There is no official minimum or maximum vessel size for experience to qualify for an OUPV license.
The USCG Marine Safety Manual Volume III: Marine Industry Personnel COMDTINST M16000.8B is the best source of information on for these types of questions. According to the USCG Marine Safety Manual Volume III: Marine Industry Personnel COMDTINST M16000.8B:
The regulations do not specify either minimum or maximum vessel size for experience to qualify for an OUPV license and believe that it is not reasonable to do so by policy
Each application is evaluated on its merit and the USCG evaluators are tasked with ensuring that each applicant must possesses all the qualifications for the license.
Experience gained entirely on large ships may not be appropriate to qualify for an OUPV license. Likewise, experience gained entirely on sail boards, kayaks, canoes, jet skis, etc., may also be inappropriate to qualify as an OUPV.
Since the maximum vessel tonnage under an OUPV license is 100 GRT, it's best to get your experience on similar size vessels.
However, the USCG evaluators may accept a limited amount of experience gained on other vessels if the applicant's overall experience demonstrates an ability to safely operate the type of six passenger craft envisioned by the law.
Read our Complete Guide to Getting Your OUPV License
Where do I need to sail?
You need 360 Sea Service days. The required routes vary depending on the type of license you're applying for.
- For an OUPV Near Coastal 90 of those days have to be on Ocean, Near Coastal, or Great Lakes waters.
- For an OUPV Great Lakes 90 of those days have to be on the Great Lakes.
How recent do my Sea Days have to be?
Sea Days never expire. To qualify for an OUPV license you need 90 Sea Days within the last 7 years.
To renew your OUPV license, you'll need 360+ sea days within the past 5 years. If you have fewer than 360 days, you'll need to take an additional at-home test to renew your license.
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 Expert Access inside of the site.
No matter what, when you are ready to submit your application you can do it yourself, or you can hand the whole thing to us. An MM-SEAS Navita Navigator walks you through submitting in Navita, the Coast Guard's new submission portal, on a short video call. No computer, or not up for a video call? Our team gets your application submitted to the Coast Guard for you anyway. A Stress-Free MMC is $399. Two MM-SEAS licensing experts check every page, we pay your Coast Guard fees at submission and charge your card so you never touch pay.gov, and we stay on it with the National Maritime Center until your credential is issued.
MM-SEAS Expert Access is $99 a year. It is your personal guidance counselor for USCG licensing: what training you need next, which sea time counts, and how to reach the credential you want, by phone, email, chat or a 1 on 1 video call. Expert Access members also get $50 off a Stress-Free MMC.
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About the author
Nate Gilman is President and Co-Founder of MM-SEAS. He hawsepiped from the deck to a 3rd Mate Unlimited license with full STCW compliance over more than 15 years at sea, and is a veteran of the NOAA Commissioned Corps. He works directly with the National Maritime Center, USCG-approved training schools, and vessel operators on credentialing policy, and writes on sea service documentation, evaluation standards, and how mariners move up the license ladder.
