USCG Customer Support Hacks – How to Contact the NVDC
We know that documenting your boat with the United States Coast Guard at the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) involves various processes that may be tiring and overwhelming. To make things worse, contacting the NVDC can be difficult at times. Navigating the website and phone numbers…etc. However, we are here to make the whole process less stressful by providing you with the right contact information.
On this note, we shall be reviewing all you need to know about ways and methods that you can use to contact the NVDC customer support.
We will mention the NVDC email address and phone number, and other information to contact the USCG to make some inquiries.
Overview of How To Contact National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC)
Undoubtedly, contacting the National Vessel Documentation Center can be difficult and stressful, especially if you don’t have the right contact detail to utilize. The NVDC contact like email, and phone number is not easily seen, this makes it hard to reach a real person at the national vessel documentation center. Nevertheless, it is imperative you know the ideal method to use in contacting NVDC. This can be either through email or the USCG phone numbers.
There are a few ways to contact the NVDC listed below. The National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) is the U.S. Coast Guard’s authorized provider of vessel documentation services. They can be contacted at: NVDC 7001A-1 P.O. Box 12005 Fall River, MA 02722-2005 Phone: 800-799-836 Fax: (508) 636-8133 Email: nvdc@uscg.mil
What is the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC)?
The National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) is the U.S. Coast Guard’s authorized provider of vessel documentation services. We will cover the NVDC in more detail in a future post. For clarity purposes, The National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) is the legal body in the United States Coast guard tasked with the responsibility of documenting your boat. NVDC is part of the USCG that protects American citizens through the regulation and registration of vessels.
Emergency Contact info for the USCG
STOP! People in an emergency and in need of Coast Guard assistance should radio for help on VHF-FM Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and call 911.
Once you have an emergency and you need to contact NVDC. You don’t need an email address or phone number to carry out this emergency task. All you need to do is to radio for Coast Guard assistance by using VHF-FM Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and call 911.
What Are My Options to contact USCG NVDC fast
As we stated above, don’t contact the NVDC through social media or live chat when you are in an emergency. If you need to get regular information from the National Vessel Documentation Center reach out to them through the following channels;
- Phone – The phone number of the NVDC is (800) 799-836
- Email – The email address of the NVDC is nvdc@uscg.mil
- Live chat – Not available
- Mail – The mailing address of the NVDC is USCG/National Vessel Documentation Center 792 T J Jackson Drive, Falling Waters, WV 25419.
- Fax – The fax number for the NVDC is 304-271-2405.
- Social Media (details and links below)
- Drop in locations or centers in your area
Our opinion to contact the USCG fast is through the district and regional command center contact information or phone. Use this link for more details. Just dial the number allocated to your region or area of need.
NVDC support contact number – call USCG phone number
There are two phone lines you can use to contact the NVDC. They have a toll-free number at (800) 799-8362 that you can call, and they also have the main number for their West Virginia office at (304) 271-2400.
Caution: Do not confuse the NVDC with broker websites such as “usvesseldocumentation.center”, “nvdcdocumentation.us”, and others.
Here are the times that NVDC is available by Day on the phone:
| By phone | Day | Time |
| Open | Mon, Tue, Wed | 9:00am – 3pm ET |
| Open | Friday | 9:00am – 3pm ET |
| Closed | Thursday | – |
| Closed | Saturday | – |
| Closed | Sunday | – |
How do I contact NVDC support via Email?
In order to contact the NVDC by e-mail, use any of the following official email addresses:
- Submit general questions/inquiries to NVDC.W.WEBMASTER@USCG.MIL or to nvdc@uscg.mil
- Submit applications for renewals and/or address changes to NVDCRENEWALS2@USCG.MIL
- Submit all other applications to NVDC.PDF.FILING@USCG.MIL
- For refunds, you can also contact Kimberly.R.Reid@uscg.mil
- For renewals, the other email address they provide is VDC-PF-NVDCRENEWALS@USCG.MIL.
The best way to contact the USCG is by email at askuscg@uscg.mil
Why Is It So Difficult To Contact Coast Guard Support?
The reality is, that many people find it difficult to actually contact NVDC. The reason is that their call lines operate for a limited number of hours and days as stated in the table above. For instance, the NVDC call centers do not operate on Thursdays and you can only contact NVDC phone lines between 9 AM to 3 PM ET.
More also, many people have limited access to information on how to contact NVDC. Most oftentimes, they mistake brokers’ sites like “usvesseldocumentation.center”, “nvdcdocumentation.us” with the official NVDC website.
Their website is also confusing and hard to read.
What is the web address for the Vessel Documentation Center?
The National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) official website address is https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Deputy-for-Operations-Policy-and-Capabilities-DCO-D/National-Vessel-Documentation-Center/.
Also, the US Coastguard website address is https://www.uscg.mil/ but they have other websites such as https://www.gocoastguard.com/ and https://www.uscgboating.org/
Can I contact the Coast Guard through social media?
| Social Media Channel | URL Link |
| https://www.facebook.com/UScoastguard | |
| https://twitter.com/USCG | |
| https://www.instagram.com/uscg/ | |
| YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/user/USCGImagery |
| https://www.linkedin.com/company/uscoastguard/ | |
| Others | https://www.facebook.com/USCGAUXVdept |
| Others | https://twitter.com/USCGDirectory |
Yes, you can, but as stated earlier, if it is an urgent matter make use of the right channel on your radio. For regular contacts on social media we list the links below to the USCG social media accounts.
- The Twitter account of the USCG is https://twitter.com/USCG
- The Facebook account for the USCG is https://www.facebook.com/UScoastguard
- The Instagram account for the USCG is https://www.instagram.com/uscg/
- another directory Twitter account is https://twitter.com/USCGDirectory
- The YouTube channel for the USCG is https://www.youtube.com/user/USCGImagery
- The LinkedIn in profile is https://www.linkedin.com/company/uscoastguard/
- the Aux Facebook address is https://www.facebook.com/USCGAUXVdept
Mailing Addresses for the NVDC
One of the numerous ways to contact the NVDC support is through the mail by sending a letter to this mailing address:
USCG/National Vessel Documentation Center. 792 T J Jackson Drive, Falling Waters, WV 25419
Refunds contact at the NVDC
For refunds on your documentation applications you can contact Kimberly.R.Reid@uscg.mil or the main email address nvdc@uscg.mil
Reasons to contact Coast Guard customer support
As a boat owner or user, there are numerous reasons why you may want to contact the NVDC. Below are a few examples;
- For emergency reasons; when you are in distress or emergency, the Coastguard is the right body to call for help.
- For General inquiries; You can also call the National Vessel Documentation Center for general clarifications on your applications.
- For Documentation Status; This is one of the primary reasons why you should contact NVDC.
- For Document Renewals; Here is another reason, once your document has expired, you need to reach out to the NVDC for a renewal.
- For Payment for applications. You can also contact the NVDC for Payment of documentation or renewal fees.
- For Change of Address or vessel name change; If you have changed your address, you need to let the NVDC know by contacting them.
- For a refunds– Refund is another reason why you should contact NVDC
- For general questions and answers about coast guard requirements.
USCG Contact Number & NVDC Contact Email
The NVDC email address is nvdc@uscg.mil and the contact phone number is (800) 799-8362.
Does the US Coast Guard have a mobile app?
Yes, the USCG has a mobile app for boaters to use. Here is a link to the US Coast Guard mobile app: The U.S. Coast Guard Mobile App (uscgboating.org) and another link is USCG Mobile Apps. We hope that you will install these and use them to stay safe on the water or contact the coast guard when needed.
Does the USCG have a online Help Center Portal? – support through the website
There is no online help center offered by the National Vessel Doc Ctr, but there is an FAQ page here that you can consult. For boating safety the Frequently Asked Questions are here.
How to report an issue to the Coast Guard
If you encounter a bug on the NVDC website or a mistake on one of the form for example and want to report an issue to the coast guard you have two few options.
1-Report a website issue to Krystal.L.Wolfe@uscg.mil
2-For the National Maritime Center email iasknmc@uscg.mil
To report suspicious activity: Call the National Response Center at 1-877-24WATCH
Directors and staff you can contact at the Coast Guard
Coast Guard Leadership:
Karl Schultz – Commandant of the Coast Guard.
Admiral Linda L. Fagan – Vice Commandant.
Jason M. Vanderhaden – Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.
Specifically for the NVDC:
Tim Skuby, CAPT, USCG Retired
Director of U.S.C.G. National Vessel Documentation Center Timothy.V.Skuby@uscg.mil
Tel: (304) 271-2506
Fax: (304) 271-2442
As of 2016, the new Director of the National Vessel Documentation Center is Christina Washburn – (Director USCG NVDC).
What is the national command center contact info?
The United States Coast Guard National Command Center (NCC) is located at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Their mailing address and contact number are:
National Command Center
NCC Watch Phone Numbers: 202-372-2100
NCC Mailing Address (PDF via email is preferred):
COMMANDANT (CG-DCO-NCC)
ATTN: NATIONAL COMMAND CENTER
US COAST GUARD STOP 7318
2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SE
WASHINGTON, DC 20593-7318
Where is the nearest Coast Guard unit?
In order to find the district office and unit nearest to you, use this link https://www.uscg.mil/Responsive/ then select the region to view more information. there is also a Wikipedia list of all stations here.
How to give feedback to the NVDC
Fill out the customer survey that the National Vessel Documentation Center (NVDC) has put out to improve the Vessel Documentation Program. The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RT7M8XR.
Conclusion
Contacting NVDC can be cumbersome and can take a while to get a reply by email, especially if you are not familiar with the NVDC official website and different contact methods.
We covered the top ways to contact the USCG and NVDC above but if you need to order a vessel title abstract, don’t hesitate to work with a broker like us for fast and easy service. No complicated forms and we offer PayPal payments.