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46 U.S.C. § 12502 — Identification numbers, signal letters, and markings
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** For the identification of a vessel of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation—
(1) shall maintain a unique numbering system and assign a number to each vessel of the United States;
(2) may maintain a system of signal letters for a documented vessel;
(3) shall record a name selected by the owner of a documented vessel approved by the Secretary as the vessel’s name of record; and
(4) may establish other identification markings.
**(b)** The manufacturer or owner of a vessel shall affix to the vessel and maintain in the manner prescribed by the Secretary the number assigned and any other markings the Secretary may require.
**(c)** Once a number is assigned under this section, it may not be used by another vessel.
**(d)** Once a documented vessel’s name is established, the name may not be changed without the approval of the Secretary.
**(e)** A person may not tamper with or falsify a number or other marking required under this section.
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_6718f5c756ebf798edc08c7c
Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-46/section-12502-identification-numbers-signal-letters-and-markings--2fb588a317.md
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Source location: Title 46, Chapter 125, § 12502; chapter-125-vessel-identification-system.md
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**(a)** For the identification of a vessel of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation—
(1) shall maintain a unique numbering system and assign a number to each vessel of the United States;
(2) may maintain a system of signal letters for a documented vessel;
(3) shall record a name selected by the owner of a documented vessel approved by the Secretary as the vessel’s name of record; and
(4) may establish other identification markings.
**(b)** The manufacturer or owner of a vessel shall affix to the vessel and maintain in the manner prescribed by the Secretary the number assigned and any other markings the Secretary may require.
**(c)** Once a number is assigned under this section, it may not be used by another vessel.
**(d)** Once a documented vessel’s name is established, the name may not be changed without the approval of the Secretary.
**(e)** A person may not tamper with or falsify a number or other marking required under this section.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
In this chapter—
(1) “acknowledge” means making—
(A) an acknowledgment or notarization before a notary public or other official authorized by a law of the United States or a State to take acknowledgments of deeds; or
(B) a certificate issued under the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961;
(2) “district court” means—
(A) a district court of the United States (as defined in [section 451 of title 28](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title28-section451&num=0&edition=prelim));
(B) the District Court of Guam;
(C) the District Court of the Virgin Islands;
(D) the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands;
(E) the High Court of American Samoa; and
(F) any other court of original jurisdiction of a territory or possession of the United States;
(3) “mortgagee” means—
(A) a person to whom property is mortgaged; or
(B) when a mortgage on a vessel involves a trust, the trustee that is designated in the trust agreement;
(4) “necessaries” includes repairs, supplies, towage, and the use of a dry dock or marine railway;
(5) “preferred maritime lien” means a maritime lien on a vessel—
(A) arising before a preferred mortgage was filed under [section 31321 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section31321&num=0&edition=prelim);
(B) for damage arising out of maritime tort;
(C) for wages of a stevedore when employed directly by a person listed in [section 31341 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section31341&num=0&edition=prelim);
(D) for wages of the crew of the vessel;
(E) for general average; or
(F) for salvage, including contract salvage;
(6) “preferr
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 46 U.S.C. § 31301
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a)** A person shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both, if the person with the intent to defraud—
(1) provides false information to the Secretary of Transportation or a State issuing authority regarding the identification of a vessel under this chapter; or
(2) tampers with, removes, or falsifies the unique vessel identification number assigned to a vessel under [section 12502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section12502&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(b)** A person is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 if the person—
(1) provides false information to the Secretary or a State issuing authority regarding the identification of a vessel under this chapter;
(2) violates [section 12502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section12502&num=0&edition=prelim); or
(3) fails to comply with requirements prescribed by the Secretary under [section 12505 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title46-section12505&num=0&edition=prelim).
**(c)** A vessel involved in a violation of this chapter, or regulation under this chapter, and its equipment, may be seized by, and forfeited to, the Government.
**(d)** If a person, not an individual, is involved in a violation of this chapter, the president or chief executive of the person also is subject to any penalty provided under this section.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 46 U.S.C. § 12507
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 225
TITLE 46—SHIPPING
§ 12502
(3) identifying the State in which it is titled
or numbered;
(4) indicating whether the vessel is num-
bered or titled, or both;
(5) if titled in a State, indicating where evi-
dence of a lien or other security interest may
be found against the vessel in that State; and
(6) information assisting law enforcement of-
ficials.
(c) The Secretary may maintain information
under this chapter in connection with any other
information system maintained by the Sec-
retary.
(Added Pub. L. 100–710, title I, § 101(a), Nov. 23,
1988, 102 Stat. 4735; amended Pub. L. 101–225, title
III, § 302(1), Dec. 12, 1989, 103 Stat. 1922; Pub. L.
101–595, title VI, § 603(10), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat.
2993.)
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
Revised section 12501
Subsection (a) of section 12501 requires the Secretary
of Transportation to establish a system of information
concerning vessels of the United States for law enforce-
ment and other purposes. The Secretary is required to
make available information from the system relating
to the ownership of vessels documented under chapter
121 of title 46, numbered under chapter 123 of that title,
and titled under the law of a State. The information is
available under section 12503 for use by the public,
similarly under the Ship Mortgage Act, 1920.
Subsection (b) lists the vessel identification informa-
tion which is required to be maintained by the Sec-
retary. The Secretary has the authority to prescribe
other information to be maintained in addition to the
items listed. For example, the Secretary may identify
vessels issued fisheries permits by the Department of
Commerce. The Secretary may also monitor trans-
actions involving vessels that require approval by the
Secretary under section 9 of the
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 46 U.S.C. § 12502
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