How to Renew Your USCG License in 3 Minutes

You’ve done all of the hard work! Jumped through all of the hoops and have been working on vessels for the last few years. You look down and realize that it’s time to renew your Captain's License, Now what?

Here is a quick overview for each step you need to complete to renew you USCG License and STCW endorsements. If you are using MM-SEAS all of your documents should already be in the system, there are built in reminders and there are simple to use checklists to make this process simple and easy for you!

Step 1: Make sure you understand what you need for the professional requirements to renew. This includes gathering your sea service documents and counting up your sea days in the previous five years of your renewal application date.

Step 2: Once you know how many sea days you have you need to take the required training if needed and then ensure you have the training certificates in your possession.

Step 3: You either need to have an unexpired medical certificate or have submitted a medical certificate application.

Step 4: A photocopy - front, back, and all attachments of what you are renewing. This can be your uncanceled MMD, Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC), license, STCW endorsement, Certificate of Registry (COR), or Document of Continuity.

Step 5: You need to hold a valid TWIC or have recent evidence of applying for a TWIC. (For a  special few you are exempt from the TWIC and can renew without one!)

Step 6: Evidence of having passed a chemical test for dangerous drugs or of qualifying for an exemption from testing in 46 CFR 16.220.

Step 7: You need to pay the appropriate fee as set forth in 46 CFR 10.219 to pay.gov and keep the receipt for submission.

Step 8: A completed, signed application.

Step 9: Submit your completed, signed application, with all of the above eight steps documents attached to the nearest USCG regional exam center via email.

These nine steps may seem a little daunting and we agree. We actually built MM-SEAS for this exact reason. Instead of wondering how many sea days you have or where your documents are, MM-SEAS gives you one location for all of your maritime documents and tells you exactly how many sea days you have documentation for!

If you need any help or have more questions about sea service use the “Ask us anything maritime” above!

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 $349 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.