{"data":{"id":"us/46-cfr-67.117","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"46 CFR 67.117","heading":"Vessel name designation.","body":"(a) The owner of a vessel must designate a name for the vessel on the Application for Initial Issue, Exchange, or Replacement of Certificate of Documentation; or Redocumentation (form CG-1258) submitted to the Director, National Vessel Documentation Center:\n(1) Upon application for initial documentation of the vessel; or\n(2) When the owner elects to change the name of the vessel.\n(b) The name designated:\n(1) Must be composed of letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals;\n(2) May not be identical, actually or phonetically, to any word or words used to solicit assistance at sea; and\n(3) May not contain nor be phonetically identical to obscene, indecent, or profane language, or to racial or ethnic epithets.\n(c) The name of a documented vessel may not be changed without the prior approval of the Director, National Vessel Documentation Center.\n(d) Until such time as the owner of a vessel elects to change the name of a vessel, the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section do not apply to vessels validly documented before January 1, 1994.","path":["Title 46—Shipping","CHAPTER I—COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY","SUBCHAPTER G—DOCUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT OF VESSELS","PART 67—DOCUMENTATION OF VESSELS","Subpart H—Assignments and Designations Required for Vessel Documentation"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-46.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:22Z","sha256":"e60f0fa6bafcb7ed5c7e231a4b11c1c30ce4ea9614b3f2740af490f8df131542","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/46-cfr-67.113","next":"us/46-cfr-67.119"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}