46 U.S.C. § 31306 — Declaration of citizenship

(a) Except as provided by the Secretary, when an instrument transferring an interest in a vessel^* is presented to the Secretary for filing or recording, the transferee must file with the instrument a declaration, in the form the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, stating information about citizenship and other information the Secretary may require to show the transaction involved does not violate section 56102 or 56103 of this title. (b) A declaration under this section filed by a corporation must be signed by its president, secretary, treasurer, or other official authorized by the corporation to execute the declaration. (c) Except as provided by the Secretary, an instrument transferring an interest in a vessel is not valid against any person until the declaration required by this section has been filed. (d) A person knowingly making a false statement of a material fact in a declaration filed under this section must be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.