Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 34175 

between the National Government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. We have 

analyzed this rule under that Order and 

have determined that it is consistent 

with the fundamental federalism 

principles and preemption requirements 

described in Executive Order 13132. 

Also, this rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175, Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments, 

because it does not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) requires 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions. In 

particular, the Act addresses actions 

that may result in the expenditure by a 

State, local, or tribal government, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or 

more in any one year. Though this rule 

will not result in such an expenditure, 

we do discuss the effects of this rule 

elsewhere in this preamble. 

F. Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Department of Homeland Security 

Directive 023–01, Rev. 1, associated 

implementing instructions, and 

Environmental Planning COMDTINST 

5090.1 (series), which guide the Coast 

Guard in complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969(42 

U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and have 

determined that this action is one of a 

category of actions that do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. This rule involves 

establishing a safety zone on all 

navigable waters of the Hackensack 

River, within a 100-yard radius of the 

Portal Bridge, Kearny, New Jersey, 

including the East and West 

navigational channels. It is categorically 

excluded from further review under 

paragraph L60 (a) of Appendix A, Table 

1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023–01– 

001–01, Rev. 1. A Record of 

Environmental Consideration 

supporting this determination is 

available in the docket. For instructions 

on locating the docket, see the 

ADDRESSES section of this preamble. 

G. Protest Activities 

The Coast Guard respects the First 

Amendment rights of protesters. 

Protesters are asked to call or email the 

person listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section to 

coordinate protest activities so that your 

message can be received without 

jeopardizing the safety or security of 

people, places or vessels. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165 

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation 

(water), Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Security measures, 

Waterways. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR 165 as follows: 

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION 

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 165 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051; 33 CFR 

1.05–1, 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5; 

Department of Homeland Security Delegation 

No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.2. 

■ 2. Add § 165.T01–0453 to read as 

follows: 

§ 165. T01–0453 Safety Zone; Portal 

Bridge, Hackensack River, Kearny, NJ. 

(a) Location. The following area is a 

safety zone: All navigable waters of the 

Hackensack River, within a 100-yard 

radius of the center of the Portal Bridge 

(mile 5.0), Kearny, New Jersey, 

including the East and West 

navigational channels. 

(b) Definitions. As used in this 

section, Designated Representative 

means a Coast Guard Officer, including 

a Coast Guard coxswain, petty officer, or 

other officer operating a Coast Guard 

vessel and a Federal, State, and local 

officer designated by or assisting the 

Captain of the Port New York (COTP) in 

the enforcement of the safety zone. 

(c) Regulations. Under the general 

safety zone regulations in subpart C of 

this part, no person or vessel may enter 

the safety zone described in paragraph 

(a) of this section unless authorized by 

the Captain of the Port (COTP) or the 

COTP’s designated representative.To 

seek permission to enter, contact the 

COTP or the COTP’s representative via 

VHF channel 16 or by phone at (718) 

354–4353 (Sector New York Command 

Center). Those in the safety zone must 

comply with all lawful orders or 

directions given to them by the COTP or 

the COTP’s designated representative. 

(d) Enforcement period. This section 

is effective from June 1, 2022, through 

September 2, 2022, but will only be 

enforced during periods when bridge 

repairs are in progress. 

Dated: May 31, 2022. 

Z. Merchant, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port New York. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12058 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 187 

[Docket No. USCG–2018–0160] 

RIN 1625–AC28 

Uniform Certificate of Title Act for 

Vessels 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is changing 

its regulations for certifying a State’s 

titling system for undocumented vessels 

to increase States’ participation in the 

Vessel Identification System (VIS). This 

final rule allows States that have 

adopted the recommendations of the 

model Uniform Certificate of Title Act 

for Vessels to certify their titling 

provisions with the Coast Guard. Once 

certified and participating in the VIS, a 

State is able to confer preferred 

mortgage status on financial instruments 

that apply to undocumented vessels, 

which benefits the owners of those 

vessels. While many of the changes to 

the certification guidelines relate to the 

technical requirements of recording and 

maintaining titling documentation, the 

most significant change implements a 

system of ‘‘branding’’ (permanently 

marking) titles for vessels that have 

sustained structural damage. This will 

help prevent a process known as ‘‘title 

washing,’’ where severe vessel damage 

is concealed by transferring the title to 

a different State. 

DATES: This final rule is effective July 6, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: To view documents 

mentioned in this preamble as being 

available in the docket, go to https://

www.regulations.gov, type USCG–2018– 

0160 in the search box and click 

‘‘Search.’’ Next, in the Document Type 

column, select ‘‘Supporting & Related 

Material.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information about this document call or 

email W. Vann Burgess, Boating Safety 

Division, Program Management and 

Operations Branch (CG–BSX–21), Coast 


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1As used throughout this final rule, ‘‘State’’ 

means any of the 56 jurisdictions (50 States, the 

District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the 

Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands) that administer Coast Guardapproved recreational vessel numbering systems. 

2An archive of the activities and deliberations of 

the ULC committee on UCOTA–V, including 

transcripts of all meetings, can be found at https:// 

www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/committeearchive-1?CommunityKey=61fb3255-092e-4e91- 

982b-6fa1ae66fd82&tab=librarydocuments. 

Guard; telephone 202–372–1071, email 

william.v.burgess@uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents for Preamble 

I. Abbreviations 

II. Basis and Purpose, and Regulatory History 

III. Discussion of Comments 

IV. Discussion of the Rule 

V. Regulatory Analyses 

A. Regulatory Planning and Review 

B. Small Entities 

C. Assistance for Small Entities 

D. Collection of Information 

E. Federalism 

F. Unfunded Mandates 

G. Taking of Private Property 

H. Civil Justice Reform 

I. Protection of Children 

J. Indian Tribal Governments 

K. Energy Effects 

L. Technical Standards 

M. Environment 

I. Abbreviations 

BLA Boating Law Administrator 

BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics 

BSX U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Auxiliary 

and Boating Safety 

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

DOT Department of Transportation 

FR Federal Register 

HIN Hull identification number 

MOA Memorandum of Agreements 

NASBLA National Association of State 

Boating Law Administrators 

NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking 

OMB Office of Management and Budget 

OPM Office of Personnel Management 

RA Regulatory analysis 

§ Section 

UCC Uniform Commercial Code 

UCOTA–V Uniform Certificate of Title Act 

for Vessels 

ULC Uniform Law Commission 

U.S.C. United States Code 

VIS Vessel Identification System 

II. Basis and Purpose, and Regulatory 

History 

The purpose of this rulemaking is to 

revise Coast Guard guidelines for State 

vessel titling systems so that they align 

with the Uniform Certificate of Title Act 

for Vessels (UCOTA–V). As discussed in 

more detail below, we expect that 

aligning Coast Guard guidelines with 

UCOTA–V will increase States’ 

participation in the Vessel Identification 

System (VIS), thereby benefitting the 

owners of undocumented vessels by 

providing them access to preferred 

mortgages. 

The legal basis for this rulemaking is 

Title 46 of the United States Code 

(U.S.C.), Sections 2103, 12501(a), and 

31322(d). Section 2103 authorizes the 

Secretary of the department in which 

the Coast Guard is operating to issue 

regulations to carry out the provisions of 

Subtitle II, Vessels and Seamen, of Title 

46 of the U.S.C., in which Section 

12501(a) appears. Section 12501(a) 

requires the Secretary to establish a VIS 

relating to, among other things, the 

ownership of vessels titled under the 

law of a State. Finally, Section 31322(d) 

allows a mortgage that is filed, or 

‘‘perfected’’ under State law, to be 

deemed ‘‘a preferred mortgage’’ if the 

Secretary certifies that the State titling 

system complies with the guidelines set 

forth in 46 U.S.C. 13107. The Secretary’s 

authority under these statutes has been 

delegated to the Coast Guard in 

Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS) Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision 

No. 01.2, paragraph (II)(92)(a) and 

(92)(h). Pursuant to that authority, the 

Coast Guard has promulgated 

regulations in 33 CFR 187 governing the 

certification of State laws to determine 

eligibility for preferred mortgages. 

Before publishing this final rule we 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal 

Register (86 FR 52792, Sept. 22, 2021). 

That NPRM was entitled ‘‘Uniform 

Certificate of Title Act for Vessels,’’ and 

proposed to amend 33 CFR part 187. 

III. Discussion of Comments 

The Coast Guard received seven 

comment submissions during the 60-day 

comment period for our NPRM, which 

ended November 22, 2021. 

Four of the commenters supported the 

proposal to adopt the UCOTA–V model 

into the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) at 33 CFR part 187, subpart D. 

The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), 

an organization dedicated to providing 

States with carefully conceived and 

nonpartisan uniform laws and the 

original drafters of UCOTA–V, strongly 

supports this final rule. The commission 

commented that the rule is crucial to 

consumer protection and will facilitate 

vessel financing, allowing vessel 

purchasers to obtain loans with lower 

interest rates. The Boat History Report, 

a website that helps its clients make 

informed watercraft purchasing 

decisions, noted that this final rule will 

provide greater transparency in the 

boating industry, promote title 

branding, and prevent damaged vessels 

from entering used vessel markets. The 

Maryland Department of Natural 

Resources commented that the adoption 

of this final rule will be the catalyst for 

reorganizing Maryland’s disparate 

provisions governing vessel titling into 

a concise and orderly statute, which 

will be a notable benefit to the State’s 

boat owners. Finally, the National 

Association of State Boating Law 

Administrators (NASBLA), a nonprofit 

organization dedicated to developing 

public policy for recreational boating 

safety, encourages approval of this final 

rule. NASBLA indicated that it believes 

this final rule will provide a consistent 

consumer protection measure that 

identifies vessels that have been deemed 

unsafe, preventing them from being sold 

without disclosure. 

The other three commenters, who 

represent marine financing institutions, 

expressed concerns that there may be an 

inconsistency in granting preferred 

mortgage status on titled watercraft and 

the provision of § 187.324 that indicates 

‘‘the effect of perfection and nonperfection of a security interest and the 

priority of a perfected or unperfected 

security interest with respect to the 

rights of a purchaser or creditor, 

including a lien creditor, is governed by 

State law.’’ 

We do not believe there is any 

inconsistency. Whether or not a State 

enacts UCOTA–V, lien priority is 

determined under the Uniform 

Commercial Code (UCC) 9–322(a), 

which has been adopted in some 

fashion by all 56 States.1 This final rule 

will have no impact on the laws 

governing relative priority of multiple 

Article 9 security interests, which is 

currently governed by state law and still 

will be after the adoption of this final 

rule. 

While there are some maritime liens 

whose priority status will be reduced by 

a security interest perfected through 

UCOTA–V, the Coast Guard sees this as 

an acceptable consequence. In 46 U.S.C. 

12501(a), Congress directed the 

Secretary for the department in which 

the Coast Guard is operating to establish 

a VIS for the purposes of aiding law 

enforcement and organizing the owners 

of vessels. The Coast Guard has decided 

that incentivizing compliance with 

UCOTA–V through a preferred mortgage 

status best serves the American people, 

even if certain maritime lien holders are 

affected. Furthermore, the affected 

population had myriad opportunities to 

comment on the impacts of passing such 

a rule during the more than 2 years the 

ULC spent drafting UCOTA–V.2

IV. Discussion of the Rule 

For the reasons described above, this 

final rule revises subpart D of 33 CFR 

part 187 so that State titling laws 

modeled on UCOTA–V will meet the 


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3See the explanation contained in the table on 

page 57 of UCOTA–V which says: ‘‘States will 

decide under existing state law how they will treat 

vessels that were previously titled under state law 

prior to adoption of UCOTA–V.’’ Thus, previously 

existing State requirements do not bear on the 

titling issues that this final rule addresses. 

4UCOTA–V, Section 8, Legislative Note, page 25. 

5See Federal Plain Language Guidelines, Rev. 1, 

(May 2011) on p. 25. These can be accessed at 

https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines. 

6 In UCOTA–V, this term is ‘‘State of principle 

[sic] use.’’ 

certification requirements of subpart D. 

In addition, the final rule revises the 

applicable definitions section for part 

187 located in subpart C. In subpart D, 

we replace the entire text of the existing 

subpart with new guidelines to 

accommodate States that adopt variants 

of the model code appropriate for their 

State commercial legal regimes. We are 

not adopting UCOTA–V in its entirety 

because some sections of UCOTA–V are 

not applicable to the Federal 

Government. 

For example, included in UCOTA–V 

is a ‘‘savings clause’’ provision (see 

section 28 of UCOTA–V). Because the 

execution of the savings clause is 

governed by State law applicable to 

vessel titling that existed prior to the 

adoption of UCOTA–V,3 there is no 

Federal interest or need to apply Federal 

oversight of the application of a savings 

clause. So long as vessels have been 

properly registered through the State, 

the savings clause provision found in 

section 28 of UCOTA–V has no bearing 

on the Coast Guard’s regulatory regime. 

Therefore, we are not including 

UCOTA–V’s savings clause provision 

within this final rule. 

Instead, we are adopting certification 

guidelines that incorporate UCOTA–V, 

but with a number of policy or stylistic 

changes so that the guidelines are 

flexible enough to allow for the 

variations in State law permitted by 

UCOTA–V. 

In addition to the savings clause 

provision in section 28, the Coast Guard 

is omitting the following sections of 

UCOTA–V that do not bear specifically 

on titling concerns. Because the 

execution of the savings clause would 

be governed by State law applicable to 

vessel titling that existed prior to the 

adoption of UCOTA–V, there is no 

Federal interest or need to apply Federal 

oversight of the application of a savings 

clause. 

Section 1, Short title. We are 

integrating the requirements of UCOTA– 

V into Coast Guard regulations, so we 

do not need to adopt the act’s title. 

Section 4, Supplemental principles of 

law and equity. This provision concerns 

the interpretation principles of UCOTA– 

V and, while this is a general principle 

of the UCC, it is not needed for Coast 

Guard certification of a State’s titling 

law. 

Section 8, Creation and cancellation 

of certificate of title, subsection (f). We 

are not incorporating subsection (f) of 

section 8 because it is an optional 

provision for any State that ‘‘provides a 

procedure for the office to follow before 

canceling a certificate of title. It is 

intended for those states whose public 

records or other law does not already 

provide a procedure that ensures all 

interested parties are notified in 

advance and given an opportunity to be 

heard.’’ 4

Section 26, Uniformity of application 

and construction. This provision also 

concerns interpretation principles and 

is not needed for Coast Guard 

certification. 

Section 27, Relation to electronic 

signatures in global and national 

commerce act. This section describes 

the relation of a State’s law to certain 

Federal statutes concerning electronic 

signature, which is not relevant in the 

certification of State titling law. 

Section 28, Savings clause. For the 

reasons discussed earlier in this section, 

the Coast Guard is not incorporating 

section 28. 

We are making a variety of stylistic 

changes and adding new definitions to 

clarify maritime nomenclatures. First, 

we keep the general numbering scheme 

of the text of UCOTA–V in regulatory 

text, replacing references to ‘‘Section X’’ 

with the appropriate citation to the 

equivalent regulatory section or 

paragraph. We also replace certain 

words such as ‘‘shall’’ with ‘‘must,’’ as 

provided by the Federal Plain Language 

Guidelines.5 Additionally, we replace 

references to ‘‘the UCC’’ or specific 

sections of the UCC with references to 

‘‘State law.’’ 

We provide a section-by-section 

discussion of the certification guidelines 

below. 

Section 187.7, What are the 

definitions of terms used in this part? 

We rename this section Definitions. We 

use most of the existing definitions 

within section 187.7 and add new 

definitions from section 2 of UCOTA–V. 

If a definition from UCOTA–V differs 

from an existing regulatory definition 

(for example, the term ‘‘documented 

vessel’’ in UCOTA–V differs from the 

current definition in § 187.7), we have 

revised the regulations using the 

definition from UCOTA–V. 

The definitions from UCOTA–V that 

we are adding are as follows: 

• Barge; 

• Builder’s certificate; 

• Buyer; 

• Cancel; 

• Certificate of title; 

• Electronic; 

• Electronic certificate of title; 

• Foreign-documented vessel; 

• Good faith; 

• Hull damaged; 

• Lien creditor; 

• Office; 

• Owner of record; 

• Purchase; 

• Purchaser; 

• Record; 

• Secured party of record; 

• Sign; 

• State of principal operation; 6

• Title brand; 

• Transfer of ownership; 

• Vessel number; and 

• Written certificate of title. 

Subpart D heading and section titles. 

For clarification, we revise the heading 

for subpart D from Guidelines for State 

Vessel Titling Systems to the more 

general State Vessel Titling Systems. We 

also change the section titles in revised 

subpart D to better align with the 

section titles of UCOTA–V. 

Section 187.301. We clarify this 

section by replacing the language that 

says the Coast Guard ‘‘may certify’’ a 

State vessel titling system if it complies 

with the requirements of the subpart 

with ‘‘will certify.’’ We made this 

change because, if the State’s titling 

system meets the requirements of this 

regulation, the State has met the Coast 

Guard’s requirements. Thus, the Coast 

Guard will certify the State’s titling 

system, thereby fulfilling the 

requirements set forth in 46 U.S.C. 

31322(d)(1) for preferred mortgage 

status. The purpose of this regulation is 

for States to take advantage of sharing 

validated vessel information that meets 

the minimum requirements listed in 

regulations. 

Section 187.302 (new). We move the 

list of terms States must define from 

§ 187.303 to this new section to keep the 

structure consistent with the rest of 

UCOTA–V. The new § 187.302(a) 

incorporates the current requirement of 

§ 187.303 that States define listed terms 

substantially as they are defined in 

§ 187.7. The terms already listed in 

§ 187.7 are not removed or substantively 

changed, but some definitions are 

rephrased and several new terms are 

added as recommended by UCOTA–V, 

section 2(a), which includes a list of 

definitions for States to adopt directly. 

In addition, the new § 187.302(b) 

requires States to define the terms listed 

in UCOTA–V section 2(b). These are 

general terms derived from the UCC, 

which all States have adopted or 


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adopted in modified form. Finally, we 

add a new § 187.302(c), incorporating 

UCOTA–V section 2(c), stating that 

subpart D definitions do not apply to 

any State or Federal law governing 

licensing, numbering, or registration if 

the same term is used in that law. 

Section 187.303. We revise § 187.303 

to incorporate UCOTA–V section 3 

applicability provisions. As described 

above, the current list of terms States 

must define is moved to the new 

§ 187.302. 

Section 187.304. We retain this 

section without change, but rename it to 

better match the rest of the subpart. 

Section 187.305. This section 

currently specifies requirements for title 

applications. We move the material on 

this topic to the revised § 187.307. The 

revised § 187.305 incorporates UCOTA– 

V section 5, defining which State’s law 

governs vessels covered by title 

certificates. 

Section 187.306 (new). This new 

section incorporates the UCOTA–V 

section 6 discussion of when a title 

certificate is and is not required. 

Section 187.307. The revised 

§ 187.307 incorporates UCOTA–V 

section 7 specifications for title 

application contents. This rule removes 

this section’s mandate that States must 

impose certain conditions on vessel 

dealers and manufacturers. We will no 

longer require these dealer- or 

manufacturer-specific conditions 

because they are covered by the 

UCOTA–V provisions that we adopt in 

this rule. 

Section 187.308 (new). This new 

section incorporates the UCOTA–V 

section 8 provisions for creating and 

canceling title certificates, with the 

exception of optional paragraph (f), as 

detailed above in the discussion of 

UCOTA–V section 8. 

Section 187.309. This rule revises 

§ 187.309 to exchange the current 

contents of this section, which govern 

requirements for voluntary title transfers 

(transfers other than by operation of 

law), with those of § 187.317. While we 

are retaining without change the 

existing content of this section, this 

exchange will make the organization of 

provisions within the CFR better align 

with the structure of UCOTA–V. 

Section 187.310 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

10 title brand provisions. We 

incorporate these provisions to deter 

title washing and protect buyers and 

others acquiring an interest in an 

undocumented vessel. 

Section 187.311. This section 

currently requires new title certificates 

after vessel ownership transfers by 

operation of law. We move this 

discussion to the new § 187.320. The 

revised § 187.311 incorporates UCOTA– 

V section 11 requirements for 

maintenance of and access to State title 

certificate files. 

Section 187.312 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

12, concerning the duties of the State 

and title holder upon creation of a title 

certificate. 

Section 187.313. This section 

currently requires a State to honor 

evidence of vessel ownership from 

another State, country, or the Coast 

Guard. We are moving this discussion to 

§ 187.328. The revised § 187.313 

incorporates UCOTA–V section 13, 

declaring the prima facie evidential 

value of title certificate contents. 

Section 187.314 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

14, concerning the possession of a title 

certificate and judicial process against a 

certificate. 

Section 187.315. This section 

currently provides that a State title is 

invalidated when exchanged for a 

certificate of documentation. The 

revised § 187.315 incorporates UCOTA– 

V section 15 provisions for perfecting 

vessel security interests, which are 

currently addressed in § 187.323. The 

revised § 187.315 also includes the 

abbreviation for a hull identification 

number (HIN) in an effort to make the 

meaning of the section clearer to the 

regulated public. 

Section 187.316 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

16, concerning the termination of a 

security interest in a vessel. Currently, 

§ 187.327 requires States to establish 

their own termination procedures. We 

are removing § 187.327. 

Section 187.317. To better align with 

UCOTA–V’s structure, we exchange the 

provisions on the topics covered by 

§ 187.309 with the topics covered by 

§ 187.317, as discussed above at Section 

187.309. 

Section 187.318 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

18, concerning the effect of missing or 

incorrect title certificate information. 

Section 187.319. This section 

currently covers applying for 

replacement or ‘‘redundant’’ title 

certificates. We move this topic to the 

new § 187.322. The revised § 187.319 

incorporates UCOTA–V section 19, 

concerning the transfer of a vessel 

ownership interest by a secured party’s 

transfer statement. 

Section 187.320 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

20, concerning ownership interest 

transfers by operation of law, which 

§ 187.311 currently contains. 

Section 187.321. This section 

currently requires a HIN to be assigned 

and affixed to a vessel upon proof of its 

ownership. We replace the existing 

language with a substantively identical 

adaptation of UCOTA–V section 21, 

concerning applications for transferring 

ownership or for canceling a security 

interest that is not accompanied by a 

certificate of title. UCOTA–V 

recommends more specific requirements 

for recording HINs, which we include in 

revised §§ 187.307, 187.309, 187.311, 

187.315, and 187.325. For example, 

UCOTA–V requires the State to issue a 

HIN in cases where the State did not 

issue one to the vessel owner or 

operator upon original construction, 

such as an antique vessel built prior to 

November 1972. 

Section 187.322 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

22, concerning replacement title 

certificates, which is currently 

addressed in § 187.319. 

Section 187.323. This section 

currently specifies procedures for 

perfecting vessel security interests, 

which will be addressed in § 187.315. 

The revised § 187.323 incorporates 

UCOTA–V section 23, concerning the 

rights of a vessel purchaser who is not 

a secured party. 

Section 187.324 (new). This new 

section incorporates UCOTA–V section 

24, concerning the rights of secured 

parties. 

Section 187.325. This section 

currently requires States to specify the 

procedure for assigning vessel security 

interests, which this final rule addresses 

by revising § 187.315(f). The revised 

§ 187.325 incorporates UCOTA–V 

section 25, specifying certain 

requirements for the administrative 

operation of a State certificating 

authority, such as length of record 

retention and allowable fees. 

Section 187.327. This final rule 

removes this section, which covered the 

discharge of a vessel security interest. 

This topic is now covered in § 187.316. 

Sections 187.329. This final rule 

removes this section. It is not necessary 

to retain the requirement in § 187.329 

for States to specify titling system forms, 

as UCOTA–V requirements for specific 

records will appear throughout revised 

subpart D. An example of this is in the 

title application and certificate 

provisions of §§ 187.306 through 

187.310. 

Section 187.331. This final rule 

removes this section. Section 187.331 

required States to retain title system 

information and make it available to 

Government authorities. In the revised 

subpart D, similar requirements appear 

in §§ 187.311(d) and 187.325(a). 


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7As used throughout this final rule, ‘‘State’’ 

means any of the 56 jurisdictions (50 States, the 

District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the 

Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands) that administer Coast Guardapproved recreational vessel numbering systems. 

8https://cgmix.uscg.mil/VISInformation.aspx?

VISOption. This page was last viewed on January 

22, 2020. On that date, the last update was January 

21, 2020. 

V. Regulatory Analyses 

The Coast Guard received seven 

comment submissions during the 60-day 

comment period that ended on 

November 22, 2021. We received no 

public comments on the estimated 

benefits and costs; therefore, the 

methodology employed in the 

regulatory analyses remains unchanged. 

We developed this rule after 

considering numerous statutes and 

Executive orders related to rulemaking. 

Below we summarize our analyses 

based on these statutes or Executive 

orders. 

A. Regulatory Planning and Review 

Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review) and 13563 

(Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review) direct agencies to assess the 

costs and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has not designated this rule a 

significant regulatory action under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. 

Accordingly, OMB has not reviewed it. 

A regulatory analysis (RA) follows. 

This final rule has several goals. The 

Coast Guard intends to establish 

minimum requirements for States 7

electing to become subpart D-compliant 

and to prescribe guidelines for State 

vessel titling systems. We also intend to 

provide guidance on how to obtain 

certification of compliance with State 

guidelines for vessel titling systems for 

the purpose of conferring preferred 

status on mortgages, instruments, or 

agreements under 46 U.S.C. 31322(d). 

This RA provides an evaluation of the 

economic impacts associated with this 

final rule. Table 1 provides a summary 

of the final rule’s costs and benefits. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF THE FINAL RULE’S IMPACTS 1

Category Summary 

Affected Population ............................ 56 States of which 18 are not currently in compliance with VIS requirements and 47 have not adopted 

UCOTA–V (subpart D) or started the process. 

Costs (7-percent discount rate) .......... $138,490 (10-year discounted cost). 

$19,718 (annualized cost). 

Unquantified Costs 2 ........................... • 2 States currently have legislative conflicts that may impact VIS participation. While the cost to negotiate and amend the legislation is estimated, the cost of labor to put forward and vote on the privacy 

legislation is difficult to quantify. 

• 47 States currently have legislative conflicts that may impact adopting UCOTA–V. While the cost to 

negotiate and amend the legislation is estimated, the cost of labor to put forward and vote on the privacy legislation is difficult to quantify. 

Potential Costs 3 ................................. • Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States without titling programs (7 States), who require vessel 

owners to obtain a title. Estimated potential cost of obtaining title is $50 (not in cost analysis). 

• Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States without titling programs (7 States), who may experience 

opportunity costs for labor expended to obtain a title (not in cost analysis). 

• Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States with titling programs (47 States), who may impose additional costs or fees on vessel owners (not in cost analysis). 

• Cost to States to update website after reviewing rule (not in cost analysis). 

• Cost to States seeking to become VIS-compliant to transfer data to the Coast Guard (included in cost 

analysis). 

Unquantified Benefits ......................... • Ability to obtain preferred mortgage status. 

• Lower transaction costs. 

• Deterrence to ‘‘title washing.’’ 

• Recovery of stolen vessels. 

• Identification of abandoned vessels. 

• Consumer protection. 

• Security measures for financial entities. 

• Lower administrative burden and costs to buyers. 

1 Figures are rounded to the nearest one dollar. 2 Unquantified costs are defined as costs that are incurred as a direct or indirect result of the rulemaking, which are not quantified. 3 Potential costs are defined as costs that may potentially be incurred as a direct or indirect result of the rulemaking. 

The revisions will affect States that 

voluntarily seek to certify their State 

titling laws with the Coast Guard, 

pursuant to regulations under 33 CFR 

part 187, and to participate in the VIS. 

As such, the affected population for this 

final rule includes the 56 U.S. States. 

The Coast Guard has been 

encouraging States to participate in the 

VIS since it has been in place in 2007, 

but some States have chosen not to 

participate, primarily because of privacy 

laws regarding the sharing of personally 

identifiable information. The VIS 

comprises a nationwide information 

system for identifying recreational, 

commercial, and public vessels that are 

numbered. As of January 21, 2020, 38 

States were participating in the VIS.8 To 

encourage further participation, 

participating States have access to all 

VIS data. 

As described later, the benefits of this 

final rule include increased uniformity 

across States in their titling laws. In 

turn, this will lead to reduced 

transaction costs, increased fraud 

prevention (insurance fraud and fraud 

from illegitimately owned vessels), 

increased consumer protection, 

decreased risk to lenders, improved 

opportunities for the recovery and 

identification of abandoned vessels, and 


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9 VIS participation is defined by the existence of 

a signed MOA. 10The five States that have adopted UCOTA–V 

are Connecticut, the District of Colombia, Florida, 

Hawaii, and Virginia. The four States in the process 

of adopting UCOTA–V are Alabama, Georgia, 

Tennessee, and Texas. This data is current as of 

January 21, 2020. 11According to BSX, recreational vehicle owners 

for the 10 compliant and semi-compliant States did 

not incur a cost increase. 

12This statement is based on the Coast Guard’s 

review of website information for 52 States (March 

2020). For Virginia state fees, see https://

dwr.virginia.gov/boating/registration/procedure/. 

For Florida state fees, see https://www.flhsmv.gov/ 

motor-vehicles-tags-titles/vessels/vessel-titlingregistrations/. 

13The use of leisure time to obtain the title. The 

cost of this task may be calculated by the formula: 

one-half of the median household income. The 

Coast Guard followed the Department of 

Transportation’s (DOT) guidance for valuing the 

opportunity cost of leisure time. Readers should 

consult the DOT Memorandum ‘‘Revised 

Departmental Guidance on Valuation of Travel 

Time in Economic Analysis,’’ which may be found 

at https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/

files/docs/2016%20Revised%20Value%20of

%20Travel%20Time%20Guidance.pdf. 

increased efficiencies for interstate 

commerce. Even through there is no 

new requirement in this final rule for 

vessel owners to report vessel damage to 

the VIS directly, the insurance company 

will be required to provide the 

information to the State if the owners 

make claims to repair the vessels. Once 

the States provide the vessel 

information to the VIS, the system can 

track the vessel information and share 

with other States if the repaired boats 

are sold as boats with no damage 

outside the State. 

More specifically, transaction costs 

will be lower because consumers may 

be able to get preferred loans with lower 

interest rates. Also, a buyer’s 

administrative burden and costs when 

buying a vessel from a private party may 

be lessened because the buyer will not 

have to do extensive research to assure 

the vessel is being sold by the legitimate 

owner. In addition, some non-titling 

States require bonds when vessels are 

sold; this transaction cost may be 

eliminated with the adoption of 

UCOTA–V. 

Affected Population 

This final rule potentially affects all 

56 States. The affected population of the 

regulated public may be parsed by VIS 

participation and also by UCOTA–V 

adoption. As of January 21, 2020, 38 

States were participating in the VIS,9 16 

States were interested in joining the VIS 

but had not signed Memorandum of 

Agreements (MOA) for VIS 

participation, and 2 States were not able 

to comply with VIS requirements due to 

conflicts with their own State’s privacy 

laws. Regarding UCOTA–V adoption, 47 

of 56 States have not adopted UCOTA– 

V.10

Costs 

This final rule results in costs to the 

regulated public (State and territorial 

governments) and to the Coast Guard. 

Costs to the States may be divided 

between VIS compliance costs and 

UCOTA–V adoption (final subpart D 

compliance) costs. The final rule does 

not impose direct costs on vessel 

owners, as it will deter fraud by 

introducing penalties for providing false 

information. However, there is potential 

for indirect costs, as noted later. 

Vessel owners are not required to take 

action as a result of this final rule. For 

example, this final rule does not require 

additional documentation from vessel 

owners. Transfer of title always requires 

a new title to be issued, which is 

common practice. There is no 

requirement other than a statement from 

the current owner declaring the vessel 

is, or has been, damaged. There is no 

other documentation required for proof 

of damage. There is no requirement for 

a statement from an insurer. This merely 

provides disclosure to a buyer. 

This final rule may lead to changes in 

titling practices in some States, which 

may have cost implications for vessel 

owners and the States. We describe the 

potential costs to vessel owners as a 

direct or indirect result of this final rule 

below. 

Potential Costs to Vessel Owners 

This final rule will affect 56 States, all 

of which have vessel owners. In States 

that currently have a titling program for 

vessels and that participate in the VIS, 

vessel owners will experience no 

incremental impact. In States with an 

existing titling program, vessel owners 

may be affected if the State changes or 

imposes additional fees through its 

legislative or regulatory process. States 

that are compliant with UCOTA–V 

(final subpart D) report that they did not 

impose any additional fees after the 

adoption of UCOTA–V provisions, and, 

according to the Coast Guard’s Office of 

Auxiliary and Boating Safety (BSX), no 

State has signaled the intent to increase 

titling fees if their system becomes 

certified as UCOTA–V compliant. 

However, the Coast Guard cannot 

definitively conclude that recreational 

vessel owners will not face a cost 

increase as an indirect effect of these 

final changes. Nonetheless, we have not 

computed a cost for the requirement to 

vessel owners in States with a titling 

system, due to the uncertainty of a 

potential cost increase.11

In States without a vessel titling 

program, recreational vessel owners 

may experience a cost increase because 

of this final rule. These States have not 

indicated to the Coast Guard how they 

may handle existing vessels once they 

have established a titling system. 

Existing vessels may be grandfathered in 

and permitted to be titled voluntarily by 

the owner, or States may require all 

vessel owners to obtain a title. A review 

of websites for States with a titling 

program demonstrated that the cost of 

vessel titles are generally $50 or less.12

Because the Coast Guard does not have 

information on how future titling 

programs may be operated, we have not 

computed the potential costs to obtain 

titles in these States as a cost in this 

rulemaking. We acknowledge that there 

may be some opportunity costs 13 for 

labor expended to obtain the title and 

actual fees for the title. 

No further action will be required by 

vessel owners. Vessel owners do not 

need to renumber their vessels as a 

result of this final rule, since existing 

hull numbers are unrelated to titling. No 

equipment is required by vessel owners 

for compliance. Table 2 below 

summarizes this section detailing 

potential costs of this final rule. All are 

considered indirect costs, as they are 

costs that may be imposed by the State 

on vessel owners as a result of this final 

rule, but not mandated by the rule itself. 

There are other potential costs of the 

rule detailed in future section. For a 

comprehensive list of all potential costs, 

please refer to table 1. 

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL COSTS

Task Description Party bearing 

cost 

Potential direct or indirect 

cost of final rule 

Obtaining a vessel title (cost of 

title).

Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States without titling 

programs (7 States), that require vessel owners to obtain 

a title. Potential cost of obtaining title is $50.

Vessel owners 

in 7 States.

Potential indirect cost of final 

rulemaking. 


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14Readers may consult Coast Guard data at 

https://cgmix.uscg.mil/VISInformation.aspx. This 

web page was last viewed on January 21, 2020. 

Sixteen States have initiated VIS participation, but 

have not completed an MOA. Two States do not 

participate. 

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL COSTS—Continued 

Task Description Party bearing 

cost 

Potential direct or indirect 

cost of final rule 

Obtaining a vessel title (opportunity cost of obtaining title).Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States without titling 

programs (7 States), who may experience opportunity 

costs for labor expended to obtain a title.

Vessel owners 

in 7 States.

Potential indirect cost of final 

rulemaking. 

N/A ........................................... Costs to vessel owners, imposed by States with titling programs (47 States) that may impose additional costs or 

fees on vessel owners.

Vessel owners 

in 47 States.

Potential indirect cost of final 

rulemaking. 

Costs to the Coast Guard 

We estimate that the Government 

costs associated with this regulatory 

action will be labor costs for the Coast 

Guard to (1) process MOAs from the 

States; (2) coordinate with States; and 

(3) update the Coast Guard website. No 

additional equipment is needed to 

perform these tasks under this final rule. 

In order to process an MOA, it is first 

transmitted from a State to a Coast 

Guard compliance officer in BSX and 

then to the Commandant (or designee) 

for approval. A Coast Guard compliance 

officer will engage and coordinate with 

and respond to inquiries from the 

States. We estimate that a Coast Guard 

compliance officer spends 0.25 hour to 

process an MOA from a State and 

another 0.25 hour to transmit it to the 

Commandant (or designee) for approval. 

The Commandant or designee spends 

0.2 hour to approve an MOA (Cost = 

Count of MOAs × [(0.5 hour × 

Compliance officer’s wage rate) + (0.2 

hour × Commandant’s wage rate)]). 

As a result of this final rule, we 

estimate that the Coast Guard will need 

to engage and coordinate with, and 

respond to inquiries from, States 

regarding VIS participation and 

UCOTA–V compliance. Eighteen States 

are not in the VIS. We estimate that a 

Coast Guard compliance officer will 

need to coordinate with each of these 

States for VIS participation.14 To engage 

with and respond to inquiries from 

States, we estimate that the compliance 

officer will spend 0.5 hour per State’s 

inquiry to coordinate a response (Cost = 

18 States × (0.5 hour × Compliance 

officer’s wage rate)). For the 47 States 

needing to adopt UCOTA–V, we 

estimate that a Coast Guard compliance 

officer will spend 0.5 hour per State to 

assist (Cost = 47 States × (0.5 hour × 

Compliance officer’s wage rate)). 

Lastly, the Coast Guard will need to 

update its website with information on 

this final rule. We estimate that 1 hour 

will be needed by a computer 

technician and an additional 0.25 hour 

for a compliance officer to supervise 

and approve the update. This is a onetime task that is expected to occur in the 

first year of this final rule’s enactment. 

(Cost = [(0.25 hour × Coast Guard 

compliance officer’s wage rate) + (1 

hour × Federal computer technician’s 

wage rate)]). 

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF COSTS TO THE COAST GUARD

Task Time burden and 

responsible party Cost Applicable population 

Direct or 

indirect cost 

of final rule 

Process MOA from States ..... 0.25 hours to process MOA 

(Coast Guard Compliance 

officer).

0.25 hours to transmit for approval (Coast Guard Compliance officer).

0.2 hours for approval 

(Commandant or designee).

(0.5 hours × Coast Guard 

Compliance officer’s wage 

rate) + (0.2 hour × Commandant or designee’s 

wage rate) × 56 States.

One-time cost to the Coast 

Guard for all 56 States.

Direct. 

Coordinate with States .......... 0.5 hours for 18 States without VIS (Coast Guard Compliance officer).

0.5 hours for 47 States needing to adopt UCOTA–V 

(Coast Guard Compliance 

officer).

18 States × (0.5 hour × Coast 

Guard Compliance officer’s 

wage rate).

47 States × (0.5 hour × Coast 

Guard Compliance officer’s 

wage rate).

One-time cost to the Coast 

Guard for 18 States.

One-time cost to the Coast 

Guard for 47 States.

Direct. 

Update Coast Guard Website 1 hour to update (Federal 

computer technician).

0.25 hours to approve (Coast 

Guard Compliance officer).

0.25 hour × Coast Guard 

compliance officer’s wage 

rate) + (1 hour × Federal 

computer technician’s wage 

rate.

One-time cost to the Coast 

Guard.

Direct. 

Costs to the Regulated Public 

Compliance with this final rule will 

require a variety of tasks by the 

regulated public. This section 

documents the Coast Guard’s 

assessment of this final rule’s changes 

and the steps States need to take as a 

result. Not all tasks need to be carried 

out by all the States. In this section, we 

note first the tasks that apply to all 

States. Next are the tasks that result 

from this final rule. We split these tasks 

into categories to better calculate the 

costs, since some tasks apply to some 

States and others apply to other States, 

depending on their current level of 

compliance with existing rules. 


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15This estimate is based on a previous Coast 

Guard rulemaking. In the 2014 final rule for 

Personal Flotation Devices Labeling and Standards 

(79 FR 56491, October 22, 2014), the Coast Guard 

estimated that the task will take 0.5 hour (https:// 

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/09/22/ 

2014-22373/personal-flotation-devices-labelingand-standards). Time estimate can be found under 

Table 2, ‘‘State Regulatory Review.’’ No public 

comments were received on this estimate. This page 

was last viewed on May 21, 2021. 

16The Coast Guard estimates a manager will 

spend 0.25 hour to provide direction and supervise 

and approve the work of a computer technician. 

17This estimate is based on the Coast Guard’s 

final rule for Tankers Automatic Pilot Systems (83 

FR 55272, November 05, 2018). Please see https:// 

www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/05/ 

2018-24127/tankers-automatic-pilot-systems, Table 

3, ‘‘Write Notification of Regulatory Change,’’ fourth 

entry (0.5 hours). This estimate is defined as 

‘‘Communicate regulatory change,’’ which is an 

identical task undertaken by the State manager. 

This page was last viewed on May 21, 2021. 

18https://cgmix.uscg.mil/VISInformation.aspx. 

This web page was last viewed on January 8, 2020. 

19Email from Info-Link Technologies, Inc. to 

William Burgess, Compliance Officer, CG–BSX–1 

dated February 5, 2020 (available in the docket 

where indicated under the ADDRESSES portion of 

this final rule). 

20 During the renewal process for the collection of 

information request, no public comments were 

received on the estimate. In preparing this final 

rule, the Coast Guard reviewed data and revised the 

estimate for the duration of labor to upload VIS 

data. The revision better reflects the amount of time 

needed to perform periodic uploads of automated 

data. 

Below is a list of all costs to the 

regulated public: 

Costs to the Regulated Public—States 

All 56 States need to be familiarized 

with this final rule and to complete the 

task of reviewing their State’s website 

for numbering and titling of vessels. 

Upon review of the State’s procedures 

and websites, some States may need to 

make updates. These are discussed in 

more detail below. 

The Coast Guard estimates that States 

will spend 0.5 hour to become 

familiarized with this final rule.15 A 

manager typically will perform this task. 

A manager will spend another 0.5 hour 

to review the State’s procedures and 

website to make a determination 

whether anything will need to change in 

response to this final rule (Cost = 56 

States × 0.5 hour × State manager’s wage 

rate). All 56 States may potentially need 

to update their websites, which would 

be accomplished by a computer 

technician. The Coast Guard estimates 

that this task will take 1 hour and be 

performed by a computer technician at 

the direction of a manager.16 However, 

as the Coast Guard does not have an 

estimate on how many States will need 

to update a website, the cost is 

considered only a potential cost and is 

not factored into the cost analysis. 

Although not explicitly required, 

some States may send email 

notifications or a press release to 

interested parties (such as the media, 

recreational boaters, boating 

associations, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, 

etc.). Another 0.5 hour is estimated for 

a State manager to write a notification 

of regulatory change for the public.17

We estimate these as one-time costs to 

the State. 

TABLE 4—SUMMARY OF COSTS TO STATES

Task Time burden and 

responsible party Cost Applicable population 

Direct or 

indirect cost 

of final rule 

Become familiarized with rule 0.5 hours, State manager Cost = (56 States × 0.5 hour 

× State manager’s wage 

rate) + (56 States × 0.5 

hour × State manager’s 

wage rate).

One-time cost to all 56 States Direct. 

Review website ...................... 0.5 hours, State manager Direct. 

Update website (not included 

in cost analysis.).

1 hour, Computer technician Cost = 1 hour × 56 States × 

Computer Technician’s 

wage rate.

Potential one-time cost to all 

56 States.

Potential direct 

cost. 

Notification of change ............ 0.5 hours, State manager Cost = 0.5 hour × 56 States × 

State manager’s wage rate.

One-time cost to all 56 States Direct. 

Costs to the Regulated Public—States 

(VIS Compliance Costs) 

Based on BSX data,18 we estimate that 

there are two States currently not in 

compliance with any existing VIS 

requirements. Some States are in partial 

compliance with existing requirements 

for the VIS. Coast Guard data 

demonstrates that 16 States have 

initiated VIS participation, but are not 

in compliance because they do not have 

a signed MOA with the Coast Guard. 

The remaining 38 States have signed 

MOAs, which means they are 

participating in the VIS. 

The 16 States that have initiated VIS 

activity but do not have a signed MOA 

with the Coast Guard will need to 

complete the MOA process. In order to 

comply, States will incur costs to— 

(1) coordinate with the Coast Guard 

for data transfer; 

(2) prepare and submit a completed 

MOA and participation form; and 

(3) engage in coordination activities to 

complete a new user request form. 

All the VIS-participating States will 

engage in activities to upload data to the 

VIS. However, according to Info-Link 

Technologies,19 the contractor 

responsible for VIS updates, VIS data 

uploads for each State are often an 

automated process, where software 

automatically prepares and uploads a 

data file each month. The economic 

impact of the data submission is zero as 

Info-Link Technologies already bears 

the cost for the data, which they receive 

from every State regardless of their 

participation in VIS. Thus, States that 

do not currently participate in VIS still 

engage in a virtual data submission with 

the contractor and will not incur an 

additional cost or time burden. As a 

result, we conclude that VIS data 

uploads will not produce costs to States 

new to VIS. 

New VIS participants need to 

complete the new user request form. We 

estimate that it takes 0.1 hour to 

complete the form. These estimates are 

based on data provided by Info-Link 

Technologies and the Coast Guard’s 

Collection of Information entitled 

‘‘Vessel Identification System,’’ OMB 

Control Number: 1625–0070.20

Lastly, two States will have to address 

legislative conflicts with existing 

privacy laws that complicate or prevent 

VIS participation. We estimate that such 

a task will require that a manager 

negotiate the changes with a State 

legislative committee. An attorney will 

draft the legislation. Unlike UCOTA–V, 

which has uniform legislation to follow 

for each State, privacy law amendments 

may take more time to develop. We 

estimate that a manager will spend 40 


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21Email from the ULC to William Burgess, 

Compliance Officer, Coast Guard (January 16, 2020) 

(available in the docket where indicated under the 

ADDRESSES portion of this final rule). 

22For all uniform acts, the State’s legislative 

drafting office mainly formats the bill to conform 

to the State’s required format and fill in bracketed 

areas of the text. The ULC (https://

www.uniformlaws.org/home) also includes 

italicized legislative notes when they format the bill 

for the particular State. This allows the time to draft 

the bill to be relatively shorter than with other 

regulations. 

23Each State has its own legislative drafting 

agency responsible for drafting legislation. The bill 

drafters are attorneys who draft bills for all the state 

legislators. 

24As this is part of the State’s normal legislative 

process, we do not anticipate any additional fees 

beyond the normal process for these bills. 

25This estimate comports with previous 

estimated durations of making legislative changes at 

the State level. In the final rule for Personal 

Flotation Devices Labeling and Standards (79 FR 

56491, Sept. 22, 2014), the Coast Guard estimated 

that a legislative change would take 10 hours. No 

public comments were received on this estimate. In 

this final rule, the Coast Guard adjusted this 

estimate to reflect the more complex nature of this 

change. 26Some States may delegate the approval process 

of such changes to an administrative law committee 

rather than vote on it in the legislature. The process 

to develop the law and put it forward for voting 

would be the same. 

27This estimate aligns with other estimated 

durations of reviewing and editing manuals and 

policy documents. The Coast Guard reviewed 

previously approved OMB collections for the final 

rule for Marine Vapor Control Systems (80 FR 

54418, September 10, 2015), the proposed rule for 

Revision of Crane Regulation Standards for Mobile 

Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs), Offshore Supply 

Vessels (OSVs), and Floating Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS) Facilities (78 FR 27913, May 13, 2013), 

and the final rule for Personal Flotation Devices 

Labeling and Standards (79 FR 56491, Sept. 22, 

2014). Previously approved collections of 

information may be found at https://www.reginfo.

gov/public/do/PRAMain. No public comments were 

Continued 

hours to negotiate legislative changes to 

privacy laws, and an attorney will 

spend another 40 hours to draft this 

legislative language. However, State 

laws are often voted in blocks and the 

labor to put the amended privacy 

legislation forward and to vote on it is 

unseverable. For that reason, we have 

not estimated a cost for either step. 

We computed a cost to transmit VIS 

data to the Coast Guard for 18 States on 

the basis that States may correspond 

with the Coast Guard to initiate the data 

transfer or may have issues in their 

computer systems preventing automatic 

data transfer. In the event that this 

occurs, the State may send spreadsheets 

to the Coast Guard, and a technician 

contracted to the Coast Guard will 

upload the data. However, we 

acknowledge that this is already a task 

under existing regulations and, in most 

cases, data is automatically transmitted. 

TABLE 5—SUMMARY OF COSTS

[VIS Compliance] 

Task Time burden and 

responsible party Cost Applicable population 

Direct or 

indirect cost 

of final rule 

Prepare and submit an MOA 16 hours (State manager) ..... 18 States × (16 hours × State 

Manager wage rate).

One-time cost for 18 States .. Direct. 

Complete New User request 

form.

0.1 Hour (State manager) ...... 18 States × (0.1 hour × State 

Manager wage rate).

One-time cost for 18 States ... Direct. 

Coordinate with Coast Guard 

for data transfer.

1 hour (State manager) ......... 18 States × (1 hour × State 

Manager wage rate).

Potential one-time cost for 

States with issues with the 

automatic data transfer. 

(Even though considered 

potential, included in cost 

analysis due to potential 

correspondence to initiate 

data transfer or issues with 

automatic data transfer.).

Direct (Potential). 

Draft legislative language to 

amend privacy laws.

40 hours (State manager) .....

40 hours (State attorney) .......

2 States × [(40 hours × State 

Manager wage rate) + (40 

hours × State attorney 

wage rate)].

One-time cost for 2 States ..... Direct. 

Costs to the Regulated Public—States in 

UCOTA–V Adoption (Final Subpart D 

Compliance) 

We base our cost estimates on all 56 

States choosing to adopt UCOTA–V. As 

of January 16, 2020, five States have 

adopted UCOTA–V, and five States are 

developing legislation to become 

UCOTA–V-compliant.21 Many of the 

remaining States have reported that they 

are waiting for the Coast Guard to issue 

a rule on UCOTA–V before going 

through the legislative process. In 

addition, States often wait for their 

neighboring States to adopt legislation 

that potentially has effects across State 

borders. Insurers and manufacturers 

have requested the changes. For these 

reasons, the Coast Guard estimates that 

all 56 States will adopt UCOTA–V. 

Currently, 47 States have neither 

adopted UCOTA–V nor initiated 

legislation to do so. The cost analysis of 

UCOTA–V adoption focuses solely on 

these 47 States. In order to comply with 

this final rule, States will need to 

develop legislation and amend their 

computer systems to comport with 

UCOTA–V. As noted earlier, all States 

will post information on their websites 

about this final rule; that task appears in 

the Costs to the Regulated Public— 

States section of this analysis. 

In order to develop UCOTA–V 

legislation,22 a State will require the 

labor of an attorney 23 to draft the 

legislation 24 for a State legislative 

committee to begin the legislative 

process. The ULC has developed 

legislative text for UCOTA–V, which 

each State may use to develop its 

respective State law. For this reason, the 

labor requirement for each State is 

relatively low. We estimate that an 

attorney will spend approximately 24 

hours 25 to draft this legislative 

language. Given that State laws 26 are 

often voted in blocks, the labor to put 

UCOTA–V legislation forward and to 

vote on it is considered to be 

unseverable and, for that reason, we 

have not estimated a further cost on 

developing legislation. 

States adopting UCOTA–V will need 

to update their procedures and websites 

to reflect the resulting changes. We 

estimate that 5 hours will be spent by 

a State manager to review and edit State 

procedures, manuals, policy documents, 

and other information (Cost = (47 States 

× (5 hours × State manager’s wage 

rate)).27


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received on these estimates. The Coast Guard 

adjusted its estimate to reflect changes in 

complexity of the task. 28According to BSX, most States use an ‘‘off-theshelf’’ system, so changes are easy and menu 

driven. Some States have older systems that will 

take more time to adjust, but the older systems are 

the exception, not the rule. The Coast Guard 

estimates the average number of hours of labor for 

a computer technician by using the average time 

spent on design and coding from a University of 

South Carolina study on software developers. 

Readers can find the study at https://cse.sc.edu/job/ 

how-software-developers-really-spend-their-time. 

The study uses the average number of hours per 

week software developers spend designing and 

coding software. The Coast Guard considers this to 

be a reasonable rough proxy for the purpose of this 

analysis. 

29Email from NASBLA Vessel Registration, 

Identification, and Titling Committee to William 

Burgess, Compliance Officer, Coast Guard, February 

10, 2010. Available in the docket where indicated 

under the ADDRESSES portion of this final rule. 30The governor of each State appoints a single 

agency to be the recipient and administrator of 

grant funds received from the State Recreational 

Boating Safety Grant Program, which is authorized 

under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 131. These State agencies, 

in turn, appoint a BLA to be the State’s single point 

of contact for the purposes of administering the 

grant program. Although duties can vary from State 

to State, every State has an assigned BLA whose 

primary function is to administer the recreational 

boating safety program within the State. The BLA 

for Virginia is an employee with the Virginia 

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 

31Conversation at the National Association of 

State Boating Law Administrators Workshop (circa 

February 28, 2018 to March 1, 2018) with Mr. 

Thomas Guess, Boating Law Administrator, 

Virginia, and William Burgess, Compliance Officer, 

Coast Guard. According to the Virginia BLA, 

updates to the system are included as a part of 

routine information technology maintenance. See 

also https://community.nasbla.org/blogs/thomasguess/2018/08/23/ucotva-in-virginia. The website is 

dated August 23, 2018, and was last viewed on 

February 5, 2020. 

32No changes will be required to any State’s 

systems to facilitate population of the VIS. Data 

received from the States for inclusion in the VIS 

will be handled by the Coast Guard contractor and 

reformatted as necessary to populate the VIS 

database. We do not expect States to incur 

additional costs as the cost is already captured 

under the existing Coast Guard long-term contract 

for management and maintenance of the VIS. 

33Conversation at the National Association of 

State Boating Law Administrators Workshop (circa 

February 28, 2018 to March 1, 2018) with Ms. 

Eleanor Mariani, Boating Law Administrator, 

Connecticut, and William Burgess, Compliance 

Officer, Coast Guard. 

The remaining UCOTA–V compliance 

costs items are— 

(1) labor for a manager (30 minutes) 

to coordinate with the Coast Guard to 

ensure the State’s program meets 

UCOTA–V certification requirements 

(Cost = 47 States × (0.5 hour × State 

manager’s wage rate)); 

(2) labor for an administrative 

assistant (15 minutes) and a manager (45 

minutes) to assist with the conversion or 

update to a subpart D-compliant system 

(Cost = 47 States × [(0.25 hour × 

administrative assistant’s wage rate) + 

(0.75 hour × State manager’s wage 

rate)]); 

(3) labor for a manager (15 minutes) 

to oversee conversion to a subpart Dcompliant system (Cost = 47 States × 

(0.25 hour × State manager’s wage rate)); 

and 

(4) labor for a software developer (756 

minutes) to convert the system to a 

subpart D compliant system (Cost = 47 

States × (12.6 hours × computer 

technician’s wage rate)). 

These tasks and their calculations are 

shown in table 6.28

For the seven States that do not have 

an existing titling program, the labor 

tasks for amending State’s computers to 

comport with UCOTA–V are greater. We 

estimate that 24 hours will be spent by 

a computer technician in these States to 

amend the State’s computers to comport 

with UCOTA–V, and that a manager 

will spend another 0.5 hour to review 

and approve the work. 

BSX routinely contacts States 

regarding their vessel titling systems. 

There are currently 45 States titling 

vessels and 1 State that makes titling 

optional.29 Provided that these States 

become compliant with the recent 

regulatory changes in the Standard 

Numbering System, Boating Accident 

Report Database, and VIS (33 CFR parts 

173, 174, 181, and 187) by the required 

date, any changes made to the current 

titling systems should be minimal. 

Coast Guard personnel attended the 

National Association of State Boating 

Law Administrators Workshop held in 

Lexington, KY from February 23 to 28, 

2020. Approximately 40 boating 

administrators from the States were in 

attendance, and representatives from 4 

States (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska, 

and South Carolina) indicated they were 

contemplating adopting UCOTA–V. 

None of these 4 States have conducted 

a complete cost analysis, but the initial 

projected cost ranged from $0 to about 

$8,000. 

The primary changes required include 

the ability to mark a title as ‘‘branded,’’ 

and to add any numbered vessels that 

are not currently required to be titled. 

For example, Virginia adopted UCOTA– 

V and reprogrammed their system to 

accept the branded designation. 

According to the State of Virginia’s 

Boating Law Administrator (BLA),30 this 

was accomplished at no cost to the 

State.31

The remaining 11 States that do not 

currently title vessels do title vehicles, 

and their vehicle titling systems could 

add vessels. As an example, Connecticut 

(previously a non-titling State) adopted 

UCOTA–V and its Department of Motor 

Vehicles began issuing titles for 

vessels.32 This process is analogous to 

registering a motor vehicle. In other 

words, at the time a person buys a car, 

the owner must register and title the car 

with the cognizant state. Likewise, a 

vessel owner will now be able to register 

and title vessel at the same time and in 

the same place. Connecticut did not 

incur any new costs associated with this 

transition since it used the existing 

infrastructure, and the change was 

completed as a part of an information 

technology update as per the State 

BLA.33

The 10 States that have adopted or 

have begun adopting the UCOTA–V 

model have engaged in the tasks noted 

in this text as costs of compliance. For 

example, they have already collaborated 

with the Coast Guard regarding their 

vessel titling system updates. These 

States will not incur additional costs 

because they elected to adopt the 

UCOTA–V model prior to this 

regulation. These States will not require 

the use of a computer technician to 

upgrade the computer system because 

the conversion has taken place already. 

No further action is needed by States in 

this situation. As noted earlier, these 

States are already familiar with 

UCOTA–V and will review their 

existing procedures as a result of this 

final rule. 

TABLE 6—SUMMARY OF COSTS FOR SUBPART D COMPLIANCE

Task Time burden and responsible 

party Cost Applicable population Direct or indirect cost 

Draft UCOTA–V legislative 

language.

2 hours (State manager) 5 

hours (State attorney).

47 States × [(2 hours × State 

manager wage rate) + (5 

hours × State attorney 

wage rate)].

One-time cost for 47 States .. Direct. 


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34https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/ 

pay-leave/salaries-wages/2020/general-schedule/. 

Labor costs calculated by (1) finding hourly wage 

rate for GS-level under ‘‘2020 General Schedule 

(Base)’’. Choose Step 5 value. (2) To calculate load 

factor, we go to https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/ 

115th-congress-2017-2018/reports/52637-federal

privatepay.pdf. Use tables 2 and 4. Divide the total 

compensation by the wages for a Federal employee. 

Multiply by hourly wage rate obtained from OPM. 

GS–13 falls under ‘‘Master’s Degree’’ and GS–14 

falls under ‘‘Professional/Doctorate Degree’’. For the 

Master’s Degree we end up with a benefits to wage 

ratio, using this method, of $74.80/$45 = 1.66 and 

for the Professional/Doctoral Degree of $81.70/ 

$51.90 = 1.56. Using these to obtain a fully 

burdened rate, we end up, for the GS–13 labor, 

$42.73 × 1.66 = $ $71.03 and, for the GS–14 labor, 

$50.49 × 1.56 = $79.48. 

TABLE 6—SUMMARY OF COSTS FOR SUBPART D COMPLIANCE—Continued 

Task Time burden and responsible 

party Cost Applicable population Direct or indirect cost 

Coordinate with Coast Guard 

for compliance and certification.

0.5 hours (State manager) .... 47 States × (0.5 hour × State 

manager wage rate).

One-time cost for 47 States .. Direct. 

Assist with update and convert to compliant computer 

system.

0.25 hours (admin assistant) 

0.75 hours (State manager).

47 States × [(0.25 hour × 

admin assistant wage rate) 

+ (0.75 hour × State manager wage rate)].

One-time cost for 47 States .. Direct. 

Oversee update or conversion 

to compliant system.

0.25 hours (State manager) .. 47 States × (0.25 hour × 

State manager wage rate).

One-time cost for 47 States ... Direct. 

Update or convert to a compliant system.12.6 hours (computer technician).47 States × (12.6 hours × 

computer technician wage 

rate).

One-time cost for 47 States .. Direct. 

Amend State’s computers to 

comport with UCOTA–V. 

(Applies to States without 

an existing titling program.).

2 hours (computer technician) 

0.25 hours (State manager).

7 States × [(2 hours × computer technician wage rate) 

+ (0.25 hour × State manager wage rate)].

One-time cost for 7 States .... Direct. 

Update State procedures or 

processes.

5 hours (State manager) ....... 47 States × (5 hours × State 

manager wage rate).

One-time cost for 47 States .. Direct. 

Post updated procedures on 

website.

0.25 hours (State manager) 1 

hour (computer technician).

24 States × [(0.25 hour × 

State manager wage rate) 

+ (1 hour × computer technician wage rate)].

One-time cost for 24 States .. Direct. 

Cost Calculations for the Final Rule 

We discuss the derivation of cost data 

in the following paragraphs. We 

estimate the approximate loaded hourly 

labor rates of State employees as 

follows: Manager ($94.30); 

administrative assistant ($33.81); 

computer technician ($67.98); and 

lawyer ($124.57). The loaded wage 

factor is 1.74 for non-managerial State 

workers and 1.56 for managers at the 

State level, based on Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) data. See table 7 for 

details. 

TABLE 7—LOADED WAGE FACTOR CALCULATION

[$2020] 

Personnel category Data source(s) 1 Total 

compensation 

Wage & 

salaries 

Loaded wage 

factor 

All Workers, State and Local 

Government.

BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, all workers in State and Local Government.$51.54 $29.54 1.74 

Managers, State and Local 

Government.

BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, Managers in State and Local Government.64.02 41.02 1.56 

Coast Guard Uniform Positions.2020 Military Active & Reserve Component Pay Tables 2 ..... ........................ ........................ ........................

1A loaded wage rate is what a company pays per hour to employ a person, including the hourly wage and the cost of benefits (health insurance, vacation, etc.). To calculate the load factor, we used the series IDs CMU3019200000000D (for all workers) and CMU3010000100000D (for 

managers, professional and related occupations) using the multi-screen database. To repeat this process, visit https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/ 

dsrv?cm and select ‘‘State and local government workers.’’ Select ‘‘Total Compensation’’ and ‘‘Wages and salaries.’’ Select ‘‘All workers’’ or 

‘‘Management, professional and related occupations.’’ Select ‘‘Public administration.’’ Select ‘‘All workers.’’ Select ‘‘United States.’’ Select ‘‘Cost 

of Compensation.’’ Select ‘‘Not seasonally adjusted.’’ Finally, use values for the fourth quarter of 2020 to calculate the load factor by dividing total 

compensation by wages and salaries. 2 https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables.html. Select table named ‘‘2020 Military Active & Reserve Component Pay 

Tables’’. Data was posted on December 30, 2019 and web page was last updated January 27, 2020. This page was last viewed on January 18, 

2022. 

For all provisions with costs to the 

Government, we use publicly available 

data found on OPM’s website under 

‘‘Policy, Data, and Oversight’’ and in the 

Congressional Budget Office’s report, 

‘‘Comparing the Compensation of 

Federal and Private-Sector Employees, 

2011 to 2015.’’ We estimate labor costs 

attributed to the Government Coast 

Guard compliance officers, GS–14 

managers, GS–13 computer technicians, 

and the Commandant. We estimate the 

fully loaded labor costs for a GS–13 and 

GS–14 compliance officer at $71.03 and 

$79.48 respectively.34 We use a weighted average of the wage rates 

($73.14) for calculations. We estimate 

the wage rate for a GS–14 manager at 

$79.48, the wage rate for a GS–13 

computer technician at $71.03, and the 

wage rate for the Commandant (O–10) at 

$163. This figure represents a loaded 


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35The load factor for uniformed positions is 

based on the Coast Guard’s analysis of 

compensation and benefits of Coast Guard enlisted 

and commissioned personnel based on data found 

in https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/pay

entitlements/Pay-Tables.html. This page was last 

viewed on December 20, 2019. 

wage rate for uniformed Coast Guard 

positions.35

For positions outside the Coast Guard, 

we use publicly available data from the 

BLS Occupational Compensation 

Survey to estimate wage rates for State 

and local positions that will be 

impacted by the final rule. We present 

the estimated wage rates and a summary 

of the data for the final rule in table 8. 

TABLE 8—LOADED WAGE CALCULATION

[$2020] 

Personnel category Data source(s) 1 Mean hourly 

wage Load factor Loaded wage 

Computer Developer ............... Software Developers, Applications (OC 15–1256) 2 .............. $54.94 1.74 $95.60 

Administrative Support ............ Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, 

Medical, and Executive (OC 43–6014) 3.

19.43 1.74 33.81 

General Manager .................... General and Operations Managers (OC 11–1021) in Management Occupations 4.60.45 1.56 94.30 

Lawyer .................................... Lawyers, Judges, and Related Workers (OC 23–1011) in 

the Legal Occupations 5.

71.59 1.74 124.57 

Coast Guard Commandant 

(O–10).

Military Active & Reserve Component Pay Tables 6 .............. ........................ ........................ 163 

Civilian Computer Technician 

(GS–13).

OPM Salary Table (2020) ...................................................... 42.73 1.66 71.03 

Civilian Manager (GS–14) ...... OPM Salary Table (2020) ...................................................... 50.49 1.57 79.48 

Coast Guard Compliance Officer (GS–13).OPM Salary Table (2020) ...................................................... 42.73 1.66 71.03 

Coast Guard Compliance Officer (GS–14).OPM Salary Table (2020) ...................................................... 50.49 1.57 79.48 

Coast Guard Compliance Officer (average) 7.Weighted average by the formula: [(0.75 × $71.03 GS–13 

Compliance Officers’ wage rate) + (0.25 × $79.48 GS–14 

Compliance Officers’ wage rate)].

........................ ........................ 73.14 

1To calculate the loaded wages, we used Occupational Code 11–1021 (General and Operations Managers) for general managers, Occupational Code 43–6014 (Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive) for clerical, and Occupational Code 15–1256 (Software Developers and 

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers) for computer developers. Please see the footnotes to table 7 for instructions on calculating 

load factors. 2 https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151256.htm. 

3 https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes436014.htm. 

4 https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes111021.htm. 

5 https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes231011.htm. 

6 https://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/Pay-Tables.html. 

7 Coast Guard compliance officers consist of GS–13s and GS–14s. There are four Coast Guard employees who will complete this requirement 

(three GS–13s and one GS–14). To calculate the in-government wage rate, we calculated three-fourths of the GS–13 in-government wage rate 

($71.03) and one-fourth of the GS–14 in-government wage rate ($79.48) and added them together to estimate a more accurate wage rate for the 

team that will complete this process. 

We estimate the costs in this RA in 

2020 dollars based on BLS wage rates. 

We estimate the total cost for States to 

be $182,607, undiscounted (not 

including Government costs). We 

estimate the total Government costs 

associated with this final rule to be 

$14,537. We show the summary of 

compliance costs in table 9. 

TABLE 9—ESTIMATED COST OF FINAL RULE 1

CFR citation Task 2 Cost calculation Total costs 

Costs to Regulated Public (States) 

General Compliance Costs (All States) 

(See table 3) (One-time costs for 

States): 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Become familiar with Final Rule ........... 56 States × (0.5 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$2,640 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Review procedures and website .......... 56 States × (0.5 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$2,640 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Write press release or email ................ 56 States × (0.5 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$2,640 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Update website. (Potential cost, not 

used in analysis).

56 States × (1 hour × $95.60/hour 

computer technician).

Not in cost calculations. 

Subtotal—General Compliance 

Costs (States).

............................................................... ............................................................... $7,921 

VIS Compliance Costs (States) (See 

table 5) (One-time costs for States): 


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TABLE 9—ESTIMATED COST OF FINAL RULE 1—Continued 

CFR citation Task 2 Cost calculation Total costs 

33 CFR 187.7 ................................. Prepare and submit an MOA ................ 18 States × (16 hours × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$27,158 

33 CFR 187.7 ................................. Complete New User request form ........ 18 States × (0.1 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$170 

33 CFR 187.7 ................................. Coordinate with Coast Guard for data 

transfer. (Potential cost, but used in 

analysis).

18 States × (1 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$1,697 

33 CFR 187.7 ................................. Draft legislative language to amend privacy laws.2 States × [(40 hours × $94.30/hour 

State manager) + (40 hours × 

$124.57/hour State attorney)].

$17,510 

33 CFR 187.7 ................................. Put forward and vote on the privacy 

legislation.

Applies to 2 States ............................... Unquantified. 

Subtotal—VIS Compliance Costs 

(States).

............................................................... ............................................................... $46,535 

UCOTA–V Adoption (Subpart D) Compliance Costs (States) (See table 6) 

(One-time costs for States): 

33 CFR 187.306 ............................. Draft UCOTA–V legislative language ... 47 States × [(2 hours × $94.30/hour 

State manager) + (5 hours × 

$124.57/hour State attorney)].

$38,138 

33 CFR 187.306 ............................. Put forward and vote on the privacy 

legislation.

Applies to 47 States ............................. Unquantified. 

33 CFR 187.306 ............................. Coordinate with Coast Guard for compliance and certification.47 States × (0.5 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$2,216 

33 CFR 187.312 ............................. Assist with update and convert to compliant system.47 States × [(0.25 hour × $33.81/hour 

admin assistant) + (0.75 hour × 

$94.30/hour State manager)].

$3,721 

33 CFR 187.312 ............................. Oversee update or conversion to compliant system.47 States × (0.25 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$1,108 

33 CFR 187.312 ............................. Update or convert to a compliant system.47 States × (12.6 hours × $95.60/hour 

computer technician).

$56,614 

33 CFR 187.312 ............................. Amend State’s computers to comport 

with UCOTA–V.

7 States × [(2 hours × $95.60/hour 

computer technician) + (0.25 hour × 

$94.30/hour State manager)].

$1,503 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Update procedures or processes ......... 47 States × (5 hours × $94.30/hour 

State manager).

$22,161 

33 CFR 187 .................................... Post updated procedures on website ... 24 States × [(0.25 hour × $94.30/hour 

State manager) + (1 hour × $95.60/ 

hour computer technician)].

$2,860 

Subtotal: UCOTA–V (Subpart D) 

Compliance Costs (States).

............................................................... ............................................................... $128,321 

Total Cost for Regulated Public 

(States).

............................................................... ............................................................... $182,607 

Federal Government Costs (One-time cost to Government for States affected) 

33 CFR 187.306 .................................... Process New User request from States 18 States × (0.5 hour × $73.14/hour 

Compliance Officer).

$658 

33 CFR 187.306 .................................... Process an MOA from States ............... 18 States × [(0.2 hour × $163/hour 

Commandant) + (8.25 hours × 

$73.14/hour Compliance Officer)].

$11,448 

33 CFR 187.306 .................................... Coordinate with 18 States for VIS ........ 18 States × (0.5 hour × $73.14/hour 

Compliance Officer).

$658 

33 CFR 187.312 .................................... Coordinate with 47 States on UCOTA– 

V certification.

47 States × (0.5 hour × $73.14/hour 

Compliance Officer).

$1,682 

33 CFR 187 ........................................... Update Coast Guard’s website. (Initial 

year cost).

(1 hour × $71.03/hour computer technician) + (0.25 hour × $79.48/hour 

Federal manager).

$91 

Total for Federal Government 

(Coast Guard).

............................................................... ............................................................... $14,537 

Total for Regulated Public and 

Government.

............................................................... ............................................................... $197,148 

1Totals may not sum due to rounding. Undiscounted costs appear in the table. 

2 ‘‘Potential indirect costs’’ not included (See table 2). Unquantified costs included but are not part of cost calculations. 


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36https://boatingindustry.com/news/2021/11/09/ 

pre-owned-boat-sales-exceeded-one-million-unitsin-2020-for-the-first-time-since-2006/ (‘‘Pre-owned 

boat sales exceeded one million units in 2020 for 

the first time since 2006,’’ November 9, 2021). 

Accessed and last viewed on May 12, 2022. 

37https://cgmix.uscg.mil/VISInformation.aspx?

VISOption=. 

Total Costs 

Using a 7-percent discount rate, we 

estimate the total discounted cost of the 

final rule to be $138,490 (rounded). The 

total annualized cost at a 7-percent 

discount rate is $19,718 (rounded). See 

table 10. 

For the estimated cost to the regulated 

public, the Coast Guard expects all 

States will comply within 10 years of 

this rule. However, we do not have 

specific information as to the rate of 

compliance. As such, we assume equal 

probability for each year; that is, we 

estimate 10 percent will comply each 

year for the next 10 years. Given this, 

the total cost to the regulated public, as 

shown in table 9, is $182,607. This is 

$18,261 (rounded) when averaged 

across 10 years. 

For the cost to the Government, we 

assume that the $91 website update will 

occur in the first year. Subtracting that, 

we calculate the annual cost over the 

next 9 years by dividing the total by 10 

($1,445). The first year cost to 

Government will be $1,445 + $91, 

which is $1,536. 

TABLE 10—TOTAL ESTIMATED COST OF THE FINAL RULE

[10-year period of analysis, 7- and 3-percent discount rates ($2020)] 1

Year 

Costs to the regulated public (states) Costs to the government Total estimated costs 

Undiscounted 7% 3% Undiscounted 7% 3% Undiscounted 7% 3% 

1 .......................................................... $18,261 $17,066.07 $17,728.83 $1,536 $1,435.51 $1,491.26 $19,797 $18,501.59 $19,220.10 

2 .......................................................... 18,261 15,949.60 17,212.46 1,445 1,262.12 1,362.05 19,706 17,211.72 18,574.51 

3 .......................................................... 18,261 14,906.17 16,711.13 1,445 1,179.55 1,322.38 19,706 16,085.72 18,033.51 

4 .......................................................... 18,261 13,931.00 16,224.40 1,445 1,102.38 1,283.86 19,706 15,033.38 17,508.26 

5 .......................................................... 18,261 13,019.63 15,751.84 1,445 1,030.27 1,246.47 19,706 14,049.89 16,998.31 

6 .......................................................... 18,261 12,167.88 15,293.05 1,445 962.86 1,210.16 19,706 13,130.74 16,503.21 

7 .......................................................... 18,261 11,371.85 14,847.62 1,445 899.87 1,174.92 19,706 12,271.72 16,022.54 

8 .......................................................... 18,261 10,627.89 14,415.17 1,445 841.00 1,140.70 19,706 11,468.90 15,555.86 

9 .......................................................... 18,261 9,932.61 13,995.31 1,445 785.98 1,107.47 19,706 10,718.60 15,102.78 

10 ........................................................ 18,261 9,282.81 13,587.68 1,445 734.56 1,075.22 19,706 10,017.38 14,662.89 

Total ............................................. 182,607.00 128,255.52 155,767.47 14,537.00 10,234.12 12,414.49 197,148.00 138,489.64 168,181.97 

Annualized ............................ ...................... 18,260.70 18,260.70 ...................... 1,457.11 1,455.36 ...................... 19,717.81 19,716.06 

1Totals may not sum due to independent rounding. 

Benefits 

This final rule amends the Coast 

Guard’s existing regulations (see 33 CFR 

187 subpart D, ‘‘Guidelines for State 

Vessel Titling Systems’’) to better align 

with UCOTA–V. The final rule 

encourages uniformity amongst the 

States through the adoption of the 

UCOTA–V model, in its entirety or in 

part, and follows recommendations by 

the National Boating Safety Advisory 

Council and NASBLA. Although the 

movement to harmonize State titling 

laws has existed for some time, not all 

States have pursued legislation. Some 

States have chosen to wait for the Coast 

Guard to pass the UCOTA–V regulation. 

This final rule also promotes 

consumer protection against fraud. A 

large number of recreational vessels are 

resold annually. In 2017, there were 

approximately 1.1 million pre-owned 

vessels sold in the United States.36

Given this large number, the industry is 

vulnerable to the types of fraud 

UCOTA–V is designed to prevent. 

The final rule facilitates the 

procurement of secured loans on 

vessels. If the Coast Guard does not 

certify a State titling system, then a 

State cannot confer preferred mortgage 

status on a mortgage or security interest 

for a vessel, which functions as a 

security measure for financial entities. 

Many financial institutions require 

eligible vessels to be documented and to 

have their preferred mortgages recorded. 

A preferred mortgage is considered 

more secure, with less risk to the lender. 

This places the lender in a position to 

provide lower interest rates over longer 

terms to the consumer. In turn, the 

lender may earn more over the term of 

the loan with less risk. More 

specifically, the lender faces a lower 

risk of loans defaulting; therefore, the 

lender’s loan portfolio may provide 

better returns despite the lower interest 

rates offered to borrowers. 

The consumer benefits as well. With 

preferred loans, the borrower has a loan 

with better terms. Relative to a nonpreferred loan, the consumer pays less 

per month due to the lower interest rate 

on preferred loans. 

In addition, consistent titling 

procedures across States will deter the 

practice of ‘‘title washing,’’ which 

occurs after the sale of a damaged vessel 

for salvage when the buyer makes 

cosmetic repairs and resells the vessel 

without disclosing its previous damage. 

Recreational boaters may benefit from 

this final rule by being able to assist 

States and law enforcement in 

recovering their lost or stolen vessels. 

Furthermore, we intend this final rule 

to promote maritime security by 

facilitating State participation in the 

VIS. After the September 2001 terrorist 

attacks, a Coast Guard gap analysis 

showed that law enforcement agencies, 

including the Coast Guard, lacked the 

ability to easily and verifiably identify 

recreational vessels and their owners 

and operators, especially when a vessel 

is registered in a State other than that in 

which the law enforcement agency 

operates. This inability deprives law 

enforcement agencies of critical tools for 

deterring crime and maritime-based 

terrorism. 

Since its inception in 2007, the VIS 

has remedied this inability by collecting 

and providing verifiable data for vessels 

in VIS-participating States. However, as 

of May 10, 2022, 16 States still do not 

participate in the VIS.37 Facilitating full 

VIS participation by these States will 

enhance maritime security. Because of 

the high level of interest among the 

States in aligning their vessel titling 

systems with UCOTA–V, aligning our 

subpart D regulations with UCOTA–V 

will make it easier for States to obtain 

subpart D certification. 

Alternatives Considered 

Alternative 1—Take no action. This 

alternative would allow existing 

regulations to remain in conflict with 

State laws and UCOTA–V. For States 

complying with the existing regulations, 

this alternative would result in them not 

receiving the benefits of deterred ‘‘title 

washing,’’ recovery and identification of 


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38See 46 U.S.C. 123. The only issuing authorities 

are the 56 States. Tribal governments are excluded 

legally as authorities from numbering and titling 

vessels. 

39Small governmental jurisdictions are defined as 

governments of cities, counties, towns, townships, 

villages, school districts, or special districts with a 

population of less than 50,000. 40Rounded from the actual 31.2 hours. 

abandoned vessels, consumer fraud 

protection, and security measures for 

financial entities. Participation in the 

VIS would continue at its current low 

rate. This alternative would result in no 

additional costs, as no new regulations 

would be implemented, but would also 

result in no benefits, as there would be 

no changes to current practice. 

Therefore, we rejected this alternative. 

Alternative 2—This is the preferred 

alternative. This alternative will change 

the guidelines in subpart D so that any 

State that adopts UCOTA–V and 

participates in the VIS would be in 

compliance. This will encourage 

compliance and participation and 

provide benefits to States, lenders, and 

consumers. The cost implications 

associated with this alternative are 

specified in the Costs section of this RA 

and assume 100 percent participation 

from all 56 States. The total 7 percent 

discounted cost over 10 years will be 

$176,570. The qualitative benefits 

would be increased mitigation of 

fraudulent ownership, the creation of 

uniformity amongst the States, which 

will help facilitate transfers of vessel 

ownership, to deter theft of vessels and 

aid law enforcement agencies by making 

recovery of stolen vessels across State 

lines easier, promote consumer 

protection, and facilitate making 

secured loans on vessels. Therefore, this 

is the preferred alternative. 

Alternative 3—This alternative would 

repeal existing guidelines for 

certification of State titling requirements 

and allow States to regulate vessel 

titling with no coordination or 

oversight. This would remove the ability 

for States to establish separate programs 

to enable vessels to gain preferred 

mortgage status and discourage 

participation in the VIS. In this 

scenario, each State would have a 

unique vessel titling system; this 

alternative would produce varying costs 

and benefits, which may be beneficial to 

the States as they could customize a 

titling program to meet their specific 

needs. However, we are unable to 

estimate the costs due to the number of 

possibilities offered, and they would 

occur without coordination or oversight 

from the Coast Guard. Harmonization of 

regulations across States would be 

impossible. As this would not satisfy 

the goals of this regulatory action, we 

rejected this alternative. 

B. Small Entities 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 

5 U.S.C. 601–612, we have considered 

whether this final rule will have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The term ‘‘small entities’’ comprises 

small businesses, not-for-profit 

organizations that are independently 

owned and operated and are not 

dominant in their fields, and 

governmental jurisdictions with 

populations of less than 50,000. 

Based on the analysis above, this final 

rule will affect 56 States and U.S. 

territories.38 All governmental 

jurisdictions that will potentially be 

directly regulated by this final rule have 

populations greater than 50,000. These 

entities are not considered to be small 

entities based on the Small Business 

Administration’s definition of what is a 

small governmental jurisdiction.39

Therefore, the Coast Guard certifies 

under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this final rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

C. Assistance for Small Entities 

Under section 213(a) of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, Public Law 104– 

121, we offer to assist small entities in 

understanding this rule so that they can 

better evaluate its effects on them and 

participate in the rulemaking. The Coast 

Guard will not retaliate against small 

entities that question or complain about 

this rule or any policy or action of the 

Coast Guard. 

D. Collection of Information 

This final rule calls for the 

modification of an existing collection of 

information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3520. As defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(c), 

‘‘collection of information’’ comprises 

reporting, recordkeeping, monitoring, 

posting, labeling, and other similar 

actions. The title and description of the 

information collections, a description of 

those who must collect the information, 

and an estimate of the total annual 

burden follow. The estimate covers the 

time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing sources of data, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection. 

Title: Vessel Identification System. 

OMB Control Number: 1625–0070. 

Summary of the Collection of 

Information: Public Law 100–710 (46 

U.S.C. 12501) requires the establishment 

of the VIS, which provides participating 

States with access to data of vessels 

numbered by States. States voluntarily 

provide the VIS data. The States, 

boating public, and law enforcement are 

the primary beneficiaries. To become 

part of the VIS, States must submit an 

MOA to the Coast Guard. 

Need for Information: The VIS 

collects State-numbered vessel 

identification and ownership data and 

provides that data to law enforcement 

agencies in the States that choose to 

participate in the VIS. Participation in 

the VIS is entirely voluntary. In order to 

participate, States must comply with 

certain requirements to ensure the 

integrity and uniformity of the 

information provided to the VIS. 

Proposed Use of Information: The 

Coast Guard will use this information to 

track vessel information and facilitate 

the recovery of stolen or missing 

vessels. 

Description of the Respondents: The 

50 States, District of Columbia, and 5 

territories. The Coast Guard describes 

these as ‘‘56 States.’’ 

Number of Respondents: As a result of 

the proposal, the Coast Guard 

anticipates that there will be two 

additional States joining the VIS 

annually until all States join. Over a 10 

year period, this final rule will increase 

the number of respondents from 38 

States to 56 States. 

Frequency of Response: The number 

of responses per year of this final rule 

will vary by participating States. New 

MOA applications, VIS user requests, 

and VIS data uploads are required with 

the initial MOA application process. For 

existing participants, VIS user requests 

and VIS data uploads are required. 

Based on the current collection of VIS 

information data, the Coast Guard 

anticipates that each new participant 

will submit an MOA application once, 

a VIS user request once a year, and 

upload VIS data every 2 weeks. 

Burden of Response: The burden of 

response includes three components— 

MOA applications, VIS data uploads, 

and VIS user requests. The burden for 

an MOA application, VIS data upload 

and VIS new user request form are 16 

hours, 0.6 hour, and 0.1 hour, 

respectively. An MOA application and a 

VIS new user request form will be 

prepared by a manager. A computer 

technician will handle the VIS data 

upload 

Estimate of Total Annual Burden: 

This final rule will require additional 

hours for VIS data uploads (32 hours 

annually),40 MOAs (32 hours annually), 

and VIS user requests (1 hour 


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41Rounded from the actual 0.2 hour. 

42Rounded from the actual 5,855.3 hours. 

annually).41 The final rule will increase 

the total burden by 64 hours (rounded 

from the actual 63.3 hours), from 5,792 

hours to 5,856 hours.42

As required by 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), we 

will submit a copy of this rule to OMB 

for its review of the collection of 

information. You are not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. OMB has not yet 

completed its review of this collection. 

E. Federalism 

A rule has implications for federalism 

under Executive Order 13132 

(Federalism) if it has a substantial direct 

effect on States, on the relationship 

between the National Government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. We have 

analyzed this final rule under Executive 

Order 13132 and have determined that 

it is consistent with the fundamental 

federalism principles and preemption 

requirements described in Executive 

Order 13132. Our analysis follows. 

The purpose of this final rule is to 

revise Coast Guard requirements for 

State participation in the Coast Guardmaintained VIS and guidelines for State 

vessel titling systems. The Coast Guard 

is mandated to establish and maintain 

the VIS, but State participation in the 

VIS is voluntary. Nothing in this final 

rule requires States to participate in the 

VIS. However, once electing to 

participate in the VIS, a State must 

comply with the VIS requirements to 

ensure integrity and uniformity of 

information. Likewise, requesting 

certification that a State vessel titling 

system complies with the guidelines is 

also voluntary, but such a system must 

comply with subpart D for voluntary 

certification. This final rule will not 

require States to request certification, 

change their existing titling systems, or 

otherwise preempt related State 

regulations. Therefore, the final rule is 

consistent with the principles of 

federalism and preemption 

requirements in Executive Order 13132. 

F. Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, requires 

Federal agencies to assess the effects of 

their discretionary regulatory actions. In 

particular, the Act addresses actions 

that may result in the expenditure by a 

State, local, or tribal government, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector of 

$100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or 

more in any one year. Although this 

final rule will not result in such 

expenditure, we do discuss the effects of 

this rule elsewhere in this preamble. 

G. Taking of Private Property 

This final rule will not cause a taking 

of private property or otherwise have 

taking implications under Executive 

Order 12630 (Governmental Actions and 

Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights). 

H. Civil Justice Reform 

This final rule meets applicable 

standards in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of 

Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice 

Reform) to minimize litigation, 

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce 

burden. 

I. Protection of Children 

We have analyzed this final rule 

under Executive Order 13045 

(Protection of Children from 

Environmental Health Risks and Safety 

Risks). This final rule is not an 

economically significant rule and will 

not create an environmental risk to 

health or risk to safety that might 

disproportionately affect children. 

J. Indian Tribal Governments 

This final rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175 (Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments), 

because it will not have a substantial 

direct effect on one or more Indian 

tribes, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and Indian tribes, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

K. Energy Effects 

We have analyzed this final rule 

under Executive Order 13211 (Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use). We have 

determined that it is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ under that order because 

it is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under Executive Order 12866 and is not 

likely to have a significant adverse effect 

on the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. 

L. Technical Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act, codified as a 

note to 15 U.S.C. 272, directs agencies 

to use voluntary consensus standards in 

their regulatory activities unless the 

agency provides Congress, through 

OMB, with an explanation of why using 

these standards would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or otherwise 

impractical. Voluntary consensus 

standards are technical standards (e.g., 

specifications of materials, performance, 

design, or operation; test methods; 

sampling procedures; and related 

management systems practices) that are 

developed or adopted by voluntary 

consensus standards bodies. 

This final rule does not use technical 

standards. Therefore, we did not 

consider the use of voluntary consensus 

standards. 

M. Environment 

We have analyzed this final rule 

under Department of Homeland 

Security Management Directive 023–01, 

Rev. 1, associated implementing 

instructions, and Environmental 

Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series), 

which guide the Coast Guard in 

complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and have made a 

determination that this action is one of 

a category of actions that do not 

individually or cumulatively have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. A Record of 

Environmental Consideration 

supporting this determination is 

available in the docket. For instructions 

on locating the docket, see the 

ADDRESSES section of this preamble. 

This final rule is categorically excluded 

under paragraphs L54 and L57 of 

Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction 

Manual 023–01–001–01, Rev 1. 

Paragraph L54 pertains to regulations 

which are editorial or procedural and 

paragraph L57 pertains to regulations 

concerning documentation of vessels. 

This final rule involves changes to 

regulations for certifying a State’s titling 

system for undocumented vessels. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 187 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Marine safety, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 187 as follows: 

PART 187—VESSEL IDENTIFICATION 

SYSTEM 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation for part 

187 to read as follows: 

Authority: 46 U.S.C. 2103, 12501, 31322; 

DHS Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 

01.2, paragraph (II)(92). 

■ 2. Revise § 187.7 to read as follows: 

§ 187.7 Definitions. 

As used in this part— 

Approved numbering system means a 

numbering system approved by the 

Secretary of the Department of 


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Homeland Security under 46 U.S.C. 

Chapter 123. 

Barge means a vessel that is not selfpropelled or fitted for propulsion by 

sail, paddle, oar, or similar device. 

Builder’s certificate means a 

certificate of the facts of build of a 

vessel described in 46 CFR 67.99. 

Buyer means a person who buys or 

contracts to buy a vessel. 

Cancel, with respect to a certificate of 

title, means to make the certificate 

ineffective. 

Certificate of documentation means 

Coast Guard Form CG–1270. 

Certificate of origin means a record 

created by a manufacturer or importer as 

the manufacturer’s or importer’s proof 

of identity of a vessel, and includes a 

manufacturer’s certificate or statement 

of origin and an importer’s certificate or 

statement of origin, but excludes a 

builder’s certificate. 

Certificate of ownership means Coast 

Guard Form CG–1330. 

Certificate of title means a record, 

created by the office or by a 

governmental agency of another State 

under the law of that State, which is 

designated as a certificate of title by the 

office or agency and is evidence of 

ownership of a vessel. 

Commandant means the Commandant 

of the U.S. Coast Guard or an authorized 

representative of the Commandant of 

the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Dealer means a person, including a 

manufacturer, in the business of selling 

vessels. 

Documented vessel means a vessel 

covered by a certificate of 

documentation issued pursuant to 46 

U.S.C. Section 12105, and excludes a 

foreign-documented vessel. 

Electronic means relating to 

technology having electrical, digital, 

magnetic, wireless, optical, 

electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. 

Electronic certificate of title means a 

certificate of title consisting of 

information that is stored solely in an 

electronic medium and is retrievable in 

perceivable form. 

Foreign-documented vessel means a 

vessel the ownership of which is 

recorded in a registry maintained by a 

country other than the United States, 

identifying each person having an 

ownership interest in a vessel, and 

includes a unique alphanumeric 

designation for the vessel. 

Good faith means honesty in fact and 

the observance of reasonable 

commercial standards of fair dealing. 

Hull damaged means compromised 

with respect to the integrity of a vessel’s 

hull by a collision, allision, lightning 

strike, fire, explosion, running aground, 

or similar occurrence, or the sinking of 

a vessel in a manner that creates a 

significant risk to the integrity of the 

vessel’s hull. 

Hull identification number or HIN 

means the alphanumeric designation 

assigned to a vessel under subpart C of 

33 CFR part 181. 

Issuing authority means either a State 

that has an approved numbering system 

or the Coast Guard in a State that does 

not have an approved numbering 

system. 

Lien creditor, with respect to a vessel, 

means— 

(1) A creditor that has acquired a lien 

on the vessel by attachment, levy, or the 

like; 

(2) An assignee for benefit of creditors 

from the time of assignment; 

(3) A trustee in bankruptcy from the 

date of the filing of the petition; or 

(4) A receiver in equity from the time 

of appointment. 

Manufacturer means any person 

engaged in the business of 

manufacturing or importing new vessels 

for the purpose of sale or trade. 

Office means the State department or 

agency that creates certificates of title. 

Owner means a person having legal 

title to a vessel. 

Owner of record means the owner 

indicated in the files of the Office or, if 

the files indicate more than one owner, 

the one first indicated. 

Participating State means a State 

certified by the Commandant as meeting 

the requirements of subpart C of this 

part. 

Person means an individual or any 

form of legal or commercial entity. 

Purchase means to take by any 

voluntary transaction that creates an 

interest in a vessel. 

Purchaser means a person taking by 

purchase. 

Record means information inscribed 

on a tangible medium or stored in an 

electronic or other medium and is 

retrievable in perceivable form. 

Secured party, with respect to a 

vessel, means a person— 

(1) In whose favor a security interest 

is created or provided for under a 

security agreement, whether or not any 

obligation to be secured is outstanding; 

(2) Who is a consignor under State 

law as prescribed by State law related to 

security interests in goods; or 

(3) Who holds a security interest 

arising under State law related to 

security interests in goods. 

Secured party of record means the 

secured party whose name is indicated 

as the name of the secured party in the 

files of the office or, if the files indicate 

more than one secured party, the one 

first indicated. 

Security interest means an interest in 

a vessel that secures payment or 

performance of an obligation if the 

interest is created by contract or 

otherwise as prescribed by state law 

related to security interests in goods. 

Sign means, with present intent to 

authenticate or adopt a record, to— 

(1) Make or adopt a tangible symbol; 

or 

(2) Attach to or logically associate 

with the record an electronic symbol, 

sound, or process. 

State means a State of the United 

States, the District of Columbia, 

American Samoa, Guam, Northern 

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. 

Virgin Islands, and any other territory or 

possession of the United States. 

State of principal operation means the 

State on whose waters a vessel is or will 

be used, operated, navigated, or 

employed more than on the waters of 

any other State during a calendar year. 

Title brand means a designation of 

previous damage, use, or condition that 

must be indicated on a certificate of 

title. 

Titled vessel means a vessel titled by 

a State. 

Titling authority means a State whose 

vessel titling system has been certified 

by the Commandant under subpart D of 

this part. 

Transfer of ownership means a 

voluntary or involuntary conveyance of 

an interest in a vessel. 

Vessel means every description of 

watercraft used or capable of being used 

as a means of transportation on water, 

except— 

(1) A seaplane; 

(2) An amphibious vehicle for which 

a certificate of title is issued pursuant to 

a state’s motor vehicle certificate of title 

act or a similar statute of another state; 

(3) Watercraft that operate only on a 

permanently fixed, manufactured course 

and the movement of which is restricted 

to or guided by means of a mechanical 

device to which the watercraft is 

attached or by which the watercraft is 

controlled; 

(4) A stationary floating structure 

that— 

(i) Does not have and is not designed 

to have a mode of propulsion of its own; 

(ii) Is dependent for utilities upon a 

continuous utility hookup to a source 

originating on shore; and 

(iii) Has a permanent, continuous 

hookup to a shore side sewage system. 

(5) Watercraft owned by the United 

States, a State, or a foreign government 

or a political subdivision of any of them; 

and 

(6) Watercraft used solely as a lifeboat 

on another watercraft. 

Vessel Identification System or VIS 

means a system for collecting 

information on vessels and vessel 


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ownership as required by 46 U.S.C. 

12501. 

Vessel number means the 

alphanumeric designation for a vessel 

issued pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 12301. 

Written certificate of title means a 

certificate of title consisting of 

information inscribed on a tangible 

medium. 

■ 3. Revise subpart D to read as follows: 

Subpart D—State Vessel Titling Systems 

Sec. 

187.301 Certification for preferred mortgage 

status—Eligibility requirements. 

187.302 Terms States must define. 

187.303 Applicability. 

187.304 Titling exclusively in one State. 

187.305 Law governing vessel covered by 

certificate of title. 

187.306 Certificate of title required. 

187.307 Application for certificate of title. 

187.308 Creation and cancellation of 

certificate of title. 

187.309 Content of certificate of title. 

187.310 Title brand. 

187.311 Maintenance of and access to files. 

187.312 Action required on creation of 

certificate of title. 

187.313 Effect of certificate of title. 

187.314 Effect of possession of certificate of 

title; judicial process. 

187.315 Perfection of security interest. 

187.316 Termination statement. 

187.317 Transfer of ownership. 

187.318 Effect of missing or incorrect 

information. 

187.319 Transfer of ownership by secured 

party’s transfer statement. 

187.320 Transfer by operation of law. 

187.321 Application for transfer of 

ownership or termination of security 

interest without certificate of title. 

187.322 Replacement certificate of title. 

187.323 Rights of purchaser other than 

secured party. 

187.324 Rights of secured party. 

187.325 Duties and operation of office. 

Subpart D—State Vessel Titling 

Systems 

§ 187.301 Certification for preferred 

mortgage status—Eligibility requirements. 

The Commandant, under 46 U.S.C. 

31322(d)(1)(A) and § 187.13, will certify 

a State whose vessel titling system 

meets the requirements of this subpart 

as eligible to have security interests that 

are perfected under its law deemed 

preferred mortgages under 46 U.S.C. 

31322. The State must also comply with 

the VIS participation requirements of 

§ 187.11 and subpart C of this part and 

make vessel information it collects 

available to the VIS. 

§ 187.302 Terms States must define. 

(a) A State must define the terms 

‘‘certificate of origin’’, ‘‘dealer’’, 

‘‘documented vessel’’, ‘‘issuing 

authority’’, ‘‘manufacturer’’, ‘‘owner’’, 

‘‘person’’, ‘‘secured party’’, ‘‘security 

interest’’, ‘‘titling authority’’, and 

‘‘vessel’’ substantially as defined in 33 

CFR 187.7. 

(b) In addition to the definitions in 

§ 187.7, a State must also define the 

following terms as prescribed by State 

law related to security interests in 

goods: 

(1) Agreement; 

(2) Buyer in ordinary course of 

business; 

(3) Conspicuous; 

(4) Consumer goods; 

(5) Debtor; 

(6) Knowledge; 

(7) Lease; 

(8) Lessor; 

(9) Notice; 

(10) Representative; 

(11) Sale; 

(12) Security agreement; 

(13) Seller; 

(14) Send; and 

(15) Value. 

(c) The definitions in § 187.7 and the 

terms in paragraph (b) of this section do 

not apply to any State or Federal law 

governing licensing, numbering, or 

registration if the same term is used in 

that law. 

§ 187.303 Applicability. 

Subject to a savings clause provided 

under state law, this subpart applies to 

any transaction, certificate of title, or 

record relating to a vessel, even if the 

transaction, certificate of title, or record 

was entered into or created before the 

effective date of the State law. 

§ 187.304 Titling exclusively in one State. 

A State must require that all vessels 

required to be numbered in the State 

under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 123 be titled 

only in that State, if that State issues 

titles to that class of vessels. 

§ 187.305 Law governing vessels covered 

by certificate of title. 

(a) The local law of the State under 

whose certificate of title a vessel is 

covered governs all issues relating to the 

certificate from the time the vessel 

becomes covered by the certificate until 

the vessel becomes covered by another 

certificate or becomes a documented 

vessel, even if no other relationship 

exists between the State and the vessel 

or its owner. 

(b) A vessel becomes covered by a 

certificate of title when an application 

for the certificate and the applicable fee 

are delivered to the office in accordance 

with this subpart or to the governmental 

agency that creates a certificate in 

another jurisdiction in accordance with 

the law of that jurisdiction. 

§ 187.306 Certificate of title required. 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in 

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, 

the owner of a vessel must deliver to the 

office of the State in which the vessel is 

principally used an application for a 

certificate of title for the vessel, with the 

applicable fee, not later than 20 days 

after the later of— 

(1) The date of a transfer of 

ownership; or 

(2) The date the State becomes the 

State of principal use. 

(b) An application for a certificate of 

title is not required for— 

(1) A documented vessel; 

(2) A foreign-documented vessel; 

(3) A barge; 

(4) A vessel before delivery if the 

vessel is under construction or 

completed pursuant to contract; or 

(5) A vessel held by a dealer for sale 

or lease. 

(c) The office may not issue, transfer, 

or renew a certificate of number for a 

vessel issued pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 

12301 unless it has created a certificate 

of title for the vessel or an application 

for a certificate for the vessel and the 

applicable fee have been delivered to 

the office. 

§ 187.307 Application for certificate of title. 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in 

§§ 187.310, 187.315, 187.319, 187.320, 

187.321, and 187.322, only an owner 

may apply for a certificate of title. 

(b) An application for a certificate of 

title must be signed by the applicant 

and contain— 

(1) The applicant’s name, the street 

address of the applicant’s principal 

residence, and, if different, the 

applicant’s mailing address; 

(2) The name and mailing address of 

each other owner of the vessel; 

(3) The social security number or 

taxpayer identification number of each 

owner; 

(4) The hull identification number 

(HIN) for the vessel or, if none, an 

application for the issuance of a HIN for 

the vessel; 

(5) The vessel number for the vessel 

or, if none issued by the office, an 

application for a vessel number; 

(6) A description of the vessel as 

required by the office, which must 

include— 

(i) The official number for the vessel, 

if any, assigned by the Coast Guard; 

(ii) The name of the manufacturer, 

builder, or maker; 

(iii) The model year or the year in 

which the manufacture or build of the 

vessel was completed; 

(iv) The overall length of the vessel; 

(v) The vessel type, as described in 33 

CFR 174.19; 

(vi) The hull material, as described in 

33 CFR 174.19; 

(vii) The propulsion type, as 

described in 33 CFR 174.19; 


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(viii) The engine drive type, as 

described in 33 CFR 174.19, if any; and 

(ix) The fuel type, as described in 33 

CFR 174.19, if any; 

(7) An indication of all security 

interests in the vessel known to the 

applicant and the name and mailing 

address of each secured party; 

(8) A statement that the vessel is not 

a documented vessel or a foreigndocumented vessel; 

(9) Any title brand known to the 

applicant and, if known, the jurisdiction 

under whose law the title brand was 

created; 

(10) If the applicant knows that the 

vessel is hull damaged, a statement that 

the vessel is hull damaged; 

(11) If the application is made in 

connection with a transfer of ownership, 

the transferor’s name, street address, 

and, if different, mailing address, the 

sales price, if any, and the date of the 

transfer; and 

(12) If the vessel was previously 

registered or titled in another 

jurisdiction, a statement identifying 

each jurisdiction known to the applicant 

in which the vessel was registered or 

titled. 

(c) In addition to the information 

required by paragraph (b) of this section, 

an application for a certificate of title 

may contain an electronic 

communication address of the owner, 

transferor, or secured party. 

(d) Except as otherwise provided in 

§§ 187.319, 187.320, 187.321, and 

187.322, an application for a certificate 

of title must be accompanied by a 

certificate of title signed by the owner 

shown on the certificate which 

identifies the applicant as the owner of 

the vessel, or is accompanied by a 

record that identifies the applicant as 

the owner. 

(e) If there is no certificate of title as 

discussed in paragraph (d) of this 

section, an application for a certificate 

of title must be accompanied by— 

(1) If the vessel was a documented 

vessel, a record issued by the Coast 

Guard that shows the vessel is no longer 

a documented vessel and identifies the 

applicant as the owner; 

(2) If the vessel was a foreigndocumented vessel, a record issued by 

the foreign country which shows the 

vessel is no longer a foreigndocumented vessel and identifies the 

applicant as the owner; or 

(3) In all other cases, a certificate of 

origin, bill of sale, or other record that 

to the satisfaction of the office identifies 

the applicant as the owner. 

(f) A record submitted in connection 

with an application is part of the 

application and the office must 

maintain it in its files. 

(g) The office may require an 

application for a certificate of title to be 

accompanied by payment or evidence of 

payment of all fees and taxes payable by 

the applicant under State law if in 

connection with the application or the 

acquisition or use of the vessel. 

§ 187.308 Creation and cancellation of 

certificate of title. 

(a) Unless an application for a 

certificate of title is rejected under 

paragraph (c) or (d) of this section, the 

office must create a certificate for the 

vessel in accordance with paragraph (b) 

of this section not later than 20 days 

after delivery to it of an application that 

complies with § 187.307. 

(b) If the office creates electronic 

certificates of title, it must create an 

electronic certificate unless in the 

application the secured party of record 

or, if none, the owner of record, requests 

that the office create a written 

certificate. 

(c) Except as otherwise provided in 

paragraph (d) of this section, the office 

may reject an application for a 

certificate of title only if— 

(1) The application does not comply 

with § 187.307; 

(2) The application does not contain 

documentation sufficient for the office 

to determine whether the applicant is 

entitled to a certificate; 

(3) There is a reasonable basis for 

concluding that the application is 

fraudulent or issuance of a certificate 

would facilitate a fraudulent or illegal 

act; or 

(4) The application does not comply 

with State law. 

(d) The office must reject an 

application for a certificate of title for a 

vessel that is a documented vessel or a 

foreign-documented vessel. 

(e) The office may cancel a certificate 

of title created by it only if the office— 

(1) Could have rejected the 

application for the certificate under 

paragraph (c) of this section; 

(2) Is required to cancel the certificate 

under another provision of this subpart; 

or 

(3) Receives satisfactory evidence that 

the vessel is a documented vessel or a 

foreign-documented vessel. 

§ 187.309 Content of certificate of title. 

(a) A certificate of title must contain— 

(1) The date the certificate was 

created; 

(2) The name of the owner of record 

and, if not all owners are listed, an 

indication that there are additional 

owners indicated in the files of the 

office; 

(3) The mailing address of the owner 

of record; 

(4) The hull identification number 

(HIN); 

(5) The information listed in 

§ 187.307(b)(6); 

(6) Except as otherwise provided in 

§ 187.315(b), the name and mailing 

address of the secured party of record, 

if any, and if not all secured parties are 

listed, an indication that there are other 

security interests indicated in the files 

of the office; and 

(7) All title brands indicated in the 

files of the office covering the vessel, 

including brands indicated on a 

certificate created by a governmental 

agency of another jurisdiction and 

delivered to the office. 

(b) This subpart does not preclude the 

office from noting on a certificate of title 

the name and mailing address of a 

secured party that is not a secured party 

of record. 

(c) For each title brand indicated on 

a certificate of title, the certificate must 

identify the jurisdiction under whose 

law the title brand was created or the 

jurisdiction that created the certificate 

on which the title brand was indicated. 

If the meaning of a title brand is not 

easily ascertainable or cannot be 

accommodated on the certificate, the 

certificate may state: ‘‘Previously 

branded in (insert the jurisdiction under 

whose law the title brand was created or 

whose certificate of title previously 

indicated the title brand).’’ 

(d) If the files of the office indicate 

that a vessel was previously registered 

or titled in a foreign country, the office 

must indicate on the certificate of title 

that the vessel was registered or titled in 

that country. 

(e) A written certificate of title must 

contain a form that all owners indicated 

on the certificate may sign to evidence 

consent to a transfer of an ownership 

interest to another person. The form 

must include a certification, signed 

under penalty of perjury, that the 

statements made are true and correct to 

the best of each owner’s knowledge, 

information, and belief. 

(f) A written certificate of title must 

contain a form for the owner of record 

to indicate, in connection with a 

transfer of an ownership interest, that 

the vessel is hull damaged. 

§ 187.310 Title brand. 

(a) Unless paragraph (c) of this section 

applies, at or before the time the owner 

of record transfers an ownership interest 

in a hull-damaged vessel that is covered 

by a certificate of title created by the 

office, if the damage occurred while that 

person was an owner of the vessel and 

the person has notice of the damage at 

the time of the transfer, the owner 

must— 


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(1) Deliver to the office an application 

for a new certificate that complies with 

§ 187.307 of this part and includes the 

title brand designation ‘‘Hull Damaged’’; 

or 

(2) Indicate on the certificate in the 

place designated for that purpose that 

the vessel is hull damaged and deliver 

the certificate to the transferee. 

(b) Not later than 20 days after 

delivery to the office of the application 

under paragraph (a)(1) of this section or 

the certificate of title under paragraph 

(a)(2) of this section, the office must 

create a new certificate that indicates 

that the vessel is branded ‘‘Hull 

Damaged’’. 

(c) Before an insurer transfers an 

ownership interest in a hull-damaged 

vessel that is covered by a certificate of 

title created by the office, the insurer 

must deliver to the office an application 

for a new certificate that complies with 

§ 187.306 and includes the title brand 

designation ‘‘Hull Damaged’’. Not later 

than 20 days after delivery of the 

application to the office, the office must 

create a new certificate that indicates 

that the vessel is branded ‘‘Hull 

Damaged’’. 

(d) An owner of record who fails to 

comply with paragraph (a) of this 

section, a person who solicits or 

colludes in a failure by an owner of 

record to comply with paragraph (a) of 

this section, or an insurer that fails to 

comply with paragraph (c) of this 

section is subject to penalty as 

prescribed by state law. 

§ 187.311 Maintenance of and access to 

files. 

(a) For each record relating to a 

certificate of title submitted to the 

office, the office must— 

(1) Ascertain or assign the hull 

identification number (HIN) for the 

vessel in accordance with 33 CFR part 

181; 

(2) Maintain the HIN and all the 

information submitted with the 

application pursuant to § 187.307(b) to 

which the record relates, including the 

date and time the record was delivered 

to the office; 

(3) Maintain the files for public 

inspection subject to paragraph (e) of 

this section; and 

(4) Index the files of the office as 

required by paragraph (b) of this section. 

(b) The office must maintain in its 

files the information contained in all 

certificates of title created under this 

subpart. The information in the files of 

the office must be searchable by the HIN 

of the vessel, the vessel number, the 

name of the owner of record, and any 

other method used by the office. 

(c) The office must maintain in its 

files, for each vessel for which it has 

created a certificate of title, all title 

brands known to the office, the name of 

each secured party known to the office, 

the name of each person known to the 

office to be claiming an ownership 

interest, and all stolen-property reports 

the office has received. 

(d) Upon request, for safety, security, 

or law-enforcement purposes, the office 

must provide to Federal, State, or local 

government the information in its files 

relating to any vessel for which the 

office has issued a certificate of title. 

(e) Except as otherwise provided by 

laws of the titling State, the information 

required under § 187.309 is a public 

record, but the information provided 

under § 187.307(b)(3) is not a public 

record. 

§ 187.312 Action required on creation of 

certificate of title. 

(a) On creation of a written certificate 

of title, the office must promptly send 

the certificate to the secured party of 

record or, if none, to the owner of 

record, at the address indicated for that 

person in the files of the office. On 

creation of an electronic certificate of 

title, the office must promptly send a 

record evidencing the certificate to the 

owner of record and, if there is one, to 

the secured party of record, at the 

address indicated for that person in the 

files of the office. The office may send 

the record to the person’s mailing 

address or, if indicated in the files of the 

office, an electronic address. 

(b) If the office creates a written 

certificate of title, any electronic 

certificate of title for the vessel is 

canceled and replaced by the written 

certificate. The office must maintain in 

the files of the office the date and time 

of cancellation. 

(c) Before the office creates an 

electronic certificate of title, any written 

certificate for the vessel must be 

surrendered to the office. If the office 

creates an electronic certificate, the 

office must destroy or otherwise cancel 

the written certificate for the vessel that 

has been surrendered to the office and 

maintain in the files of the office the 

date and time of destruction or other 

cancellation. If a written certificate 

being canceled is not destroyed, the 

office must indicate on the face of the 

certificate that it has been canceled. 

§ 187.313 Effect of certificate of title. 

A certificate of title is prima facie 

evidence of the accuracy of the 

information in the record that 

constitutes the certificate. 

§ 187.314 Effect of possession of 

certificate of title; judicial process. 

Possession of a certificate of title does 

not by itself provide a right to obtain 

possession of a vessel. Garnishment, 

attachment, levy, replevin, or other 

judicial process against the certificate is 

not effective to determine possessory 

rights to the vessel. This subpart does 

not prohibit enforcement under State 

law, other than this subpart (33 CFR 

part 187 subpart D), of a security 

interest in, levy on, or foreclosure of a 

statutory or common-law lien on a 

vessel. Absence of an indication of a 

statutory or common-law lien on a 

certificate does not invalidate the lien. 

§ 187.315 Perfection of security interest. 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in 

this section or a savings clause provided 

under state law, a security interest in a 

vessel may be perfected only by delivery 

to the office of an application for a 

certificate of title that identifies the 

secured party and otherwise complies 

with § 187.307. The security interest is 

perfected on the later of delivery to the 

office of the application and the 

applicable fee or attachment of the 

security interest as prescribed by State 

law related to security interests in 

goods. 

(b) If the interest of a person named 

as owner, lessor, consignor, or bailor in 

an application for a certificate of title 

delivered to the office is a security 

interest, the application sufficiently 

identifies the person as a secured party. 

Identification on the application for a 

certificate of a person as owner, lessor, 

consignor, or bailor is not by itself a 

factor in determining whether the 

person’s interest is a security interest. 

(c) If the office has created a 

certificate of title for a vessel, a security 

interest in the vessel may be perfected 

by delivery to the office of an 

application, on a form the office may 

require, to have the security interest 

added to the certificate. The application 

must be signed by an owner of the 

vessel or by the secured party and must 

include— 

(1) The name of the owner of record; 

(2) The name and mailing address of 

the secured party; 

(3) The hull identification number 

(HIN) for the vessel; and 

(4) If the office has created a written 

certificate of title for the vessel, the 

certificate. 

(d) A security interest perfected under 

paragraph (c) of this section is perfected 

on the later of delivery to the office of 

the application and all applicable fees 

or attachment of the security interest as 

prescribed by State law related to 

security interests in goods. 


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(e) On delivery of an application that 

complies with paragraph (c) of this 

section and payment of all applicable 

fees, the office must create a new 

certificate of title pursuant to § 187.308 

and deliver the new certificate or a 

record evidencing an electronic 

certificate pursuant to § 187.312(a). The 

office must maintain in the files of the 

office the date and time of delivery of 

the application to the office. 

(f) If a secured party assigns a 

perfected security interest in a vessel, 

the receipt by the office of a statement 

providing the name of the assignee as 

secured party is not required to 

continue the perfected status of the 

security interest against creditors of and 

transferees from the original debtor. 

Upon obtaining a release from the 

secured party indicated in the files of 

the office or on the certificate, a 

purchaser of a vessel subject to a 

security interest takes free of the 

security interest and of the rights of a 

transferee unless the transfer is 

indicated in the files of the office or on 

the certificate. 

(g) This section does not apply to a 

security interest— 

(1) Created in a vessel by a person 

during any period in which the vessel 

is inventory held for sale or lease by the 

person or is leased by the person as 

lessor if the person is in the business of 

selling vessels; 

(2) In a barge for which no application 

for a certificate of title has been 

delivered to the office; or 

(3) In a vessel before delivery if the 

vessel is under construction, or 

completed, pursuant to contract and for 

which no application for a certificate 

has been delivered to the office. 

(h) This paragraph applies if a 

certificate of documentation for a 

documented vessel is deleted or 

canceled. If a security interest in the 

vessel was valid immediately before 

deletion or cancellation against a third 

party as a result of compliance with 42 

U.S.C. 31321, the security interest is and 

remains perfected until the earlier of 4 

months after cancellation of the 

certificate or the time the security 

interest becomes perfected under this 

subpart. 

(i) A security interest in a vessel 

arising under State law related to 

security interests in goods is perfected 

when it attaches but becomes 

unperfected when the debtor obtains 

possession of the vessel, unless before 

the debtor obtains possession the 

security interest is perfected pursuant to 

paragraphs (a) or (c) of this section. 

(j) A security interest in a vessel as 

proceeds of other collateral is perfected 

to the extent provided in State law. 

(k) A security interest in a vessel 

perfected under the law of another 

jurisdiction is perfected to the extent 

provided in State law. 

§ 187.316 Termination statement. 

(a) A secured party indicated in the 

files of the office as having a security 

interest in a vessel must deliver a 

termination statement to the office and, 

on the debtor’s request, to the debtor, by 

the earlier of— 

(1) Twenty days after the secured 

party receives a signed demand from an 

owner for a termination statement and 

there is no obligation secured by the 

vessel subject to the security interest 

and no commitment to make an 

advance, incur an obligation, or 

otherwise give value secured by the 

vessel; or 

(2) If the vessel is consumer goods, 30 

days after there is no obligation secured 

by the vessel and no commitment to 

make an advance, incur an obligation, or 

otherwise give value secured by the 

vessel. 

(b) If a written certificate of title has 

been created and delivered to a secured 

party and a termination statement is 

required under paragraph (a) of this 

section, the secured party, not later than 

the date required by paragraph (a), must 

deliver the certificate to the debtor or to 

the office with the statement. If the 

certificate is lost, stolen, mutilated, 

destroyed, or is otherwise unavailable or 

illegible, the secured party must deliver 

with the statement, not later than the 

date required by paragraph (a), an 

application for a replacement certificate 

meeting the requirements of § 187.322. 

(c) On delivery to the office of a 

termination statement authorized by the 

secured party, the security interest to 

which the statement relates ceases to be 

perfected. If the security interest to 

which the statement relates was 

indicated on the certificate of title, the 

office must create a new certificate and 

deliver the new certificate or a record 

evidencing an electronic certificate. The 

office must maintain in its files the date 

and time of delivery to the office of the 

statement. 

(d) A secured party that fails to 

comply with this section is liable for 

any loss that the secured party had 

reason to know might result from its 

failure to comply and which could not 

reasonably have been prevented and for 

the cost of an application for a 

certificate of title under § 187.307 or 

§ 187.322. 

§ 187.317 Transfer of ownership. 

(a) On voluntary transfer of an 

ownership interest in a vessel covered 

by a certificate of title, the following 

rules apply: 

(1) If the certificate is a written 

certificate of title and the transferor’s 

interest is noted on the certificate, the 

transferor must promptly sign the 

certificate and deliver it to the 

transferee. If the transferor does not 

have possession of the certificate, the 

person in possession of the certificate 

has a duty to facilitate the transferor’s 

compliance with this paragraph. A 

secured party does not have a duty to 

facilitate the transferor’s compliance 

with this paragraph if the proposed 

transfer is prohibited by the security 

agreement. 

(2) If the certificate of title is an 

electronic certificate of title, the 

transferor must promptly sign and 

deliver to the transferee a record 

evidencing the transfer of ownership to 

the transferee. 

(3) The transferee has a right 

enforceable by specific performance to 

require the transferor comply with 

paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section. 

(b) The creation of a certificate of title 

identifying the transferee as owner of 

record satisfies paragraph (a) of this 

section. 

(c) A failure to comply with paragraph 

(a) or to apply for a new certificate of 

title does not render a transfer of 

ownership of a vessel ineffective 

between the parties. Except as otherwise 

provided in § 187.318, § 187.319, 

§ 187.323(a), or § 187.324, a transfer of 

ownership without compliance with 

paragraph (a) of this section is not 

effective against another person 

claiming an interest in the vessel. 

(d) A transferor that complies with 

paragraph (a) of this section is not liable 

as owner of the vessel for an event 

occurring after the transfer, regardless of 

whether the transferee applies for a new 

certificate of title. 

§ 187.318 Effect of missing or incorrect 

information. 

Except as otherwise provided as 

prescribed by State law related to 

security interests in goods, a certificate 

of title or other record required or 

authorized by this subpart is effective 

even if it contains incorrect information 

or does not contain required 

information. 

§ 187.319 Transfer of ownership by 

secured party’s transfer statement. 

(a) In this section, ‘‘secured party’s 

transfer statement’’ means a record 

signed by the secured party of record 

stating— 

(1) That there has been a default on 

an obligation secured by the vessel; 


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(2) The secured party of record is 

exercising or has exercised post-default 

remedies with respect to the vessel; 

(3) By reason of the exercise, the 

secured party of record has the right to 

transfer the ownership interest of an 

owner, and the name of the owner; 

(4) The name and last known mailing 

address of the owner of record and the 

secured party of record; 

(5) The name of the transferee; 

(6) Other information required by 

§ 187.307(b); and 

(7) One of the following: 

(i) The certificate of title is an 

electronic certificate; 

(ii) The secured party does not have 

possession of the written certificate of 

title created in the name of the owner 

of record; or 

(iii) The secured party is delivering 

the written certificate of title to the 

office with the secured party’s transfer 

statement. 

(b) Unless the office rejects a secured 

party’s transfer statement for a reason 

stated in § 187.308(c), not later than 20 

days after delivery to the office of the 

statement and payment of fees and taxes 

payable under State law in connection 

with the statement or the acquisition or 

use of the vessel, the office must— 

(1) Accept the statement; 

(2) Amend the files of the office to 

reflect the transfer; and 

(3) If the name of the owner whose 

ownership interest is being transferred 

is indicated on the certificate of title— 

(i) Cancel the certificate even if the 

certificate has not been delivered to the 

office; 

(ii) Create a new certificate indicating 

the transferee as owner; and 

(iii) Deliver the new certificate or a 

record evidencing an electronic 

certificate. 

(c) An application under paragraph (a) 

of this section or the creation of a 

certificate of title under paragraph (b) of 

this section is not by itself a disposition 

of the vessel and does not by itself 

relieve the secured party of its duties 

under State law. 

§ 187.320 Transfer by operation of law. 

(a) In this section— 

(1) ‘‘By operation of law’’ means 

pursuant to a law or judicial order 

affecting ownership of a vessel— 

(i) Because of death, divorce or other 

family law proceeding, merger, 

consolidation, dissolution, or 

bankruptcy; 

(ii) Through the exercise of the rights 

of a lien creditor or a person having a 

lien created by statute or rule of law; or 

(iii) Through other legal process. 

(2) ‘‘Transfer-by-law statement’’ 

means a record signed by a transferee 

stating that by operation of law the 

transferee has acquired or has the right 

to acquire an ownership interest in a 

vessel. 

(b) A transfer-by-law statement must 

contain— 

(1) The name and last known mailing 

address of the owner of record and the 

transferee and the other information 

required by § 187.307(b); 

(2) Documentation sufficient to 

establish the transferee’s ownership 

interest or right to acquire the 

ownership interest; 

(3) A statement that— 

(i) The certificate of title is an 

electronic certificate of title; 

(ii) The transferee does not have 

possession of the written certificate of 

title created in the name of the owner 

of record; or 

(ii) The transferee is delivering the 

written certificate to the office with the 

transfer-by-law statement; and 

(4) Except for a transfer described in 

paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, 

evidence that notification of the transfer 

and the intent to file the transfer-by-law 

statement has been sent to all persons 

indicated in the files of the office as 

having an interest, including a security 

interest, in the vessel. 

(c) Unless the office rejects a transferby-law statement for a reason stated in 

§ 187.308(c) or because the statement 

does not include documentation 

satisfactory to the office as to the 

transferee’s ownership interest or right 

to acquire the ownership interest, not 

later than 20 days after delivery to the 

office of the statement and payment of 

fees and taxes payable under State law 

in connection with the statement or 

with the acquisition or use of the vessel, 

the office must— 

(1) Accept the statement; 

(2) Amend the files of the office to 

reflect the transfer; and 

(3) If the name of the owner whose 

ownership interest is being transferred 

is indicated on the certificate of title— 

(i) Cancel the certificate even if the 

certificate has not been delivered to the 

office; 

(ii) Create a new certificate indicating 

the transferee as owner; 

(iii) Indicate on the new certificate 

any security interest indicated on the 

canceled certificate, unless a court order 

provides otherwise; and 

(iv) Deliver the new certificate or a 

record evidencing an electronic 

certificate. 

(d) This section does not apply to a 

transfer of an interest in a vessel by a 

secured party as prescribed by State law 

related to security interests in goods. 

§ 187.321 Application for transfer of 

ownership or termination of security 

interest without certificate of title. 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in 

§§ 187.319 and 187.320, if the office 

receives, unaccompanied by a signed 

certificate of title, an application for a 

new certificate that includes an 

indication of a transfer of ownership or 

a termination statement, the office may 

create a new certificate under this 

section only if— 

(1) All other requirements under 

§§ 187.307 and 187.308 are met; 

(2) The applicant provides an affidavit 

stating facts showing that the applicant 

is entitled to a transfer of ownership or 

termination statement; 

(3) The applicant provides the office 

with satisfactory evidence that 

notification of the application has been 

sent to the owner of record and all 

persons indicated in the files of the 

office as having an interest, including a 

security interest, in the vessel, at least 

45 days have passed since the 

notification was sent, and the office has 

not received an objection from any of 

those persons; and 

(4) The applicant submits any other 

information required by the office as 

evidence of the applicant’s ownership 

or right to terminate the security 

interest, and the office has no credible 

information indicating theft, fraud, or an 

undisclosed or unsatisfied security 

interest, lien, or other claim to an 

interest in the vessel. 

(b) The office may indicate in a 

certificate of title created under 

paragraph (a) of this section that the 

certificate was created without 

submission of a signed certificate or 

termination statement. Unless credible 

information indicating theft, fraud, or an 

undisclosed or unsatisfied security 

interest, lien, or other claim to an 

interest in the vessel is delivered to the 

office not later than 1 year after creation 

of the certificate, on request in a form 

and manner required by the office, the 

office must remove the indication from 

the certificate. 

§ 187.322 Replacement certificate of title. 

(a) If a written certificate of title is 

lost, stolen, mutilated, destroyed, or 

otherwise becomes unavailable or 

illegible, the secured party of record or, 

if no secured party is indicated in the 

files of the office, the owner of record 

may apply for and, by furnishing 

information satisfactory to the office, 

obtain a replacement certificate in the 

name of the owner of record. 

(b) An applicant for a replacement 

certificate of title must sign the 

application, and, except as otherwise 

permitted by the office, the application 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 34197 

must comply with § 187.307. The 

application must include the existing 

certificate unless the certificate is lost, 

stolen, mutilated, destroyed, or 

otherwise unavailable. 

(c) A replacement certificate of title 

created by the office must comply with 

§ 187.309 and indicate on the face of the 

certificate that it is a replacement 

certificate. 

(d) If a person receiving a replacement 

certificate of title subsequently obtains 

possession of the original written 

certificate, the person must promptly 

destroy the original certificate of title. 

§ 187.323 Rights of purchaser other than 

secured party. 

(a) A buyer in ordinary course of 

business has the protections afforded by 

State law even if an existing certificate 

of title was not signed and delivered to 

the buyer or a new certificate listing the 

buyer as owner of record was not 

created. 

(b) Except as otherwise provided in 

§§ 187.317 and 187.324, the rights of a 

purchaser of a vessel who is not a buyer 

in ordinary course of business or a lien 

creditor are governed by State law. 

§ 187.324 Rights of secured party. 

(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this 

section, the effect of perfection and nonperfection of a security interest and the 

priority of a perfected or unperfected 

security interest with respect to the 

rights of a purchaser or creditor, 

including a lien creditor, is governed by 

State law. 

(b) If, while a security interest in a 

vessel is perfected by any method under 

this subpart, the office creates a 

certificate of title that does not indicate 

that the vessel is subject to the security 

interest or contain a statement that it 

may be subject to security interests not 

indicated on the certificate— 

(1) A buyer of the vessel, other than 

a person in the business of selling or 

leasing vessels of that kind, takes free of 

the security interest if the buyer, acting 

in good faith and without knowledge of 

the security interest, gives value and 

receives possession of the vessel; and 

(2) The security interest is 

subordinate to a conflicting security 

interest in the vessel that is perfected 

under § 187.315 after creation of the 

certificate and without the conflicting 

secured party’s knowledge of the 

security interest. 

§ 187.325 Duties and operation of office. 

(a) The office must retain the evidence 

used to establish the accuracy of the 

information in its files relating to the 

current ownership of a vessel and the 

information on the certificate of title. 

(b) The office must retain in its files 

all information regarding a security 

interest in a vessel for at least 10 years 

after the office receives a termination 

statement regarding the security 

interest. The information must be 

accessible by the hull identification 

number (HIN) for the vessel and any 

other methods provided by the office. 

(c) If a person submits a record to the 

office, or submits information that is 

accepted by the office, and requests an 

acknowledgment of the filing or 

submission, the office must send to the 

person an acknowledgment showing the 

HIN of the vessel to which the record or 

submission relates, the information in 

the filed record or submission, and the 

date and time the record was received 

or the submission accepted. A request 

under this section must contain the HIN 

and be delivered by means authorized 

by the office. 

(d) The office must send or otherwise 

make available in a record the following 

information to any person that requests 

it and pays the applicable fee: 

(1) Whether the files of the office 

indicate, as of a date and time specified 

by the office, but not a date earlier than 

3 days before the office received the 

request, any certificate of title, security 

interest, termination statement, or title 

brand that relates to a vessel— 

(i) Identified by a HIN designated in 

the request; 

(ii) Identified by a vessel number 

designated in the request; or 

(iii) Owned by a person designated in 

the request. 

(2) With respect to the vessel— 

(i) The name and address of any 

owner as indicated in the files of the 

office or on the certificate of title; 

(ii) The name and address of any 

secured party as indicated in the files of 

the office or on the certificate, and the 

effective date of the information; and 

(iii) A copy of any termination 

statement indicated in the files of the 

office and the effective date of the 

termination statement. 

(3) With respect to the vessel, a copy 

of any certificate of origin, secured party 

transfer statement, transfer-by-law 

statement under § 187.320, and other 

evidence of previous or current transfers 

of ownership. 

(e) In responding to a request under 

this section, the office may provide the 

requested information in any medium. 

On request, the office must send the 

requested information in a record that is 

in keeping with State rules of evidence. 

Dated: May 31, 2022. 

W.R. Arguin, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant 

Commandant for Prevention Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–11995 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 111 

New Mailing Standards for the 

Separation of Hazardous Materials 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising 

Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, 

and Perishable Mail (Pub 52), to 

incorporate new requirements for 

mailers to separate, into identifiable 

containers, all hazardous material 

(HAZMAT) requiring hazardous marks 

or labels from other mail when 

tendering to the Postal Service. The 

Postal Service is also adopting related 

standard operating procedures for the 

Postal Service’s acceptance, dispatch, 

and mail processing personnel to 

maintain the integrity of HAZMAT 

separation. Additionally, the Postal 

Service will now require pre-owned, 

damaged, or defective electronic devices 

containing or packed with lithium 

batteries to be mailed only via surface 

transportation and to bear specified 

markings. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This rule is effective 

June 6, 2022. 

Comments due date: Comments must 

be received on or before July 6, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written 

comments to the Manager, Product 

Classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446, 

Washington, DC 20260–3436. Email 

comments containing the name and 

address of the commenter may be sent 

to PCFederalRegister@usps.gov, with a 

subject line of ‘‘New Mailing Standards 

for the Separation of Hazardous 

Materials.’’ Faxed comments are not 

accepted. All submitted comments and 

attachments are part of the public record 

and subject to disclosure. Do not 

enclose any material in your comments 

that you consider to be confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. 

You may inspect and photocopy all 

written comments, by appointment 

only, at USPS® Headquarters Library, 

475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor 

North, Washington, DC 20260. These 

records are available for review Monday 

through Friday, 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. by 

calling 202–268–2906. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1