What a six-pack captain is and how you actually start

Last updated 2026-08-21

What is a six-pack captain?

A six-pack captain is a person who holds a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential endorsed as Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels, or OUPV. That ticket lets you take paying passengers on an uninspected boat under 100 gross register tons, with a hard cap of 6 passengers.

That's the job. People say six-pack because federal law stops an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 GRT at 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire ^[1]. USCG rules set the six-pack cap at 6 passengers on uninspected vessels under 100 GRT (46 U.S.C. 2101). Hit 7 paying guests and you have left that world. You then need an inspected passenger vessel and a different officer endorsement.

46 U.S.C. 8902 is blunt. It says, "An uninspected passenger vessel shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, under prescribed regulations." ^[2] A state boating card does not satisfy that. A fishing license does not. Twenty years on family boats does not, until the National Maritime Center puts the endorsement on an MMC.

The boat stays uninspected only if you stay inside that passenger count and the vessel is not required to be inspected for some other reason. Crew who are working are not passengers. Friends who split fuel can still look like passengers-for-hire if money is why they are on board. When a boarding officer asks who paid, you want a clean answer.

I would not advertise private cruises for 8 on an OUPV ticket. That is how people lose paper and pick up a civil case. The statute is the cap, not your insurance agent and not the marina Facebook group.

OUPV is a national officer endorsement. It is not STCW. It is the entry officer ticket most small-charter skippers actually need. Master 25, 50, or 100 ton is a different ladder with more sea time and a harder exam. Climb that later if you already know you will outgrow 6 pax. For a first year of inshore fishing trips or harbor runs, six-pack is the paper that matches the boat.

How do you start as a six-pack captain?

You start by proving sea time, then stacking a TWIC, a medical certificate, a chemical test, first aid and CPR, and either an approved OUPV course or a Coast Guard exam. After that you file the CG-719 pack with the National Maritime Center. You do not start by buying a boat.

Write down every day you have already spent operating vessels. 46 CFR 11.467 wants 360 days for a standard inland, Great Lakes, or near-coastal OUPV ^[3]. A limited local-area ticket can go through on 90 days. If you do not have the days, get them before you spend money on a school. A classroom will not invent sea time.

Keep a running log while you build days. Vessel name, official or state number, gross tons, waters, your job title, dates, and who can sign. Owners vanish. Your memory of that July will not survive an evaluator. If you already work as deck crew, ask the captain for signed letters as you go, not three years later.

Next, apply for a TWIC with TSA. NMC will not print a normal original officer MMC without it ^[5][9]. Book a medical exam with a clinician who will complete the CG-719K (or the medical form NMC lists this year). Confirm that form on the NMC medical certificate page before you sit down ^[10][11].

Get a DOT collection that 46 CFR Part 16 will accept, or join a random consortium and have them issue the letter NMC wants ^[8]. Take first aid and CPR that meet 46 CFR 11.201 ^[6]. Then either finish a USCG-approved OUPV course or sit the NMC exam.

Fill CG-719B and CG-719S. Pay the user fees listed in 46 CFR 10.219. Confirm the dollar amounts on the live NMC fee page the week you file ^[7][13]. Those numbers change. Do not ask me for a processing clock. NMC posts its own workload notes. Any school that sells a guaranteed issue date is selling smoke.

If you want a paper checklist in one place, OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit at /start. Use it or skip it. The CFR still controls.

What can you legally carry on an OUPV ticket?

On an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 GRT, you can carry no more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire ^[1]. That is the six-pack. Working crew can be extra. Paying guests cannot.

46 CFR 15.605 requires that vessel to be operated by someone holding the OUPV endorsement, or a higher officer endorsement that covers the same work ^[4]. If you hold Master, you can still run a six-pack boat. If you only hold OUPV, you cannot step onto an inspected small passenger vessel just because the dock is full.

Near-coastal OUPV is also limited in distance. Read your MMC. Typical near-coastal OUPV language limits you to not more than 100 miles offshore on vessels under 100 GRT ^[3]. Inland means inland. Great Lakes means Great Lakes. Do not freelance a route you did not earn.

Passengers-for-hire include people who paid and people whose employer paid. A lot of mates-rates deals still look like hire if a boarding officer asks. If money changed hands so they could be on the water, count them.

You also do not get a free pass on safety gear. Uninspected does not mean unequipped. Carriage rules still sit in the uninspected-vessel and nav-safety parts of the CFR. That is a different fight than the license itself.

For route arguments people recycle online, see six-pack captain guide 11.

How much sea time does USCG want?

For a standard OUPV endorsement on inland waters, the Great Lakes, or near-coastal waters, 46 CFR 11.467 requires at least 360 days of service in the operation of vessels ^[3]. An original near-coastal or inland OUPV endorsement needs 360 days of vessel service under 46 CFR 11.467.

Near-coastal adds a saltwater cut. At least 90 of those 360 days must be on ocean or near-coastal waters ^[3]. Inland time alone will not buy you a near-coastal route.

A limited OUPV, tied to a specific local body of water, can be issued on 90 days of service ^[3]. A limited local-area OUPV endorsement needs 90 days of service under 46 CFR 11.467. That shorter bar is real. So is the cage. Leave the named water and you are not endorsed.

What counts as a day? NMC credits a day of service when you spend a calendar day in operations that meet their sea service rules. You cannot stack three short trips in one calendar day into three days. Dockside make-ready is usually not operating time. Be honest on CG-719S. False sea service is a criminal problem, not a paperwork oops.

I would keep a log now even if you are 200 days short. Date, vessel, tons, waters, job, hours, owner's contact. When you later ask that owner to sign, you will not remember the second Tuesday in July.

Nobody has good public data on how often NMC kicks sea service letters back. The closest thing you have is the rejection language NMC puts in its own evaluation notes. Read those before you write a letter that says he helped around the boat.

More service-path comparison sits in six-pack captain guide 23.

What papers go in an original OUPV packet?

NMC wants an original officer pack, not a vibe. Plan on CG-719B, CG-719S or equivalent sea service letters, identity and lawful-status proof, TWIC, the medical form NMC currently specifies, a Part 16 drug result or consortium letter, first aid and CPR cards, a course certificate or exam evidence, and user-fee payment ^{[6][7][8][11]}.

Confirm the live checklist on NMC before you ship. Forms get revised. I will not quote an edition date here because the wrong year is worse than no year.

Sea service letters should name the vessel, official number or state number, gross tons, route, your position, dates, and days. The owner, operator, or master should sign. You signing your own time is a last resort and NMC treats it that way.

Photos, citizenship or permanent-residence proof, and any name-change docs belong in the same upload. Half-files sit. If you already hold some other MMC endorsement, the pack shrinks. If this is your first credential, it does not.

Print a copy of everything you send. When an evaluator asks for one missing signature, you want to answer that day, not after a storage-unit dig.

Do you need a TWIC and a drug test?

Yes on both for a normal original OUPV. TSA issues the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. Apply at a TWIC enrollment center. Fees and appointment rules live on TSA's TWIC page. Confirm them there the week you book ^[9].

Do not mail NMC a blurry phone photo of a TWIC receipt and hope. Names on the TWIC, the medical form, and CG-719B must match.

Chemical testing sits in 46 CFR Part 16. For an original credential NMC expects a test those rules will accept, usually a DOT collection under 49 CFR Part 40, or proof you are in a random program ^[8]. A clinic work-physical cup is not the same thing. Ask the collector out loud: is this a DOT collection for a USCG merchant mariner credential?

Positive tests and refusals have real consequences under Part 16. If that is your situation, stop reading blogs and talk to counsel who actually does merchant-mariner cases. I will not walk anyone through beating a test.

Inland, Great Lakes, or near-coastal: which route?

Pick the waters you will actually work in year one. Inland matches rivers, bays, and lakes the MMC treats as inland, and it does not need the 90 ocean or near-coastal days. Great Lakes is its own box. Near-coastal is the coast ticket, generally out to the distance printed on the credential, commonly not more than 100 miles offshore for OUPV ^[3].

I would not spend a season chasing near-coastal if every trip you have booked is on a reservoir. You can raise the route later when you have the 90 ocean or near-coastal days.

Limited local OUPV is tempting because of the 90-day bar. It is also a cage. The endorsement names a body of water. Fine for a person who will only ever run one lake. A waste if you might move.

Route	Minimum days	Extra cut	Fits
Limited local	90	Named water only	One lake or harbor
Inland	360	Inland waters	Rivers, bays, many lakes
Great Lakes	360	Great Lakes	Lakes work
Near-coastal	360	90 days ocean or NC	Coast charters

Read six-pack captain guide 35 if you are stuck between inland and near-coastal.

How old do you have to be, and do you need to be a citizen?

You must be at least 18 for OUPV under 46 CFR 11.467 ^[3]. That is not negotiable. If you are 17, log days and wait.

Most national officer endorsements require U.S. citizenship. OUPV is the exception. 46 CFR 10.221 lets the Coast Guard issue an OUPV to an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence ^[5]. A tourist visa is not that. A non-immigrant work visa is not that. If you are not a citizen and not a permanent resident, this ticket is not your path.

Bring the permanent-residence document to TWIC enrollment and keep a copy for NMC. Names must match across TWIC, medical, and CG-719B. If your name changed, include the court or official-records paper. Evaluators do not guess.

What medical and first aid proof does NMC accept?

You need a medical certificate. 46 CFR 10.302 sets medical and physical requirements for that certificate ^[10]. A physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner completes the Coast Guard form. NMC, not your doctor, decides if you get the certificate ^[11].

Glasses are fine if you meet the vision standard with them. Some conditions need a waiver. Waivers take longer. If you have a condition, file complete records the first time. Incomplete medical files are a common stall. Confirm the current form number on the NMC medical certificate page the week of the exam ^[11].

First aid and CPR come from 46 CFR 11.201. The course has to meet that section, and it has to be recent enough for NMC. The usual reading is completion within one year of application ^[6]. Confirm the current acceptance window on NMC's officer pages before you use a two-year-old card.

A weekend classroom course can work if it meets the CFR. A 20-minute click-through will not. Keep the card.

Course or Coast Guard exam: which should you pick?

Both paths can get you the same endorsement. An approved course substitutes for the NMC exam if the school is actually on the Coast Guard approved list and you pass their tests. Sitting the government exam costs less cash and more terror.

I would take an approved course if I had a job waiting and I learn better with an instructor. I would sit the exam if I already know Rules of the Road cold and I do not want a school calendar. Either way you still need sea time, TWIC, medical, drugs, and first aid. The course does not waive those.

Schools love to bundle license in a week. That is only the classroom week. Your 360 days are not in that week.

Look up the school on the official approved-course list, not on an ad. If it is not approved, you will sit the exam anyway. More of that comparison is in six-pack captain guide 47.

What does a six-pack captain license actually cost?

I will not invent a total. User fees for evaluation, examination, and issuance are in Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.219 ^[7]. NMC also posts a fee page you should open the week you pay ^[13]. Those are the federal credential fees only. Confirm every dollar with NMC. Do not trust a blog screenshot.

On top of that you will pay TSA for TWIC ^[9], a clinic for the DOT collection, a medical exam, first aid and CPR, and either a school or travel to an exam site. Sea time, if you still need it, can be the real cost. Unpaid deck days add up. So does a low-pay job you take only to build the log.

Anyone quoting one number that covers everything, guaranteed, this month is not reading the same CFR you are. Confirm every fee with the agency that charges it.

OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. We do not file your MMC and we do not control NMC's queue.

How long does the credential last and what happens after year one?

46 U.S.C. 7106 says, "A license issued under this part is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods." ^[12] Your MMC will show issue and expiration dates. Work is not legal on an expired officer endorsement.

Year one is operations, not more school. Get into a written drug consortium if you will operate through the year. Keep a sea service log so renewal is not a scavenger hunt. Renewal has its own sea service or other recency options. Read those when you are in year four.

Do not skip medical certificate renewals. The medical certificate often expires on a shorter clock than the MMC. Boarding officers look at both.

Insurance, state tax IDs, and local dock permits are not USCG paper. They still shut you down if you ignore them. I would budget more headache for marina access than for the MMC reprint.

If you outgrow 6 passengers, you are looking at inspected vessels and usually a Master endorsement. That is a new sea service and exam problem. See six-pack captain guide 59.

What is a waste of money when you start?

A new center-console before you have the MMC. Embossed cards that say Captain while NMC still has your file. A pricey business-in-a-box from someone who has never read 46 CFR 11.467. Radar observer if you are only running a 24-foot skiff on a lake with no radar. STCW basic training for a pure six-pack inland job. You can add those later if the work demands them.

Also a waste: paying a packing service to retype forms you can fill yourself. The evaluation still happens at NMC.

Spend on a decent log method, a real DOT collection, a clinician who has seen a CG-719K, and an approved course if you need structure. That is enough.

Assistance towing is a separate endorsement under 46 CFR 11.482 if you will tow disabled boats for hire ^[14]. Do not assume OUPV includes it. It does not.

If you want a side-by-side of add-on endorsements, six-pack captain guide 71 is the next read.

Frequently asked questions

What is six-pack captain?

A six-pack captain holds a USCG OUPV endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential. You may operate an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 GRT with no more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 2101. It is a national officer ticket, not a state card and not STCW.

How do you start six-pack captain?

Log qualifying sea days first. Then get a TWIC, a medical certificate, an accepted drug test, and first aid/CPR. Pass a USCG-approved OUPV course or the NMC exam. File CG-719B, CG-719S, and the rest of the original officer pack. Confirm fees on the NMC fee page. Nobody can honestly lock an issue date for you.

Is six-pack the same as OUPV?

Yes. Six-pack is the street name. OUPV is the endorsement printed on the MMC. The nickname comes from the 6-passenger cap on uninspected vessels under 100 GRT in 46 U.S.C. 2101. If someone sells you a six-pack certificate that is not a Coast Guard MMC, it is not the federal ticket.

Can a six-pack captain take 7 people if two are crew?

Only if those two are actually crew, not paying guests wearing crew shirts. The cap is 6 passengers, not 6 humans total. Fake crew is a common boarding-officer story and a bad one. If they paid to be there, they count. Stay at 6 passengers. Read 46 U.S.C. 2101 before you invent a seventh seat.

How many days of sea time for inland OUPV?

A standard inland OUPV needs 360 days of vessel service under 46 CFR 11.467. A limited local-area OUPV can be issued on 90 days. Near-coastal also needs 360 days, with 90 of those on ocean or near-coastal waters. Confirm your route on the live CFR and your MMC before you count.

Can a green card holder get an OUPV?

Yes, if you are an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 46 CFR 10.221 treats OUPV as the officer endorsement that does not require U.S. citizenship. You still need a TWIC, medical certificate, sea time, and the rest of the pack. A non-immigrant visa is not permanent residence. Names must match across every document.

Do you need STCW for a six-pack?

No. OUPV is a national endorsement. STCW basic training is not the original six-pack requirement. If you later move onto vessels or routes that demand STCW, that is a new training problem. Do not buy an STCW week for an inland skiff. It will not speed NMC's evaluation of your OUPV.

Is a state boat license enough to charge passengers?

No. 46 U.S.C. 8902 requires an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate an uninspected passenger vessel. A state registration or state operator card does not replace the MMC. State rules can add more limits. They cannot subtract the federal license when you carry a passenger-for-hire on a vessel that statute covers.

Can you run a bareboat charter without OUPV?

A true bareboat (demise) charter can put the vessel under the charterer's control so you are not the operator for hire. Investigators look at who really commands the boat, who provides the crew, and who can be fired. If you are still the captain, you need the ticket. Fake bareboat paper is a known enforcement target.

What form is the sea service letter?

Most small-boat applicants use CG-719S, Small Vessel Sea Service Form. A signed letter can work if it carries the same facts: vessel, ID number, tons, waters, your job, dates, and days. The owner, operator, or master should sign. Confirm the current form on NMC's site before you mail a stale edition.

Does OUPV let you run a documented inspected passenger boat?

No. OUPV matches uninspected passenger vessels under the 6-pax, under-100-GRT rules. Inspected small passenger vessels need the officer endorsement that vessel's certificate of inspection calls for, usually Master. Holding OUPV does not let you ignore a COI. Read the COI if the boat has one.

Do you need radar observer for OUPV?

Not for a basic OUPV. Radar observer is a separate qualification. If your vessel has radar and the route or company demands it, get it then. Buying radar observer on day one for a lake skiff with no radar is a waste. Confirm extras on your actual boat and MMC, not on a school upsell sheet.

How often do you renew the MMC?

46 U.S.C. 7106 sets a 5-year license period, renewable for more 5-year periods. Your medical certificate often expires sooner than the MMC. Track both dates. Renewal sea service rules are separate from original 360-day rules. Open the current NMC renewal checklist in year four. Do not run passengers on an expired officer endorsement.

Sources

1. U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 46 U.S.C. § 2101: An uninspected passenger vessel of less than 100 gross tons is limited to not more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger-for-hire.
2. U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 46 U.S.C. § 8902: An uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel.
3. eCFR, 46 CFR § 11.467: OUPV applicants must be at least 18 and show 360 days of service (90 days for limited local), with 90 of 360 on ocean or near-coastal waters for a near-coastal route.
4. eCFR, 46 CFR § 15.605: Uninspected passenger vessels covered by the rule must be operated by a Coast Guard-credentialed OUPV (or qualifying officer).
5. eCFR, 46 CFR § 10.221: OUPV may be issued to an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence, unlike most officer endorsements that require citizenship.
6. eCFR, 46 CFR § 11.201: Original officer applicants must present accepted first-aid and CPR training meeting this section's rules.
7. eCFR, 46 CFR § 10.219: Coast Guard merchant mariner user fees for evaluation, examination, and issuance are set in the tables to this section.
8. eCFR, 46 CFR § 16.210: Pre-employment chemical testing rules in Part 16 apply to mariners seeking original credentials unless another accepted testing path applies.
9. Transportation Security Administration, TWIC program page: TSA issues the Transportation Worker Identification Credential and publishes current enrollment and fee rules for applicants.
10. eCFR, 46 CFR § 10.302: Medical and physical requirements for a merchant mariner medical certificate are set in this section.
11. U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Medical Certificate: NMC processes medical certificate applications and posts the current medical forms and instructions mariners must use.
12. U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 46 U.S.C. § 7106: A license issued under that part is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods.
13. U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, User Fees: NMC publishes the live merchant mariner credential user-fee amounts applicants should confirm before paying.
14. eCFR, 46 CFR § 11.482: Assistance towing is a separate endorsement and is not automatic with OUPV.