---
title: "Build the safety-management certificate and document-of-compliance register"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-the-document-of-compliance-and-safety-management-certificate-regis/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A37-NE20261022-6-US"
practice_area: "Maritime, Shipping & Transport"
tier: "green"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Build the safety-management certificate and document-of-compliance register

> From the certificates and the audit letters, record whether each document is a Safety Management Certificate or a Document of Compliance, any expiry date printed on it, and whether the file shows a separate three-month…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-the-document-of-compliance-and-safety-management-certificate-regis/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Maritime, Shipping & Transport](https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport.md) |
| Human involvement | Green: AI drafts, lawyer checks |
| How AI is used | From the certificates and the audit letters, record whether each document is a Safety Management Certificate or a Document of Compliance, any expiry date printed on it, and whether the file shows a separate three-month certificate or a revocation. Do not decide that a certificate is still valid. |
| What the lawyer must review | Section 3205(a) requires the Secretary, after verifying compliance, to issue a Safety Management Certificate and a Document of Compliance on request. Subsection (b) requires the responsible person to maintain them as the Secretary requires. Subsection (c) provides for periodic review and for revocation of the approval and of each certificate and document if the person or vessel has not complied with the plan. Section 3203(c) allows a separate Safety Management Certificate, and a separate Document of Compliance, for a three-month period during an audit under section 10104(e), and requires revocation in the cases that subsection states. Section 3205(d) lets clearance be withheld for a vessel subject under section 3202(a), or to the International Safety Management Code, if the vessel does not have on board a Safety Management Certificate and a copy of a Document of Compliance. Clearance may be granted on a satisfactory bond or other surety. You confirm the dates and decide whether a missed verification has invalidated the document. No regulation stating a routine verification window was opened. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build the document of compliance and safety management certificate register](https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-the-document-of-compliance-and-safety-management-certificate-regis.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the certificates and the audit letters, record whether each document is a Safety Management Certificate or a Document of Compliance, any expiry date printed on it, and whether the file shows a separate three-month certificate or a revocation. Do not decide that a certificate is still valid.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not invent an interim or full-term period. Record only what the document and section 3203(c) state.
- Section 10104 was not opened. The three-month certificate is only the audit path in section 3203(c).

## Sources

- [46 USC section 3205 (safety-management certification)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/3205) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [46 USC section 3203 (safety management system)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/46/3203) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*