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
DO YOU HAVE WALK-IN SERVICE?HOW DO I OBTAIN TITLE INFORMATION FOR A DOCUMENTED VESSEL?MUST I SUBMIT MY APPLICATION BY MAIL?HOW LONG IS THE CERTIFICATE OF DOCUMENTATION VALID?WHAT IS VESSEL TONNAGE?HOW IS VESSEL OWNERSHIP ESTABLISHED?MAY I RENEW MY DOCUMENT EARLY?HOW DO I MARK MY VESSEL?ARE THERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DOCUMENTATION?MAY I RENEW A LOST CERTIFICATE OF DOCUMENTATION?WHAT IS A JOINT OWNER?WHAT ARE THE REGISTRY OWNERSHIP DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS?HOW DO I RENEW MY CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRY?HOW DO I KNOW IF MY VESSEL MEASURES FIVE NET TONS?WHEN A VESSEL IS EITHER SUSPENDED OR CLOSE, IS THE NAME AVAILABLE?HOW DO I KNOW IF MY VESSEL MEASURES FIVE NET TONS?MUST MY VESSEL BE DOCUMENTED?HOW DO I ESTABLISH CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP?CAN A DINGHY HAVE THE SAME OFFICIAL NUMBER AS A REGISTERED VESSEL?WHAT VESSELS ARE EXEMPT?