Coastguard Voluntary Safety Identification Scheme (CG66) 

Registering your vessel with the Coastguard Voluntary Safety Identification Scheme could save valuable time and lives in a rescue situation.

Why should you join the scheme?

If you get into difficulty, details of your vessel can be accessed by the Coastguard and will greatly assist rescue teams in identifying your craft. Friends and relatives ashore know who to contact if they are at any time concerned for your safety and can be confident that the Coastguard has your details.  A quick call can establish your safety and give reassurance to those ashore. It is free and the information is used for search and rescue purposes only.

How do you join the scheme?

You can register and update your CG66 on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) website.

If you are in any doubt about how the data you supply to the Coastguard will be used, it may put you a little more at ease to know that the MCA's Head of Search and Rescue has stated in a letter to the RYA's Cruising Manager that "the information provided to the CG66 Scheme is used solely for search and rescue purposes by its Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres and Maritime Sub Centres and is not, and will not, be divulged to any other Government Department, Agency or other Authority".

Don't forget to keep your CG66 registration up to date

You need to confirm to the coastguard every two years that your information is still correct otherwise your details may be removed from the database.