Captains License Frequently Asked Questions

The section below has a list of frequently asked questions from mariners interested in getting their captains license. Just click on the question and the answer will expand. If you have a question that is not listed on this frequently asked questions page, go to our contact us page and fill out the form. We will get back to you in a timely manner.

  1. Complete a captains license course, or study for your exam through one of our membership packages & take the exam at a Regional Exam Center.
  2. Send a completed package to the U.S. Coast Guard.
  3. Once the U.S Coast Guard processes your package, they will issue your captains license.

If you take the course, you can test at the school where you have taken the course. If not, you can take the captains exam at one of the many Regional Exam Centers around the country.

Yes, once we have been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, we will offer the following classes online:

  1.  Captains License Course
  2. 100 ton Masters License
  3. 200 ton Masters License
  4. 500 ton Masters License
  5. 1600 ton Masters License
  6. 3rd Mate Unlimited
  7. Able Seaman
  8. Apprentice Mate Steersman
  9. Apprentice Mate Program (4 Blended Courses)
  10. STCW Basic Safety Training (Blended Course)
  11. And so much more

Yes, our courses are designed to teach you everything covered on the Coast Guard Exams.

For the 6 pack Captains License Course students are required to take 4 exams:

  1. Navigation Rules of the Road (50 questions 90% to pass)
  2. Navigation General (50 questions 70% to pass)
  3. Chart Plotting (10 questions 70% to pass)
  4. Deck General & Safety (50 questions 70 % to pass)

If you are taking the exam at our location, we send you a certificate of training that proves to the Coast Guard that you have passed all of your exams. If you take your exams at your local Regional Exam Center, they will give you a receipt stating that you have passed all of your examinations.

Once you send in the packet with all of your paperwork, the Coast Guard reviews it and sends your Captains License through the mail.

Students who do not pass any module of the course with us, can take the test again within a 90 day period. You will have 3 opportunities to pass this exam (Original + 2 retakes). Students who fail on all 3 attempts must either take the course over, or take the exam at the U.S. Coast Guard Regional Exam Center of their choice.

Original License applicants need to send the following completed information in as part of their Application package:

  1. Merchant Mariner Application
  2. Small Vessel Sea Service Form
  3. Application for Medical Certificate
  4. Conviction Statement (ONLY IF NECESSARY)
  5. Drug Testing Paperwork

 

Use the small vessel sea service form to document all of your sea time. If you worked for someone on the water as a deckhand, they will need to sign your sea time for you. If you own your own vessel, you may document your own sea time. 

For sea time to count, you may go back 10 years only. 90 days of that sea time must have been in the last 3 years.

You will need to take a U.S. Coast Guard Approved/American Red Cross/American Heart Association Course.

Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) is a way the Coast Guard does background checks on all mariners.