Beacon IDs
How do you register a Beacon ID for an EPIRB or PLB?
EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons), PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons), and ELTs (Emergency Locating Transmitters) are registered in a separate database maintained by NOAA. These devices are different because they operate in transmit-only mode.
The NOAA registration service will ask for your MMSI, while the MMSI registration service will ask for your EPIRB code. To resolve this Catch-22, we recommend that you go to the NOAA web site first and register your EPIRB, then complete the form to request a MMSI.
Ultimately, it is the mariner’s responsibility to assure that both numbers are filed with the correct authorities, and we highly encourage that you cross-register your numbers on both databases.
Instructions to request a Beacon ID:
- Open a web browser and go to the NOAA website for beacon registration: https://beaconregistration.noaa.gov/RGDB/index
- Create a NOAA user account for beacon registration
- Login to your NOAA user account
- Click on Register Beacon button
- Enter Beacon ID, model number & manufacturer name
- Enter phone numbers for the beacon owners & 2 emergency contacts
- Enter vessel information
After registering the beacon, link the registered beacon to your NOAA account. Click on the Link Registration button.
Back to MMSI info page