46 USC § 12136 - Surrender of certificates of documentation

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s12136"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 12136 - Surrender of certificates of documentation"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "12136"
section_name: "Surrender of certificates of documentation"
chapter_number: 121
chapter_name: "DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS"
subchapter_number: "III"
subchapter_name: "MISCELLANEOUS"
part_number: "H"
part_name: "Identification of Vessels"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 109–304, § 5, Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1506.)"
---


# § 12136. Surrender of certificates of documentation

**(a)** **Surrender.—** An invalid certificate of documentation, or a certificate with an invalid endorsement, shall be surrendered as provided by regulations prescribed by the Secretary.

**(b)** **Conditions for Surrender.—**

**(1)** **Vessels over 1,000 tons.—** The Secretary may condition approval of the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel over 1,000 gross tons.

**(2)** **Vessels covered by mortgage.—** The Secretary may approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation of a vessel covered by a mortgage filed or recorded under section 31321 of this title only if the mortgagee consents.

**(3)** **Notice of lien.—** The Secretary may not refuse to approve the surrender of the certificate of documentation for a vessel solely on the basis that a notice of a claim of a lien on the vessel has been recorded under section 31343(a) of this title.

**(c)** **Continued Application of Certain Laws.—**

**(1)** **In general.—** Notwithstanding subsection (a), until the certificate of documentation is surrendered with the approval of the Secretary, a documented vessel is deemed to continue to be documented under this chapter for purposes of—

**(A)** chapter 313 of this title for an instrument filed or recorded before the date of invalidation and an assignment after that date;

**(B)** sections 56101 and 56102(a)(2) and chapter 563 of this title; and

**(C)** any other law of the United States identified by the Secretary by regulation as a law to which the Secretary applies this subsection.

**(2)** **Exception.—** This subsection does not apply when a vessel is forfeited or sold by order of a district court of the United States.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 109–304, § 5, Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1506.)

| RevisedSection | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 12136(a) | 46:12111(b). |  |
| 12136(b)(1) | 46:12111(d)(2). |  |
| 12136(b)(2) | 46:12111(c)(3). |  |
| 12136(b)(3) | 46:12111(d)(1). |  |
| 12136(c)(1) | 46:12111(c)(1). |  |
| 12136(c)(2) | 46:12111(c)(2). |  |

In subsection (a), the words “or a certificate with an invalid endorsement” are added for clarity.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Documentation Surrender and Invalidation

> **“(1)** was filed or recorded before January 1, 1989; and
> 
> **“(2)** was not a preferred mortgage (as that term is defined in section 31301(6) of that title) on that date.”

, , , provided that: