make it part of the purchase agreement and closing checklist.
• If a mortgage is recorded, the NVDC's deletion instructions require a release signed by the lender before the boat can leave documentation.
• As of October 2026, those instructions (revised June 2026) list a $15 fee for the letter showing removal from documentation, and fees aren't refundable. Confirm the current amount on the NVDC fee schedule.
• Take the deletion letter, bills of sale and any other papers your state asks for to the state titling and registration office.
• Pay any sales or use tax due (our tax guide explains how states handle this).
• Put state numbers and the validation decal on the boat as your state requires (our registration guide covers display). Remove or cover the old documentation markings only once you're no longer documented.

Make the deal conditional on a clean abstract, satisfaction of any mortgage, the seller signing the needed bills of sale and, if you're going to a state title, the seller's deletion request. Many buyers use a closing agent or escrow for this. Our purchase agreement and escrow guides explain how to set it up safely.

Search for "Coast Guard documentation renewal" and private companies often appear before the official site. BoatUS reports these businesses are legal but not endorsed by the Coast Guard, often use official-looking logos and photos, typically charge about three times the NVDC fee, and push multi-year prepayment. The NVDC's own Third Party Awareness notice says these companies don't operate on behalf of the Coast Guard and can't issue any documentation, travel letters or permits to operate a vessel, and it points complaints to the FTC. BoatUS adds that paying a third party doesn't get you faster service.

How to stay on the official path:

• Start from the Coast Guard's NVDC page (dco.uscg.mil) and follow its link to eStorefront.
• Read the fine print at the bottom of any site or letter; private firms must say they aren't the government.
• Never pay anyone for a "temporary" or "travel" letter that claims to let you use the boat.

Your new COD or state title may take time. Ask your state boating agency what you need on board to operate in the meantime, and don't rely on the seller's old certificate: it became invalid when the boat changed hands. Keep the bill of sale and proof of your applications aboard.

If you keep the boat documented, choose a renewal period (1 to 5 years for recreational endorsements), renew only through the NVDC, and keep your address current so notices reach you. Our documentation renewal guide covers the details.