Exempt vessels, which aren’t required to get documentation, are those that are not used for commercial purposes. This applies to vessels of all sizes. A lot of people think that if a certain commercial vessel falls under a certain gross tonnage, then it doesn’t have to be registered. However, this isn’t quite right. There is a specific type of registration meant for small vessels, which you can find under the respective category here on the National Vessel Registry Center Corp website. If your vessel is used for leisure purposes, then it doesn’t have to be registered. In those cases, you can look instead into the pleasure craft licence process.
Vessel Registration FAQs
WHAT IS A JOINT OWNER?MUST MY VESSEL BE DOCUMENTED?ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION?WHAT IS FIRST TIME REGISTRY?IS THERE A FINE IF I DO NOT HAVE A PLEASURE CRAFT LICENCE?HOW DO I CHANGE THE NAME OR HAILING PORT OF MY VESSEL?ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION?RENEW YOUR CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRY EVERY FIVE YEARS THROUGH OUR SITEMAY I RENEW MY DOCUMENT EARLY?WHAT IS VESSEL TONNAGE?WHEN A VESSEL IS EITHER SUSPENDED OR CLOSE, IS THE NAME AVAILABLE?HOW CAN I SEND MY PAPERWORK TO YOUR OFFICE?WHAT ARE THE VESSEL NAME AND HAILING PORT MARKING REQUIREMENTS?DO YOU HAVE WALK-IN SERVICE?WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE LOST OR MISPLACED MY CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRY?WHAT VESSELS ARE EXEMPT?WHAT IS REGISTRY?HOW DO I ESTABLISH CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP?DO I NEED A PLEASURE CRAFT LICENCE?WHAT VESSELS ARE EXEMPT?