US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

46 U.S.C. § 7107

Duration of certificates of registry

(a)

In General .—

A certificate of registry issued under this part is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods; except that the validity of a certificate issued to a medical doctor or professional nurse is conditioned on the continuous possession by the holder of a license as a medical doctor or registered nurse, respectively, issued by a State.
(b)

Advance Renewals .—

A renewed certificate of registry issued under this part may be issued up to 8 months in advance but is not effective until the date that the previously issued certificate of registry expires or until the completion of any active suspension or revocation of that previously issued certificate of registry, whichever is later.

Pub. L. 98–8997 Stat. 540Pub. L. 101–380, title IV, § 4102(b)104 Stat. 509Pub. L. 111–281, title VI, § 614(c)124 Stat. 2971Pub. L. 115–282, title V, § 510(2)132 Stat. 4274(, , ; , , ; , , ; , , .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised section

Source section (U.S. Code)

7107

46:243

Section 7107 specifies that there is no time limit on the validity of a certificate of registry issued to a medical doctor or a professional nurse but is conditioned on the continuous possession of the appropriate license issued by a State.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 115–2822018—Subsec. (b). substituted “certificate of registry, whichever” for “merchant mariner’s document, whichever”.

Pub. L. 111–2812010— amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “A certificate of registry issued under this part is valid for 5 years and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods. However, the validity of a certificate issued to a medical doctor or professional nurse is conditioned on the continuous possession by the holder of a license as a medical doctor or registered nurse, respectively, issued by a State.”

Pub. L. 101–3801990— substituted “is valid for 5 years and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods” for “is not limited in duration”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Pub. L. 101–380section 1020 of Pub. L. 101–380section 2701 of Title 33Amendment by applicable to incidents occurring after , see , set out as an Effective Date note under , Navigation and Navigable Waters.

Termination of Existing Licenses, Certificates, and Documents; Applicability of 1990 Amendment

Pub. L. 101–380section 4102(d) of Pub. L. 101–380section 7106 of this titleFor provisions that a certificate of registry issued before , terminates on the day it would have expired if the amendment to this section by were in effect on date it was issued and was renewed at the end of each 5-year period under this section, see , set out as a note under .