If you are just giving your first steps in the boating world, gathering the proper paperwork you need to navigate with your vessel may seem a bit overwhelming. The good thing is that not everything is the way it looks. With our help, the process of license or registration doesn’t have to be complicated. Let us show you the differences between them, and even what they have in common, to help you decide which type of documentation is better for your vessel. After that, we will explain to you how to get it. Read on!
When you need to Get Boat Registration
The key factor to decide what documentation to get will be the kind of vessel that you are operating. Let us show you some considerations that you need to make before deciding what to get. In the same way, you need to be up to date with your car documentation if you want to drive around freely, you need to do it with your vessel. Boat registration is also important, but it is only for commercial vessels. Recreational watercraft also have their obligations, yet we will talk about them later.
Boats used for commercial purposes need to comply with certain guidelines from Transport Canada, the governmental department responsible for maritime administration (and other types of transportation as well). We say “commercial” in the largest sense of the word: This type of documentation also applies to research vessels, oil recovery ships, towing vessels, passenger barges, and similar boats on no-recreational fields. Both license and registration can be obtained at the Transport Canada website.
Explanation of Pleasure Craft Licenses
Boats used for leisure activities, like yachts or other types of personal vessels, do not need to get registered. Instead of that type of paperwork, they need to get what is called a “pleasure craft license” in a similar process. Keep in mind that it is only mandatory to get this type of documentation for vessels equipped with motors of 7.5 kW or more. Other than Transport Canada, license and registration can also be obtained at the National Vessel Registry Center. What are we exactly talking about? Find out in the next few lines.
Every Type of License and Registration at the National Vessel Registry Center
Now that you know what license and registration are, it is important to know what information you need to access those types of documentation and the steps you need to follow to finally get it. At the home part of our site, you will notice that there are two different tabs with the registration and license forms. After selecting what type of document you are trying to get, it is only a matter of deciding what action you want the application to do for you (renew your registration, get your pleasure craft license for the first time, etcetera).
After you have selected the proper application, our platform will ask you some of the basic details that will allow us to process the documentation for you, and you to get it without having to leave the comfort of your home. In addition to that, our staff overlooks your application to make sure that no mistakes are made that would delay the obtention. Contact us today for any other assistance you may need!
