33 CFR 164.33: Charts and publications vessels must carry

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026

This section lists the charts and publications a vessel must have for the area it will transit. These include marine charts, the U.S. Coast Pilot, the Coast Guard Light List, and tide and tidal current tables. Foreign government charts and publications may be substituted, and the section defines "currently corrected".

Applies toEach vessel.

What it says

  1. Each vessel must have marine charts of the area to be transited, published by the National Ocean Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or a river authority.

    33 CFR 164.33(a)(1)“Marine charts of the area to be transited, published by the National Ocean Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or a river authority that—”

  2. Those charts must be of a large enough scale and have enough detail to make safe navigation of the area possible.

    33 CFR 164.33(a)(1)(i)“Are of a large enough scale and have enough detail to make safe navigation of the area possible; and”

  3. For the area to be transited, each vessel must have a currently corrected copy of, or applicable currently corrected extract from, the U.S. Coast Pilot and the Coast Guard Light List.

    33 CFR 164.33(a)(2)“For the area to be transited, a currently corrected copy of, or applicable currently corrected extract from, each of the following publications:”

  4. For the area to be transited, each vessel must have the current edition of, or an applicable current extract from, the listed tide tables and tidal current tables or river current publication.

    33 CFR 164.33(a)(3)“For the area to be transited, the current edition of, or applicable current extract from:”

  5. A chart or publication, or applicable extract, published by a foreign government may be substituted for a U.S. chart and publication required by this section.

    33 CFR 164.33(b)“a marine chart or publication, or applicable extract, published by a foreign government may be substituted for a U.S. chart and publication required by this section.”

  6. A foreign publication or extract must be currently corrected, except that tide and tidal current tables must be the current editions.

    33 CFR 164.33(b)“The publication, or applicable extract must be currently corrected, with the exceptions of tide and tidal current tables, which must be the current editions.”

  7. "Currently corrected" means corrected with changes in all Notices to Mariners published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or an equivalent foreign government publication, that are reasonably available to the vessel and apply to its transit.

    33 CFR 164.33(c)““currently corrected” means corrected with changes contained in all Notices to Mariners published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or an equivalent foreign government publication, reasonably available to the vessel, and that is applicable to the vessel's transit.”

Common questions

Can I use foreign government charts instead of U.S. charts?

Yes. A chart or publication, or applicable extract, published by a foreign government may be substituted for a U.S. chart and publication required by this section.

“a marine chart or publication, or applicable extract, published by a foreign government may be substituted for a U.S. chart and publication required by this section.”

What does currently corrected mean for charts?

It means corrected with changes in all Notices to Mariners published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or an equivalent foreign government publication, that are reasonably available to the vessel and apply to its transit.

““currently corrected” means corrected with changes contained in all Notices to Mariners published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or an equivalent foreign government publication, reasonably available to the vessel, and that is applicable to the vessel's transit.”

What edition of tide tables must a vessel have?

A vessel must have the current edition of, or an applicable current extract from, the tide tables for the area to be transited. Foreign tide and tidal current tables must also be the current editions.

“For the area to be transited, the current edition of, or applicable current extract from:”

The text of 33 CFR 164.33

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), current as of April 16, 2026 · Read it on eCFR

Charts and publications

(a) Each vessel must have the following:

(1) Marine charts of the area to be transited, published by the National Ocean Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or a river authority that—

(i) Are of a large enough scale and have enough detail to make safe navigation of the area possible; and

(ii) Are currently corrected.

(2) For the area to be transited, a currently corrected copy of, or applicable currently corrected extract from, each of the following publications:

(i) U.S. Coast Pilot.

(ii) Coast Guard Light List.

(3) For the area to be transited, the current edition of, or applicable current extract from:

(i) Tide tables published by private entities using data provided by the National Ocean Service.

(ii) Tidal current tables published by private entities using data provided by the National Ocean Service or river current publication issued by a river authority.

(b) As an alternative to the requirements for paragraph (a) of this section, a marine chart or publication, or applicable extract, published by a foreign government may be substituted for a U.S. chart and publication required by this section. The chart must be of large enough scale and have enough detail to make safe navigation of the area possible, and must be currently corrected. The publication, or applicable extract, must singly or in combination contain similar information to the U.S. Government publication to make safe navigation of the area possible. The publication, or applicable extract must be currently corrected, with the exceptions of tide and tidal current tables, which must be the current editions.

(c) As used in this section, “currently corrected” means corrected with changes contained in all Notices to Mariners published by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or an equivalent foreign government publication, reasonably available to the vessel, and that is applicable to the vessel's transit.

The plain-English explanation on this page was written with AI from the regulation text above and checked automatically before publishing: every quote appears in the text, every number comes from it, and a second model confirmed each statement adds nothing the text doesn't say. Regulation text current as of April 16, 2026. The regulation text governs. RegKnot is not affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard.