Last updated 2026-08-21
TL;DR
A six-pack captain holds a USCG OUPV endorsement and may carry up to six passengers for hire on uninspected vessels under 100 gross tons. Document 360 days of sea service first, then complete a TWIC, medical exam, drug test, and first aid. File an original merchant mariner credential with the National Maritime Center. Confirm current fees and forms there before you pay a dollar.
What is a six-pack captain?
A six-pack captain holds a Coast Guard merchant mariner credential endorsed as Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels. People call that endorsement OUPV. They call the job six-pack because the passenger cap is six, not because the card says the words. The paper is an MMC with an officer endorsement. That is the whole identity.
Federal law does not treat this as a hobby title. 46 U.S.C. 8902 says, "An uninspected passenger vessel shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, in the particular geographic area, under prescribed regulations." [2] One passenger for hire on an uninspected boat puts you inside that statute. A free ride with friends does not. Money, or something that works like money, does.
The vessel definition lives in 46 U.S.C. 2101. An uninspected passenger vessel under 100 gross tons is one "carrying not more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire." [1] Most new operators never touch the over-100-ton class. They run center consoles, pontoons, and small cruisers that stay well under 100 GRT.
Manning matches the license. 46 CFR 15.605 sends OUPV holders, and certain masters and mates, to the uninspected passenger vessel operator job. [3] An OUPV does not make you master of an inspected small passenger vessel. You get six paying people, on an uninspected boat, on the waters printed on your endorsement. No state novelty card replaces that on waters the Coast Guard treats as navigable waters of the United States.
How do you start as a six-pack captain?
Prove sea time first. Then stack the identity and medical pieces. Then file. That order saves money, because people who buy a course first and later learn they are 200 days short of 360 burn cash they cannot get back.
Log 360 days of service the Coast Guard will accept, with 90 of those days in the three years before you apply. [4] Keep vessel names, official or state numbers, tonnage, waters, and the owner's contact. Use form CG-719S for small-vessel time when that is what you have. [5]
Get a Transportation Worker Identification Credential from TSA. The Coast Guard ties MMC applications to TWIC evidence. [6][11] Book a merchant mariner physical on form CG-719K. [7] Sit a DOT chemical test at a collector that knows marine rules. [8] Finish adult CPR and first aid from a provider 46 CFR 11.201 accepts, inside the one-year window before you file. [9]
Then pick exam or approved course. A Coast Guard approved course can replace the Regional Exam Center sitting. A weekend seminar that is not on the NMC approved list cannot. I would pay for the approved course if I test badly on closed-book rules. I would sit the exam if I already know the books and live near a REC.
Last step is the original MMC package to the National Maritime Center. Application, sea service, TWIC, physical, drug test, first aid, course certificate or exam, fees from 46 CFR 10.219, and any character documents they ask for. [10][11] Confirm current fee amounts and form editions with NMC before you write a check. Processing time moves. Nobody honest will promise you a date.
How many passengers can a six-pack captain carry?
Six paying passengers. That is the hard cap on an uninspected vessel under 100 gross tons. 46 U.S.C. 2101 writes it as "not more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire." [1] A six-pack captain may carry not more than six passengers, including at least one passenger for hire, on an uninspected vessel under 100 gross tons.
Crew you employ are not passengers. Your paid deckhand does not eat a slot. Your friend who Venmo'd you for the trip does. If someone gave you value to be on the boat, treat them as a passenger for hire and stay at six. The boarding officer will not parse your group chat.
You cannot stack two OUPV captains on one uninspected boat and carry twelve. The definition is about the vessel, not the number of plastic cards aboard. More than six paying people means an inspected passenger vessel with a Certificate of Inspection and a different endorsement, usually Master. Different business. Different paper.
Count heads every trip. Write the number in the log. It is the cheapest habit you will ever build.
How much sea time do you need for an OUPV six-pack?
46 CFR 11.467 requires 360 days of service for a national OUPV endorsement, with 90 of those days in the three years before you apply. [4] Miss the 90 and the 360 does not save you.
A day is not "I went to the boat." 46 CFR 10.107 defines a day, for service, as 8 hours of watchstanding or day-working, with a 4-hour minimum on vessels that lawfully run a 12-hour working day. [12] A two-hour sunset cruise does not automatically equal a day. Read that twice.
Near-coastal versus inland depends on where those days happened. Near-coastal OUPV, meaning domestic waters not more than 100 miles offshore as 11.467 describes, needs the service mix for that route. Inland-only time tends to produce an inland-only card. Great Lakes time has its own note in the same section. [4] Match the waters on your letters to the waters you want printed.
Document it like an auditor is coming. Owner letters, CG-719S, copies of the registration. 46 CFR 10.232 is the service-evaluation rule set. [5] Time on a boat you own can count if you can prove the boat, the operation, and the hours. Fake logs become a character problem. Some applicants chase a more limited OUPV tied to specific waters. Plan on the national 360-day path unless NMC confirms a limited path against the current text of 11.467.
What exams and courses does the Coast Guard require?
You have to show you know the material. Rules of the road, navigation general, deck general, and the safety topics on the OUPV modules. Or you complete a Coast Guard approved course that covers that endorsement and hands NMC a certificate it will accept. [13]
46 CFR 11.301 is the approved-course framework. The paper is only useful if the school and the course code are approved for OUPV on the day you sit. [13] Ask for the approval number. If the salesperson gets vague, stop paying.
First aid and CPR live in 46 CFR 11.201, not in the navigation exam. You need current completion from an accepted provider, done within one year of the application. [9] An old workplace card will not carry an original filing. Retake it.
I would skip any guaranteed-pass pitch that will not show NMC approval. I would also skip a fancy plotter bought just to take class. Pencil, parallel rules, and the chart the instructor names are enough. If you sit the REC exam, confirm current retake rules with NMC. They change the admin details more often than they change the COLREGS.
How much does a six-pack captain license cost?
Coast Guard user fees for an MMC with an officer endorsement live in 46 CFR 10.219. That table splits evaluation, examination, and issuance. [10] If an approved course waives the exam, you may not owe the examination line. Confirm the dollar amounts on the live table and with NMC before you pay a school that claims to include Coast Guard fees. Schools mark that line up.
TWIC is a TSA fee, not a Coast Guard fee. Check the current TWIC price on the TSA page before you pre-enroll. [6] Clinic prices for a CG-719K, lab prices for a DOT collection, and first aid tuition have no single national sticker. I will not invent one.
Course tuition is the swing item. Community programs can run a few hundred dollars. Career packages climb fast once lodging and extras get taped on. Pay for the approved course and a clean certificate. Do not pay for a leather portfolio.
State tax accounts, charter fishing permits, and dock rules sit outside the MMC. They are also where first-year money actually goes. If the boat will live in Florida, read six-pack captain cost in Florida before you price trips. Operators headed to California, Alaska, or Hawaii should do the same, because harbor rules stack on top of the federal card.
Nobody publishes a trustworthy national all-in number. Federal user fees follow 10.219, TWIC follows TSA, and everything else is local. If a website hands you one figure for the whole country, they made it up.
If you want a paper checklist that mirrors the NMC original-officer stack, OUPVPath sells a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit. The kit does not file anything for you. You still send the package to NMC yourself.
What paperwork do you file with the National Maritime Center?
You file an original merchant mariner credential application. The working form is CG-719B. [14] Attach sea service (CG-719S and letters), the CG-719K physical, chemical-test evidence, first aid and CPR cards, TWIC evidence, the course certificate or exam information, payment for the 10.219 fees, and any conviction paperwork 46 CFR 10.211 requires. 46 CFR 10.209 is the general application procedure. [11]
Use the current edition of every form. Old PDFs bounce. If a physician leaves blood pressure blank, medical will hold the file. That delay is boring and common.
Send the package to whatever address or portal NMC lists on the day you file. Confirm it on the NMC forms pages. Do not trust a blog from 2019. Keep a complete copy of every page. When NMC asks a question, answer with documents.
Do you need a TWIC, a physical, and a drug test?
Yes. All three, for a normal original OUPV.
TWIC comes from TSA. It is a separate credential with its own enrollment and fee. [6] 46 CFR 10.209 ties MMC issuance to TWIC requirements. [11] Start TWIC early. Some enrollment centers back up.
The physical is the CG-719K evaluation, judged against 46 CFR 10.302. [7] Color vision, hearing, blood pressure, medications, and sleep disorders are where files stall. Bring the med list. Do not surprise the physician in minute fifty.
Chemical testing sits in 46 CFR Part 16. Original applicants need a test that meets those rules, usually a DOT collection, or proof of a random program. [8] A cheap non-DOT panel is a frequent waste of money. Ask the collector out loud whether this is a DOT collection for a Coast Guard credential.
None of the three is optional because a school said their certificate covers it. Schools sell classes. NMC issues credentials.
What waters can an OUPV six-pack work?
Only the waters printed on the endorsement. Near-coastal OUPV follows the geographic limits in 46 CFR 11.467, meaning domestic near-coastal waters not more than 100 miles offshore, plus the Great Lakes and inland waters as that section assigns them. Inland OUPV stays inland, with Great Lakes only if you earned them. [4] You do not get a worldwide oceans ticket with a six-pack.
Navigable waters of the United States is a Coast Guard and Corps question, not a feeling. Some lakes are federal. Some are not. If the water is not waters of the United States, a federal OUPV may not be the operator rule that applies. Call the local OCMI and the state boating office. Write both answers down.
Days on a farm pond do not build a near-coastal OUPV. Days on the Chesapeake can. Read your own logs before you pay for a near-coastal course you cannot support with time.
Should you get an OUPV or a Master 25, 50, or 100 ton?
Get the OUPV if the business is six or fewer passengers on an uninspected boat. Get a Master endorsement if you will run an inspected small passenger vessel, or you already have the sea time and you know you need inspected-vessel authority. Master of inspected vessels can also operate uninspected passenger vessels. OUPV cannot run the inspected boat. [3]
Sea time and exam scope grow with Master. So does the chance you study for a Certificate of Inspection operation you will never finance. A 24-foot bay boat does not become a 49-passenger T-boat because you upgraded the card.
Tonnage on a Master endorsement must match or exceed the vessel. OUPV is already limited to uninspected vessels not more than 100 GRT in 11.467. [4] A Master 25-ton card will not cover a 38-ton inspected boat. Match the hull you actually have a signed deal on.
I would not sit Master just in case unless the extra sea time is already in the bag and the exam delta is small for you. Otherwise it is tuition theater.
What can you actually run in the first year?
Charters for six or fewer passengers for hire, on an uninspected boat you may operate, on waters your endorsement names. Fishing trips, sunset runs, skippered days the Coast Guard would still call passenger-for-hire. If you are the hired operator and people paid, treat it as OUPV work.
Insurance will ask for the MMC and usually a vessel condition report. Dockmasters will ask for insurance and the MMC. State fish and wildlife will ask for charter fishing permits if you fish. Those permits are not the captain license. Budget for them. Compare local add-ons on pages like six-pack captain cost in Alabama or six-pack captain cost in Georgia if that is where the boat will live.
You cannot legally exceed six passengers. You cannot ignore lookout duties because the clients are loud. Year one is where people blow up a credential by treating the card like a personality.
Income data is weak. Nobody has good public data on median first-year six-pack revenue. Price after you know local trip rates, realistic weather days, fuel, dockage, and insurance. Not before.
What first-year mistakes waste money?
Buying a bigger boat before the MMC arrives. Paying for a non-approved course. Filing with a stale first aid card. Taking a non-DOT drug screen. Ignoring TWIC lead time. Advertising eight-person family trips on an uninspected hull. Skipping insurance because you know these clients.
The other money pit is national-myth pricing. A path that is cheap in one state is not cheap the same way once you add travel to a course site and harbor fees. Read a state cost page that matches where the boat will live. Connecticut is not Alaska. They share one federal card and almost nothing else.
I would spend money on a survey, a real policy, and a clean NMC package. I would not spend it on gold-braid hats or a company name you will change in six months.
How do you keep the six-pack credential valid?
An MMC is not a lifetime pass in practice. You renew it. You keep medical fitness in the shape NMC requires for officer endorsements. You keep a TWIC if the rules still require it for your credential. Confirm current renewal windows and user fees in 46 CFR 10.219 and the NMC renewal checklist before your expiration month. [10] No one here can guarantee approval or a processing date.
If you later raise grade from OUPV toward Master, save every sea day after issuance. That log is money.
For the paper path in one pile, the OUPVPath $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit is at /start. Use it or ignore it. The statutes above still apply either way. OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Confirm every fee, form edition, and processing note with the National Maritime Center and TSA before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
What is a six-pack captain?
It is the common name for a Coast Guard OUPV endorsement on a merchant mariner credential. That paper lets you operate an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 gross tons with up to six passengers, including at least one passenger for hire, on the waters printed on the card. The nickname is not printed on the MMC.
How do you start as a six-pack captain?
Document 360 days of acceptable sea service, including 90 days in the last three years. Then complete a TWIC, CG-719K physical, DOT chemical test, and accepted first aid and CPR. Take a Coast Guard approved OUPV course or pass the exam. File an original CG-719B package with NMC and pay the 46 CFR 10.219 fees after you confirm current amounts.
Is a six-pack license the same thing as an OUPV?
Yes, in ordinary use. Six-pack is the street name. OUPV is the endorsement the Coast Guard actually issues on an MMC. You apply for Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels, not for a document titled six-pack. Masters of inspected vessels can also run uninspected six-passenger trips. An OUPV cannot run the inspected passenger job.
Do children count toward the six-passenger limit?
Yes. 46 U.S.C. 2101 counts passengers, not adults. A paying child is still a passenger. Infants count. The six-person cap on an uninspected vessel under 100 gross tons does not grow because someone is small. If you need more than six paying people, you need an inspected vessel and a different endorsement.
Do you have to be a U.S. citizen to get an OUPV?
Most national officer endorsements require U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence under 46 CFR 10.221. Confirm your status against that section and with NMC before you pay for a course. Do not take a school's shrug as the citizenship rule. The regulation is the source, and NMC will apply it to your file.
How long does the Coast Guard take to issue an OUPV?
There is no honest fixed number. NMC posts processing notes that change with volume and with how clean your file is. Incomplete medicals and missing TWIC evidence sit. Confirm the current public processing information with NMC when you file. Anyone who sells you a guaranteed issue date is guessing or advertising.
Can recreational boat time count toward the 360 days?
It can, if you can prove the vessel, the waters, the hours, and that you were operating, under 46 CFR 10.232 and the day definition in 10.107. CG-719S is the usual small-vessel form. Two-hour joyrides rarely equal days. Time you cannot document is time NMC will not credit. Keep registrations and owner contacts.
Do you need STCW for a six-pack OUPV?
A national OUPV endorsement is not itself an STCW endorsement. Most six-pack operators on domestic uninspected boats under 100 GRT do not need a full STCW suite for that card. If your route, vessel, or employer later triggers STCW, that is a separate training stack. Confirm with NMC against your actual route, not a course brochure.
What happens if you take a seventh paying passenger?
You are no longer inside the uninspected six-passenger definition in 46 U.S.C. 2101. That is illegal operation of the vessel as you found it, and it can become a credential problem. Do not invent a seventh slot with two captains or a "crew" label on a paying friend. Stay at six or move to an inspected vessel and the right endorsement.
Can you work in another state with the same MMC?
The federal OUPV travels with you on waters your endorsement names. State business licenses, sales tax, fishing charter permits, and dock rules do not travel automatically. You still need the local paper for the local business. The MMC is necessary on Coast Guard waters. It is not a substitute for a state charter permit.
Do you need a random drug consortium after you are licensed?
46 CFR Part 16 puts chemical-testing duties on marine employers, including many self-employed operators who employ crewmembers. Original issuance already needs a qualifying test. Whether you must join a random pool after that depends on your employer role and the current Part 16 text. Confirm with a marine consortium and NMC rather than a dock rumor.
Is an OUPV enough to run a bareboat fleet?
A true bareboat (demise) charter is a vessel hire without a hired operator. If you supply the captain, it is not bareboat. It is passenger-for-hire work and the OUPV rules apply. If you only rent boats with no crew, the operator license is the wrong tool. Get counsel on the charter contract before you advertise either model.
What form do you use for small-vessel sea service?
CG-719S is the Coast Guard small vessel sea service form. Pair it with owner letters, registrations, and enough detail that an evaluator can see vessel, tonnage, waters, and days. CG-719B is the MMC application. CG-719K is the physical. Using last year's PDF edition is a common way to bounce a clean-looking package.
Can you run six-pack trips if the medical is deferred?
No. You need a credential NMC has actually issued, and officer endorsements rest on medical fitness under 46 CFR 10.302. A held or deferred physical is not a license. Do not take paying passengers while the file sits. Fix the medical comments, resubmit what they asked for, and wait for the MMC.
Sources
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 2101 (definitions, uninspected passenger vessel): An uninspected passenger vessel of less than 100 gross tons carries not more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire.
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 8902 (uninspected passenger vessels): An uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary for that type of vessel and geographic area.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 15.605 (credentialed operators for uninspected passenger vessels): Uninspected passenger vessels must be operated under a Coast Guard OUPV or qualifying master/mate endorsement.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.467 (OUPV endorsement requirements): A national OUPV endorsement requires 360 days of service, including 90 days in the 3 years before application, and sets route limits and the 100 GRT uninspected-vessel scope.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.232 (sea service): Sea service submitted for an MMC must be documented in the form the Coast Guard can evaluate.
- TSA Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program page: TWIC is issued by TSA as a separate credential with its own enrollment process and fee set by TSA.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.302 (medical and physical requirements): Officer endorsement applicants must meet Coast Guard medical and physical standards, documented on the merchant mariner medical form.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 16.201 (chemical testing of maritime personnel): Marine chemical testing for dangerous drugs is governed by 46 CFR Part 16, not by a generic clinic panel.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.201 (general officer endorsement eligibility, including age and first aid): An original OUPV applicant must be at least 18 and must present accepted first aid and CPR completion within the regulatory window.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.219 (merchant mariner credential user fees): USCG charges separate evaluation, examination, and issuance user fees for an MMC with an officer endorsement; confirm live table amounts with NMC.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.209 (general application procedures): Original MMC applications must follow Coast Guard application procedures, including TWIC-related evidence and supporting documents.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.107 (definition of day for service): A service day is generally 8 hours of watchstanding or day-working, or a 4-hour minimum on vessels authorized for a 12-hour working day.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.301 (approved courses and national endorsements): A Coast Guard approved course may satisfy professional-knowledge requirements for a national officer endorsement such as OUPV.
- USCG National Maritime Center form CG-719B (Application for Merchant Mariner Credential): Original MMC applications are filed on form CG-719B with the supporting sea service, medical, and identity documents NMC lists.