No, there is no reason for you to send back the old certificate when renewing it. In fact, you shouldn’t do this, since you don’t want to be without an official certificate, even if it’s just for a few days. Simply submit the forms for your Transport Canada pleasure craft licence renewal or your vessel registration renewal with the corresponding material. Keep the original certificate at hand for future reference.
Vessel Registration FAQs
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCUMENTATION?WHAT IS VESSEL TONNAGE?IS THERE A FINE IF I DO NOT HAVE A PLEASURE CRAFT LICENCE?MAY I RENEW A LOST CERTIFICATE OF DOCUMENTATION?HOW DO I NOTIFY YOU OF MY CHANGE OF ADDRESS?WHAT IS A JOINT OWNER?HOW DO I MARK MY VESSEL?HOW DO I ESTABLISH CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP?HOW DO I KNOW IF MY VESSEL MEASURES FIVE NET TONS?WHAT VESSELS ARE EXEMPT?WHAT IS VESSEL DOCUMENTATIONWHAT IS SMALL VESSEL REGISTRY?HOW LONG IS THE CERTIFICATE OF DOCUMENTATION VALIDARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION?WHAT IS REGISTRY?WHAT VESSELS ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRY?WHAT IS VESSEL TONNAGE?HOW IS VESSEL OWNERSHIP ESTABLISHED?ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION?WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A VESSEL WHOSE NUMBER BEGINS WITH THE LETTER ‘C’ (e.g., C00000BC) AS OPPOSED TO A VESSEL WHOSE NUMBER BEGINS WITH A NUMBER, AND/OR A LETTER AND NUMBERS (e.g., 32E 00000 OR BC 00000)?