River News Now Breaking News Travel

The Local Boater Option is a new voluntary, free of charge, program which allows a participant, under certain circumstances, to telephonically report the arrival of their private vessel, make customs declarations, submit any necessary additional information, and be cleared for Immigration purposes without the need to report to a port of entry in person.

The program is only available to private vessels arriving into ports of South Florida, Tampa, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. To enroll in the program, an individual must present him/herself to a CBP officer with the appropriate documentation (passport is preferred) to verify identity, citizenship or lawful permanent immigration status. All family members must be present to register; registration is on an individual basis. The officer will then register the individual into the program, and create a Boater Registration Number. This number will then be used during the telephone arrival notification process, (1-800-432-1216 or 1-800-451-0393).

The BR# is for an individual, not a vessel. If an arriving passenger is not an LBO participant, it will still be the master’s responsibility to insure that the unregistered passenger reports to a CBP office in a timely manner. CBP retains the authority to require LBO participants to report for a physical inspection and/or board the arriving vessel. Currently, the assigned BR numbers do not expire, however any BR# may be revoked, at any time, by CBP.

Registration is also available, by appointment, at the following locations Monday through Friday:

Port of Miami
903 S. America Way, Terminal H, Suite 220
Miami, FL 33132
(305) 536-4758

Port Everglades
1800 Eller Drive, Suite 104
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
(954) 761-2000

West Palm Beach
1 East 11th Street
Riviera Beach, FL
(561) 848-6922