United States Coast Guard
Program Operations Division
14 August, 2003
PROGRAM GUIDANCE FOR
DISPLAY OF VESSEL REGISTRATION NUMBERS
Several questions and issues have been raised concerning the proper
display of state issued registration numbers on recreational vessels.
Of the 185,000 vessels examined in 2002 under the VSC Program, 10,000
failed due to improper display of numbers. State marine patrol
officers and Vessel Examiners (VE) for the Vessel Safety Check (VSC)
Program have noted several problems in the field, especially with newer
sportier designed vessels where the owners want their numbers to match
the designs and color schemes of their boats. As a result, the Office
of Boating Safety, as program manager, has been asked to provide program
guidance on this issue. This letter serves to provide that guidance for
Vessel Examiners of the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U. S. Power
Squadrons, and the State providers for the Vessel Safety Check Program
and state boating law enforcement agencies.
The manner in which numbers are to be displayed on vessels is prescribed
under Title 33 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 173.27. The basic
tenets of the regulation are, the numbers must
1) be painted on or permanently attached to both sides of the
forward half of the vessel,
2) be in plain vertical block characters of not less than 3 inches
in height,
3) contrast with the color of the background and be distinctly
visible and legible,
4) have spaces or hyphens that are equal in width to a letter or
number other than "I" or "1" between the letter and number
groupings, and
5) read from left to right.
There are exemptions and exceptions for vessels operated by dealers for
the purposes of demonstration, and for vessels due to their construction
that cannot fully comply with the regulations as written.
The following is program guidance for applying the basic tenets as
outlined.
The numbers must be painted on or permanently attached to both sides of
the forward half of the vessel. Generally numbers are applied to the
hull, but this is not required. Numbers may be applied to the super-
structure or cabin sides, provided the placement is still on the forward
half of the vessel. Self-adhesive numbers are accepted as permanently
attached. Numbers may also be placed on placards or plates, and then
bolted or screwed in place. Plates or placards may not be attached to
removable stanchions or rails, nor may numbers be placed on glass
windows, as they are not considered permanent attachment points.
Numbers and letters must be in plain vertical block characters of not
less than 3 inches in height. They must be of a single color, not
outlined, shadowed, or rounded, and appear in the manner as illustrated:
VA 1234 AB
Some self-adhesive numbers may be a fraction of an inch off in height.
Generally, the Coast Guard does not require the measuring of the numbers
unless they appear to be too small. The rule of thumb used by the Coast
Guard to determine proper height without measuring is, if the numbers
can be read at a distance of 100 feet, accept them. If not, then
measuring may be called for.
Numbers must be in contrasting color to the background and be distinctly
visible and legible. If the background of the surface of the vessel is
multi-colored or patterned (i.e. paisley pattern or product graphics),
it may be necessary to block out an area in a single color to allow the
numbers to be distinctly visible.
There must be spaces or hyphens between number and letter groupings
equal to any letter or number other than "I" or "1". Numbers must read
from left to right. These tenets are self-explanatory, and need no
further clarification.
National standardization of examination and enforcement is vital to
promote understanding of, compliance with, and continuity regarding the
numbering regulations. It is critical that all Recreational Boating
Safety partners (Vessel Examiners, State Law Enforcement personnel, and
Coast Guard personnel) adhere to the same criteria and apply the same
standard when conducting vessel safety checks.
JOHN M. MALATAK
Chief, Program Operations Division
U.S. Coast Guard
