How long is my USCG course certificate good for?

Approved courses for domestic USCG licenses are valid for one (1) year after the issue date.

International STCW endorsements are valid for 5 years.

This comes from 46 CFR § 11.201 - General requirements for national and STCW officer endorsements.

I took a course through a USCG-approved school/program. When does my course certificate expire?

The best place to look for your course expiration date is on the course approval information on your course certificate. It will typically say "must be submitted within one (1) year of the date shown" or  "must be submitted within five (5) years of the date shown".

A general rule is that you have one year for courses that substitute for an examination given by the Coast Guard, and five years for all other courses.

Any course certificate or training related to a 6 pack, 100 ton Master or 200 ton Master will need to be submitted within one (1) year.  

We hope this made your life a little easier and if you have other questions the MM-SEAS team is always here to help!

MM-SEAS is free to use on your own and if you need some more personalized help you can upgrade to MM-SEAS Pro inside of the site.

No matter what, when you are ready to submit your application, you can choose to have the MM-SEAS staff create a perfect application, handle the USCG application fees and work with the USCG on your behalf to resolve any issues for a flat fee of $299 or you can choose to submit on your own.

Pro MM-SEAS members get access to unlimited live 1 on 1 calls with one of our USCG Licensing Specialists. We've found that answering questions live with screen sharing in a video call makes both of our lives easier. Pro MM-SEAS members can access these features inside of MM-SEAS under License Guidance.