46 U.S.C. § 12109
Section 12109 · Recreational endorsements
Amended 6 times on record
(a) A certificate of documentation with a recreational endorsement may be issued for a vessel that is eligible for documentation.
(b) A documented vessel with a recreational endorsement may proceed between a port of the United States and a port of a foreign country without entering or clearing with the Customs Service. A recreational vessel must, however, comply with all customs requirements for reporting arrival under section 433 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1433) and all persons on board that recreational vessel shall be subject to all applicable customs regulations.
(c) A documented vessel operating under a recreational endorsement may be operated only for pleasure.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Section 12109 provides that a certificate of documentation in the form of a pleasure vessel license may be issued for any vessel that is eligible for documentation and is to be used exclusively for pleasure. This section also authorizes the Secretary to charge a reasonable fee for issuing, reviewing, or replacing a pleasure vessel license or for providing any other related service.
Amendments
1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–595 substituted “on board that recreational vessel” for “aboard such a pleasure vessel”.
1989—Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(9)(D), substituted “endorsements” for “vessel licenses” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(9)(A), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a) which read as follows: “A recreational vessel license may be issued for a vessel that is—
“(1) eligible for documentation; and
“(2) to be operated only for pleasure.”
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(9)(B), substituted “documented vessel with a recreational endorsement” for “licensed recreational vessel” and “A recreational” for “Such”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–225, §301(a)(9)(C), added subsec. (c).
1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–710 struck out subsec. (c) which read as follows: “The Secretary may prescribe by regulation reasonable fees for issuing, renewing, or replacing a recreational vessel license, or for providing any other service related to a recreational vessel license. The fees shall be based on the costs of the service provided.”
1986—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99–570 inserted “Such vessel must, however, comply with all customs requirements for reporting arrival under section 433 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1433) and all persons aboard such a pleasure vessel shall be subject to all applicable customs regulations.”
1985—Pub. L. 99–36 substituted “Recreational” and “recreational vessel” for “Pleasure” and “pleasure vessel”, respectively, in section catchline and wherever appearing in text.
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 100–710 effective Jan. 1, 1989, with certain exceptions and qualifications, see section 107 of Pub. L. 100–710, set out as an Effective Date note under section 30101 of this title.