Fraud Alert: In order to register a boat with the US Coast Guard a renewal must be filed each year with the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC). There are many companies out there attempting to pass themselves off as the National Vessel Documentation Center or associates of the NVDC in order to solicit payment from vessel owners!

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website, these companies may also attempt to issue fake forms of documentation, including travel letters and/or permits that “authorize” the operation of your vessel. Allow this blog to a serve as a friendly reminder to ALWAYS read the fine print to avoid being scammed by an impostor or a third party. If you receive a letter in the mail pertaining to your Coast Guard renewal filing and are unsure of its legitimacy, you can contact NVDC directly or feel free to contact Incserv via email at info@incserv.com or via phone at 301-531-0855. If it turns out that you have received a fraudulent piece of correspondence, complaints can be made through the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website at https://www.ftc.gov/.

If you would like assistance with renewing your Coast Guard registration (legitimately), Incserv is happy to assist! For assistance, please feel free to contact us via the above phone number or email address and don’t forget to ask us how we can automate your renewal next year and the following years as well. Yes, you read that correctly, no more having to reach out to the Coast Guard to manually renew your registration! For more information on boat renewals for the Coast Guard or Delaware, be sure to check out our boat blog series at the following link: https://incserv.com/blog/boat-registration-series-part-3-us-coast-guard-vessel-documentation/ .

Steffan Bradford, Compliance Team Leader