33 C.F.R. § 96.430 – How does an organization submit a request to be authorized?

(a) A recognized organization must send a written request for authorization to the Commandant (CG-ENG), Attn: Office of Design and Engineering Standards, U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7509, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20593-7509. The request must include the following:
1. (1) A statement describing what type of authorization the organization seeks;
2. (2) Documents showing that—
  1. (i) The organization has an internal quality system with written policies, procedures and processes that meet the requirements in § 96.440 of this part for safety management auditing and certification; or
  2. (ii) The organization has an internal quality system based on ANSI/ASQC C9001 for safety management auditing and certification; or
  3. (iii) The organization has an equivalent internal quality standard system recognized by the Coast Guard to complete safety management audits and certification.
3. (3) A list of the organization's exclusive auditors qualified to complete safety management audits and their operational area; and
4. (4) A written statement that the procedures and records of the recognized organization regarding its actions involving safety management system audits and certification are available for review annually and at any time deemed necessary by the Coast Guard.
(b) If the organization is a foreign classification society that has been recognized under 46 CFR part 8, subparts A and B, and wishes to apply for authorization under this part, it must demonstrate the reciprocity required by 46 U.S.C. 3316 for ISM Code certification. The organization must provide, with its request for authorization an affidavit from the government of the country in which the classification society is headquartered. This affidavit must provide a list of authorized delegations by the flag state of the administration of the foreign classification society's country to the American Bureau of Shipping, and indicate any conditions related to the delegated authority. If this affidavit is not received with a request for authorization from a foreign classification society, the request for authorization will be disapproved and returned by the Coast Guard.
(c) Upon the satisfactory completion of the Coast Guard's evaluation of a request for authorization, the organization will be visited for an evaluation as described in § 96.440(b) of this part.