Fewer Forms, Less Data: MARAD Simplifies Citizenship Filings for Vessel Owners

By Sean Pribyl, Allison Skopec, Leilany Rodriguez

Vessel owners and program participants who file annual affidavits of U.S. citizenship with the Maritime Administration (MARAD) now face significantly fewer paperwork demands. Two final rules published in the Federal Register on June 4, 2026, one addressing MARAD’s promotional programs under 46 C.F.R. Part 355 and the other targeting the American Fisheries Act (AFA) program under 46 C.F.R. Part 356, collectively reshape how corporations and other business entities prove they satisfy federal maritime citizenship requirements. Both rules are effective immediately and carry a deregulatory designation under Executive Order 14192. 

The Part 355 amendments govern the standard affidavit that entities must submit when participating in the Capital Construction Fund, Maritime Security Program and Title XI guaranteed vessel financing. The Part 356 amendments address the heightened citizenship requirements imposed on owners of U.S.-flag fishing industry vessels of 100 feet or greater in registered length. Together, the rules touch virtually every entity that relies on MARAD’s determination of U.S. citizenship eligibility. 

A central feature of both rules is the elimination of personally identifiable information (PII) that MARAD concluded was not necessary to verify citizenship. The revised standard affidavit at 46 C.F.R. § 355.2 no longer requires dates or places of birth for corporate officers, directors or stockholders. The AFA-specific affidavit at 46 C.F.R. § 356.5(d) removes both Social Security numbers and birthdates for officers and directors. MARAD concluded that collecting this information did little to improve citizenship verification while creating disproportionate risk from the retention of sensitive data. The agency still may request PII from individual filers if a genuine question arises about citizenship status, but the blanket collection requirement has been eliminated. The Part 355 amendments also remove the long-standing notarization requirement for the standard affidavit, eliminating a step that added cost and delay without meaningful compliance benefit.

The most practical operational change may be the new streamlined recertification option for entities whose ownership, officer and director information has not changed since the prior filing. Instead of re-executing a full affidavit every year, eligible entities may submit a short written certification confirming that the information previously provided to MARAD remains accurate. For participants in MARAD promotional programs, that option is codified at 46 C.F.R. § 355.4(b). For AFA vessel owners, the parallel provision appears at 46 C.F.R. § 356.5(g). MARAD will include the certification form with each fishery endorsement eligibility letter of approval it issues. Entities that do experience changes in ownership or management remain subject to the existing 30-day notification requirement under Section 356.5(g) and must file an updated affidavit in the ordinary course. In existing Part 355 practice, filers also must promptly notify MARAD in writing of changes in previously furnished citizenship data. 46 C.F.R. § 355.4.

Publicly traded corporations subject to the AFA’s heightened U.S.-citizen ownership thresholds have long faced practical difficulties in documenting shareholder composition. The revised rules now codify, at 46 C.F.R. § 356.7(e), a nonexclusive list of acceptable methods for measuring, monitoring and confirming the required level of U.S.-citizen share ownership. Those methods include 1) participation in the Depository Trust Company’s SEG-100 segregated account system, which allows brokers to segregate shares held by U.S. citizens from those held by noncitizens at the clearinghouse level, 2) monitoring U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings to identify 5 percent beneficial owners, 3) geographic surveys or statistical sampling of shareholder residences, 4) communications with Non-Objecting Beneficial Owners (NOBOs), 5) use of protective charter or bylaw provisions to prevent excessive noncitizen ownership, and 6) any other method approved by MARAD in writing. The choice of method may depend on company size, shareholder base complexity and existing compliance infrastructure. Companies with established transfer agent relationships may find SEG-100 participation most efficient, while others may prefer geographic surveys or NOBO communications.

Finally, MARAD has aligned these provisions with guidance published by the U.S. Coast Guard in a November 2012 Federal Register notice, bringing the two agencies’ expectations into closer conformity. Under the revised “fair inference rule” in Section 356.7(c), a publicly traded corporation may expressly infer at least 75 percent U.S.-citizen ownership when at least 95 percent of each class of stock is held by persons with a U.S. address, and it may rely on the full range of shareholder-residence data sources identified in Section 356.7(e) to support that conclusion. This alignment is significant because it reduces the risk that vessel owners will face conflicting requirements from MARAD (which administers the AFA citizenship rules) and the Coast Guard (which issues fishery endorsements). A single, consistent standard should simplify compliance for publicly traded fishing companies.

Application in Practice 

For closely held companies with stable ownership, the new recertification process eliminates the need to prepare and execute a full annual affidavit when no material information has changed. For publicly traded entities, the codified compliance options provide greater certainty about which shareholder-monitoring methods MARAD will accept. Alignment with Coast Guard standards also reduces the risk that companies will face inconsistent expectations from different agencies. For all filers, the removal of routine PII collection reduces data-security exposure and simplifies the preparation of annual submissions.

Entities with upcoming annual filings should take three immediate steps:

First, they should determine whether any ownership, officer or director information has changed since the last affidavit. If there have been no changes, the entity should consider using the new streamlined certification rather than submitting a complete new affidavit.

Second, filers should review the revised affidavit requirements under 46 C.F.R. §§ 355.2 and 356.5(d) and update internal data-collection workflows to remove PII fields that are no longer required.

Third, publicly traded entities subject to the AFA should evaluate which method listed in 46 C.F.R. § 356.7(e) best fits their existing shareholder-monitoring systems. Once selected, that method should be documented and applied consistently in future filings.

Conclusion

In sum, MARAD’s June 2026 amendments reduce annual filing burdens while preserving the obligation to demonstrate U.S. citizenship eligibility. Filers should use the streamlined recertification process when appropriate, remove obsolete PII fields from internal workflows and, for publicly traded AFA entities, document a defensible shareholder-monitoring method under 46 C.F.R. § 356.7(e).

Sean Pribyl is a maritime and international trade attorney and Partner in Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C., office.

Allison Skopec is a maritime litigation and regulatory attorney and Senior Associate in Holland & Knight’s New York office.

Leilany Rodriguez is a Summer Associate with Holland & Knight and a Juris Doctor candidate at Tulane University Law School.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.

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