WOW Quick Renewal

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Submitted my documentation renewal February 21st and received this year's CD on February 27th!

That was fast and I only paid $26

 

[kthoennes]

My renewal was super fast too, about seven days from the day I did the online payment. The original bill of sale transfer took eight months back in 2015. I did see a short article in Cruising Outpost magazine that they're offering multi-year renewals starting this year but I didn't see any such thing available.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I did see a short article in Cruising Outpost magazine that they're offering multi-year renewals starting this year but I didn't see any such thing available.

Yeah, I too couldn't find that option.

 

[Ski in NC]

My renewals have been fast for each of the last several years. Still hear that transfer of ownership is slow.

 

[twistedtree]

My renewals have been fast for each of the last several years. Still hear that transfer of ownership is slow.

Exactly. Renewals have always been fast and easy. It's changes that take time.

 

[BandB]

Exactly. Renewals have always been fast and easy. It's changes that take time.

They continue to make progress that has been seen since their new systems. Initial commercial is down to 14 days. Initial Recreational and changes are about 2 months. Renewals are 2 weeks.

Where they really are lagging still is mortgages, liens, and satisfaction of liens. That's really the only area now where their time is not satisfactory.

 

[aboatman]

It used to be fast and free. Now it's fast and $26.

Since the $26 is supposed to be for administrative costs, multi year renewals should be the same price. We'll see.

 

[seasalt007]

I did it online too and got the new document in about 10 days.

 

[psneeld]

yeah, the government sucks at everything.

only business...try resolving a medical insurance problem...is good at business...

hope some are learning that government tries too.

 

[Chuck34]

It used to be fast and free. Now it's fast and $26.

Yes, $26 unless you fall for one of those scammer documentation services that hit you for $75...and A LOT of people have fallen for this scam including me.

The scamming company does offer multi year renewal....$375 for 5 years.

 

[sbu22]

ASD - I must be doing something wrong. Mailed mine in on the 20th, they cashed the check on the 23rd, and I still haven't gotten the cert. Guess I need to call them.

 

[O C Diver]

Got my renewal back last month with a less than 2 week turn around.

Ted

 

[boomerang]

Yep we got ours back a a couple of months ago & I believe it was the quickest processing turnaround time I've ever seen. 2 weeks.

 

[Comodave]

I did mine online and paid online. Got the certificate in a week. Nice turnaround.

 

[GFC]

Mine must be coming up for renewal. I got the friendly and official looking letter from those nice folks at the Maritime Documentation Center. You know them, they're the ones that charge $75 for the renewal. The ones with the picture of the USCG boat on their website, only it has all references to the USCG removed. It's just a white cutter with an orange stripe that looks amazingly like a USCG boat.


But it was nice of them to remind me that my documentation is about to expire. Nice folks those guys are.


NOT!!!

 

[Comodave]

I put a scheduled event into my phone that repeats yearly. Reminds me to renew the documentation.

 

[sbu22]

Well – I must not be on the “A” list. Checked my records – mailed renewal in on February 14, NVDC processed the check on February 23. Went to NVDC website (https://maritimedocumentation.us/), found the “contact us” button, sent an email inquiry. Promptly received an email response from a Documentation Processor advising me that the “contact us” was only for on-line renewal. He gives me the phone number to call for paper transactions.

That, of course, gets me a recording – directing me to https:/www.uscg.mil/nvdc to check paperwork status. It turns out that’s the Coasties’ Operations home page. There you hit the tab “Paperwork Status Inquiry” that directs you: In order to check current Case Processing Dates, please see "NVDC Case Processing Report" located at the bottom of our Home Page. That’s the NVDC Home – not the Ops Home. There, waaaaay down at the bottom, you see NVDC Case Processing Report – as of March 02, 2018. Click that and voila – you see that, as of last week, they are working on “Renewals (including with changes) - 21FEB18”. Nothing further. I guess that means they are (were) working on renewals received as of that date.

I did have a change of mailing address - maybe that gums up the works.

 

[Comodave]

Yes, any changes bring the process to a dead crawl. My renewal had no changes so it sped through.

 

[BandB]

Well – I must not be on the “A” list. Checked my records – mailed renewal in on February 14, NVDC processed the check on February 23. Went to NVDC website (https://maritimedocumentation.us/), found the “contact us” button, sent an email inquiry. Promptly received an email response from a Documentation Processor advising me that the “contact us” was only for on-line renewal. He gives me the phone number to call for paper transactions.

That, of course, gets me a recording – directing me to https:/www.uscg.mil/nvdc to check paperwork status. It turns out that’s the Coasties’ Operations home page. There you hit the tab “Paperwork Status Inquiry” that directs you: In order to check current Case Processing Dates, please see "NVDC Case Processing Report" located at the bottom of our Home Page. That’s the NVDC Home – not the Ops Home. There, waaaaay down at the bottom, you see NVDC Case Processing Report – as of March 02, 2018. Click that and voila – you see that, as of last week, they are working on “Renewals (including with changes) - 21FEB18”. Nothing further. I guess that means they are (were) working on renewals received as of that date.

I did have a change of mailing address - maybe that gums up the works.

Advise to, in the future, to renew online. They are really gearing toward online handling and much more efficient that way. Saves them several steps.

 

[Comodave]

I don’t believe if you have a change of address that you can renew online. There is a bulletin on the web site that basically says you can email them, fax them or annotate the change of address on the form when you fax or mail the form in. Looking at the online form, there is only a billing address that you can fill in. The mailing address does not show up on the form.

 

[kthoennes]

Boy, there are complex gov't transactions in life, but a fed doc renewal on boats -- recreational even, not even commercial -- has to be one of the simplest, mundane, routine, mechanical transactions going. Okay, so it sounds like they have the online processing (mostly) squared away now but it's ridiculous that such a simple transaction by traditional "snail mail" takes forever. Too bad politics won't let us farm out this whole operation to Bangalore, even say just the simple renewals. They'd do them for $.00001 each and they'd be processed overnight. This is embarrassing Third World country kind of bureaucratic performance. And this is AFTER the imposition of the $26 annual renewal which was supposed to fix all this. Okay, end of venting.

 

[BandB]

Boy, there are complex gov't transactions in life, but a fed doc renewal on boats -- recreational even, not even commercial -- has to be one of the simplest, mundane, routine, mechanical transactions going. Okay, so it sounds like they have the online processing (mostly) squared away now but it's ridiculous that such a simple transaction by traditional "snail mail" takes forever. Too bad politics won't let us farm out this whole operation to Bangalore, even say just the simple renewals. They'd do them for $.00001 each and they'd be processed overnight. This is embarrassing Third World country kind of bureaucratic performance. And this is AFTER the imposition of the $26 annual renewal which was supposed to fix all this. Okay, end of venting.

Your tirade fails to recognize the tremendous progress they've made since moving to W VA and getting settled in. Now, the continued progress is subject to personnel they're allowed to have, but I think regardless they will continue to get better. And your 1/1000th of a cent number is just pure crap.

 

[Ron Kas]

I filed my renewal online Sunday evening March 4th. The certificate arrived via USPS on Saturday March 10th. No changes just a simple renewal. I was pleasantly surprised at the short turnaround! Great job USCG!

 

[Comodave]

I think that we are overlooking the process behind the scenes. If you renew online, the process is automated and does not require human intervention so the renewals go out very quickly. If you mail in even a routine renewal, a person has to process it. If you make a change even as minor as address change again a person has to process it and do some further research, etc. so I would expect that if you make changes or send in a hard copy renewal that it is only reasonable that it will take some extra time. Congress has been cutting CG funding for years so I would not blame the CG for being slow, direct your ire where it belongs and maybe will help make some change.

 

[sbu22]

Well, call it what you will. As luck would have it, within four or five hours of my attempted follow-up with NVDC, it shows up in the mail. Why the delay? As I stated earlier, there was a change of mailing address on my renewal app. The COD was, in fact, issued promptly. Only, they didn't pick up on the change of address and mailed the new COD to the old address. The address change involved a 4 block move - same post office, same zip, even the same postman. Took the post office a couple of weeks to get it "re-routed." Your taxpayer dollars at work.

 

[GFC]

Anyone have the link to the online renewal site?

 

[BandB]

Anyone have the link to the online renewal site?

Click on renewal in the menu on the left, under "Order Products Online."

National Vessel Documentation Center

 

[GFC]

Got it. Thanks. I'm heading down to the boat tomorrow so I'll get the renewal date, Doc number, etc.