---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 12114"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "12114"
heading: "Recreational endorsement"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/12114"
units:
  - "Subtitle II — Vessels and Seamen"
  - "Part H — Identification of Vessels"
  - "Chapter 121 — Documentation of Vessels"
  - "Subchapter II — Endorsements and Special Documentation"
---

# §12114. Recreational endorsement

- (a) **Requirements.—** A recreational endorsement may be issued for a vessel that satisfies the requirements of [section 12103 of this title](/usc/46/12103.md).
- (b) **Authorized Activity.—** A vessel operating under a recreational endorsement may be operated only for pleasure.
- (c) **Application of Customs Laws.—** A vessel for which a recreational endorsement is issued may proceed between a port of the United States and a port of a foreign country without entering or clearing with the [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) of Homeland Security. However, a [recreational vessel](/usc/46/2101.md?p=36) is subject to the requirements for reporting arrivals under section 433 of the Tariff Act of 1930 ([19 U.S.C. 1433](/usc/19/1433.md)), and individuals on the vessel are subject to applicable customs regulations.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 109–304, § 5, Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1498.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Revised<br>Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| 12114(a) | 46:12109(a). |  |
| 12114(b) | 46:12109(c). |  |
|  | 46:12110(c). |  |
| 12114(c) | 46:12109(b). |  |

In subsection (c), the words “Secretary of Homeland Security” are substituted for “Customs Service” because the functions of the Customs Service and of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto were transferred to the Secretary of Homeland Security by section 403(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2178).

### Editorial Notes

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 12114, Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 589; Pub. L. 99–36, § 1(a)(8), May 15, 1985, 99 Stat. 67, originally derived from section 65c of former Title 46, Shipping, related to home ports, prior to being repealed by Pub. L. 100–710, title I, §§ 106(b)(5), 107(a), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4752, effective Jan. 1, 1989.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Documentation of Recreational Vessels

Pub. L. 115–282, title VIII, § 826, Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4314, provided that: “Coast Guard personnel performing nonrecreational vessel documentation functions under subchapter II of chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, may perform recreational vessel documentation under section 12114 of such title in any fiscal year in which— funds available for Coast Guard operating expenses may not be used for expenses incurred for recreational vessel documentation; fees collected from owners of yachts and credited to such use are insufficient to pay expenses of recreational vessel documentation; and there is a backlog of applications for recreational vessel documentation.”