Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
Alaska has no state captain card. To carry paying passengers you need a federal USCG OUPV endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential. Budget 360 days of sea time, then a medical certificate, TWIC, a drug test, and current first aid. Add an Alaska business license. Fishing charters need ADF&G guide paper. Confirm live NMC fees. Nobody can promise a processing date.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Alaska?
Yes. Carry passengers for hire on a self-propelled boat in Alaska and you need a federal Coast Guard license. Alaska prints no six-pack card of its own. The paper you actually hold is a Merchant Mariner Credential with an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels endorsement.
46 U.S.C. 8903 is blunt. "A self-propelled, uninspected passenger vessel shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, under prescribed regulations." [1] That sentence is the whole federal hook. No MMC, no paid passengers. Free hops with friends are a different fact pattern. The moment someone pays, trades a guided trip, or you advertise a charter, you are inside 8903.
People still repeat a state-license myth. Skip it. Alaska adds business paper, plus fish-and-game paper if paying clients wet a line. Those sit on top of the federal card. They do not replace it. If you want the credential itself pulled apart from the business stack, read six-pack captain license in Alaska.
Carry seven or more passengers and you leave six-pack land. That vessel generally has to be inspected as a small passenger vessel, and you need a Master endorsement, not OUPV. Do not try to count two people as "crew" so you can sell seven seats. The Coast Guard has seen that one.
Bareboat charter is the other line people blur. If you truly demise the boat and you are not the operator, that is a different legal product. Still at the helm, still briefing guests, still picking the route? You are operating. Call it a bareboat on the website if you want. The boarding officer watches what you actually do.
What Coast Guard card do you actually need in Alaska?
You need an MMC with an OUPV endorsement for vessels of less than 100 gross register tons. That is the six-pack. It lets you operate an uninspected passenger vessel carrying no more than six passengers. The six-person cap lives in the statute definition of an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 GRT, 46 U.S.C. 2101. [2]
Get Near Coastal, not Inland, unless you are certain you will never leave inland waters. OUPV Near Coastal is limited to not more than 100 miles offshore. [3] Most paying Alaska work fits Near Coastal: glacier day trips, outer-coast fishing, Prince William Sound crossings. Inland is cheaper only if you never touch the missing waters. I would not start there.
You do not need a Master 25-ton or 50-ton card to run a true six-pack. Master is the path if the boat will be inspected and you will carry more than six. Plenty of new operators buy the bigger course because a school upsold them. If your business plan is six rods and a skiff, OUPV is the endorsement that matches the boat.
The age floor is 18 for an original officer endorsement under 46 CFR 11.201. [4] U.S. citizens can hold officer endorsements generally. A lawful permanent resident can hold OUPV. That exception is written into 46 CFR 10.221. [5] If you are not a citizen and not a permanent resident, stop and read 10.221 before you pay for a class.
Assistance towing is optional. Radar Observer is a separate course if the vessel has radar and your route or insurer cares. STCW basic training is usually a waste for a domestic Alaska day charter on an uninspected six-pack. Do not let a catalog talk you into STCW in year one unless you already know you will crew inspected or foreign-going tonnage.
How much sea time do you need for an Alaska six-pack?
46 CFR 11.467 requires 360 days of service on vessels for an original OUPV endorsement. [3] A day of service, in Coast Guard practice, is a calendar day of at least four hours underway or as otherwise allowed on the small-vessel form. You cannot compress 360 days into a busy summer by counting hours. You count days.
You also need recency. 46 CFR 11.201 requires at least 90 days of service on vessels in the three years before you apply for an original officer endorsement. [4] Old Navy time from 2009 does not carry an application by itself. You still have to show recent time.
Near Coastal needs ocean or near-coastal time in the mix. Read the current text of 11.467 for the exact split before you mail anything. If all 360 days are on a lake with no outlet, do not expect a Near Coastal stamp. Alaska salt time counts. Time on your own skiff can count if you document it on the Small Vessel Sea Service form (CG-719S) and you can defend the dates.
This is where files die. People write "fished the Kenai, summers 2018-2024" and call it a log. NMC wants vessel name or official number, gross tonnage or length, propulsion, waters, and days. If a friend is signing your letters, they need the authority to do that. Lying on sea service is a credential-ending move. I would rather wait a season and keep honest numbers.
Military sea time can transfer. So can towing, fish tender, and water-taxi time. Recreational days can transfer if the form is complete. Nobody has a public dataset on Alaska denial rates for sloppy CG-719S packets. The closest honest statement is NMC's own checklists: if the service block is thin, evaluation stops.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Alaska?
The only federal user fees fixed in regulation live in 46 CFR 10.219. Evaluation of an officer endorsement is $100. The exam fee is $45. Issuance of the MMC is $45. [6] Finish a Coast Guard approved course and you often skip the REC exam, so you may not pay the $45 exam line. Confirm what NMC will bill on the live user-fee page before you write a check. [7]
Everything else is market price or another agency's schedule. I will not invent a TWIC number, a clinic number, or an ADF&G number. TSA sets TWIC. Your designated medical examiner sets the physical. A SAMHSA lab sets the drug screen. Alaska DCCED sets the business license. ADF&G sets guide fees. Confirm each one on that agency's fee page the week you pay.
A realistic first-year cash stack, not counting the boat, looks like this.
| Line | What it is | How to price it |
|---|---|---|
| approved OUPV course | 5 to 10 classroom days, or a longer online-plus-exam path | school quote, often the largest check |
| TWIC | TSA transportation worker card | confirm on the TWIC program page [8] |
| CG-719K medical | Merchant mariner physical | clinic quote |
| drug test | DOT/USCG panel, then a consortium if you sail commercially | lab plus consortium dues |
| first aid and CPR | must be recent under 46 CFR 11.201 [4] | Red Cross or equivalent |
| USCG user fees | evaluation, exam if needed, issuance | 46 CFR 10.219 [6] |
| Alaska business license | required to engage in business in the state | confirm DCCED [9] [10] |
| ADF&G guide paper | only if you take people fishing | confirm ADF&G [11] |
| insurance | P&I and hull, not a state license | broker quote |
Do not budget a "startup package" from a Facebook admiral. Course plus physical plus TWIC plus federal fees is the real core. The boat payment is what breaks people, not the license.
Want the federal forms mapped in one place? OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit at /start. You do not need it to finish this path. This page stands alone.
How long does six-pack captain take in Alaska?
Sea time is the long pole. 360 days is a year of working every single day, which almost nobody does. Most people build it across several Alaska summers, or they already have it from fishing, towing, or the service. Starting from zero weekends on the water? Talk in years, not weeks.
The class is short. An approved OUPV course runs one to two weeks if you sit in a room. Online-plus-proctored-exam paths run longer on the calendar because you study at night. First aid, the physical, the drug test, and TWIC enrollment are appointment problems. TWIC wait time moves. Confirm it with TSA, not with a forum post from 2019. [8]
NMC evaluation time moves too. I will not quote a week count. The National Maritime Center publishes current processing information on its apply and status pages. Read those the week you submit. [12] Anyone who sells you a guaranteed Coast Guard date is selling smoke.
A clean file still has mail time, medical review if the examiner ticks a box, and possible requests for more sea service. Build slack. Do not take paid bookings the week you think the card should arrive. You cannot legally operate for hire until the MMC is in your hand with the right endorsement, and the medical certificate is valid.
Alaska's season makes the calendar meaner. Miss a March application window and you can burn a whole summer. Start the physical and TWIC while the course is still running. Mail sea service that you can defend. Then wait without advertising six-pack trips.
Where do you apply and take the exam in Alaska?
Applications go to the National Maritime Center, not to Juneau and not to a state board. Follow the live instructions on the NMC apply page. [12] That means the current CG-719B application package, or the electronic process NMC is running the week you apply. Print a new form. Do not recycle a 2016 PDF you found in a drawer.
If you need a Coast Guard exam instead of an approved course completion certificate, Alaska's Regional Exam Center is listed on the NMC REC page. Anchorage is the Alaska REC. [13] Hours, appointment rules, and what they will schedule change. Call the REC using the number NMC publishes. Do not show up cold with a backpack full of pubs.
Most new six-pack applicants skip the REC exam and take an approved course. That is what I would do if I had to start now. You pay more to the school. You trade that for a structured week and a course completion certificate NMC already knows how to read. Sit for the REC exam only if you already study well alone and you want to keep the $45 exam fee instead of a tuition bill.
Medical certificates are their own track. Use a physician who will complete CG-719K the way NMC wants, then send it as NMC directs. [14] A sports-physical scribble on a pad is not a medical certificate. If you take medication that NMC flags, budget extra review time. Nobody can honestly pre-clear your health file in a blog comment.
What Alaska state paper sits on top of the Coast Guard card?
Once you take money in Alaska, you need a state business license. AS 43.70.020 requires a person engaging in a business in the state to apply, pay the fee, and obtain a valid license. [9] The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development runs the program. Confirm the current one-year and two-year fee on the department's business license FAQ before you pay. [10]
That license is not a captain license. It does not let you carry passengers. It lets you engage in business. Cities pile on. Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka, and others run local business licenses or sales taxes. Confirm with the borough or city where you actually book and board guests. A statewide DCCED license does not cover a municipal tax account.
Get an EIN from the IRS if you will hire anyone or you want a bank account that is not your Social Security number. The boat itself needs a number. Motorboats that are not federally documented generally register with Alaska DMV. Documented vessels follow National Vessel Documentation Center rules instead. [15]
That is the non-fishing stack: MMC, medical certificate, TWIC, drug program, Alaska business license, local paper if any, vessel number. People love to form an LLC first and skip sea time. Reverse that. The Coast Guard does not care about your operating agreement if you have 40 undocumented days and a pretty logo.
Do fishing charters need extra ADF&G licenses?
Yes, if clients fish. ADF&G runs sport fishing guide and sport fishing operator licensing as its own program. The department's professional license pages are the source, not a dock rumor. [11] Freshwater and saltwater are not the same product. Saltwater charter businesses also live under logbook and reporting rules that freshwater bank guides do not.
AS 16.40.260 and the sections next to it are the statute hook for sport fishing services. [16] Do not quote a fee from memory. ADF&G changes tags, vendor fees, and guide fees. Pull the current season's license page the week you apply. Take people fishing without that paper and you have a fish-and-game problem on top of a Coast Guard problem.
A commercial fishing limited entry permit is a different animal. Six-pack sport charter is not a salmon seine. Do not buy a commercial crew license and tell yourself that covers guided sport fish. It does not. If your plan is to sell sockeye out of the cooler, stop and talk to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission and ADF&G commercial staff. That is not this path.
Logbooks are not optional decoration on saltwater. If ADF&G issues you a charter logbook, fill it the day of the trip. I have watched operators treat the book like a winter project. That is how you buy an audit. Clients still need their own sport fishing licenses and king stamps when those apply. You can sell licenses as a vendor. You cannot fish on theirs.
What boat and safety gear rules apply to a six-pack in Alaska?
The boat stays uninspected if you stay at six passengers and you fit the UPV definition. Uninspected does not mean unregulated. 46 CFR Part 25 sets fire, lifesaving, and related gear rules for uninspected vessels. [17] PFDs, fire extinguishers, visual distress signals, and a sound-producing device are the boring list everyone skips until a boarding.
Alaska water writes its own argument. Cold kills faster than a missing whistle. The federal minimum PFD rule will not keep a client alive in 45 degree water if you put them in a vest and call it good. I would carry immersion suits or float coats that match the trip, and I would drill a fall-overboard once before the first paid day. That is my money. It is not a statute I can pin to a section for every six-pack route.
Document the vessel if it qualifies and you care about mortgage, coastwise, or moving between states. Otherwise register it with Alaska DMV. [15] Either way, the name, hailing port, and numbers have to match what you put on sea service and insurance. Mismatched names are how boarding officers start writing.
Carriage of more than six paying passengers turns the boat into an inspected small passenger vessel problem. Do not "just take eight" on a calm day. The six-person cap is the product. If demand is eight, you are shopping Subchapter T and a Master endorsement, which is a different business. Compare that later path with how to start six-pack captain in California to see how another long-coast state still sits on the same federal card.
Should you form an LLC or just get a business license?
Get the federal credential and the Alaska business license first. An LLC is optional wrapping. AS 43.70 still wants the business license whether you are a sole proprietor or a company. [9] The Coast Guard licenses the operator, not the LLC. Your MMC is personal. The company cannot hold your OUPV for you.
I would form an LLC once money is real and an insurance broker or a landowner asks for a certificate with an entity name. I would not pay a formation mill in January if I still need 200 sea days. People burn $800 on a binder of operating agreements and then fail the physical. That is a bad order of operations.
Insurance is the adult purchase. Alaska does not hand you a state charter-insurance card that I can cite as mandatory. Marinas, Forest Service permits, and landowners will. A P&I policy that names passenger-for-hire use is the policy you want. A recreational boat policy with a quiet exclusion for charter is waste. Read the exclusion page. If the broker cannot say "passengers for hire" out loud, keep shopping.
Hiring a deckhand flips a switch. Workers' compensation, I-9, and a drug program that covers more than just you all show up. A random unpaid friend who "helps with lines" looks like crew when someone gets hurt. If they are crew, budget for them. If they are not, do not put them in a position that only crew should fill.
What do first-year six-pack operations look like in Alaska?
Year one is a short season, weather cancellations, and more time on the phone than on the water. That is normal. Southeast and Southcentral both have shoulder months that look pretty on Instagram and still blow 30. I would rather refund a day than put six strangers on a beam sea to protect a review.
Keep the product small. Six-hour fishing or a fixed sightseeing loop beats a custom "we'll go wherever you want" menu. Custom trips wreck your fuel math and your weather window. Charge a trip price, not a per-fish fantasy. You cannot legally promise kings.
Paper you will actually use: MMC and medical certificate on board, vessel registration or document, business license, ADF&G guide card and logbook if you fish, insurance binder, drug consortium proof, and a simple passenger count. Take a head count before you leave the dock. Six means six.
Marketing is not the hard part. Getting home with the same number of people you left with is the hard part. A $200 website is plenty. A $4,000 brand film is a waste in year one. Put the cancellation policy in writing. Alaska weather will test it.
Want the same federal path in a lower-48 coastal state later? The MMC travels. The state wrapper does not. That is why a California start looks different on tax and harbor paper even though the six-pack card is the same. See six-pack captain license in California when you compare, or how to start six-pack captain in Connecticut for a smaller-water contrast. Gulf operators can start at how to start six-pack captain in Alabama.
What is a waste of money when you start in Alaska?
Do not buy a 32-foot cabin boat to look professional if a well-found 22-foot skiff matches the six-pack product. The bigger hull costs fuel, moorage, and insurance every month the license sits in a drawer. Match the boat to six people and the waters you actually know.
Do not pay anyone who claims they can rush NMC. Evaluation is the Coast Guard's. A consultant who fills forms honestly can save you a rejection. A consultant who sells a date is a drain. I would spend that cash on a complete sea service package and a medical examiner who has done CG-719K before.
Skip STCW basic training, a 100-ton Master course, and radar observer unless a concrete job or vessel requires them this season. Schools bundle those because the package margin is better. You can add endorsements later. You cannot unspend tuition.
A second waste is advertising charters before the MMC arrives. Deposits on a license you do not hold are how you buy chargebacks and a complaint file. Wait.
OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Use this as a map, then confirm fees and processing with NMC, DCCED, ADF&G, and TSA. Want the form list in one kit? It is at /start. The statutes still win over any kit, including that one.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Alaska?
Yes. Federal law requires a licensed operator on a self-propelled uninspected passenger vessel. Alaska issues no separate six-pack card. You carry a USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV endorsement, then add an Alaska business license. Fishing charters also need ADF&G guide paper. Confirm details with NMC and the state agencies before you take deposits.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Alaska?
Federal user fees in 46 CFR 10.219 are $100 to evaluate an officer endorsement, $45 to examine, and $45 to issue the MMC. Course tuition, TWIC, the medical exam, drug testing, first aid, the Alaska business license, insurance, and any ADF&G guide fees stack on top. Those other numbers move. Confirm each agency's live fee page the week you pay. The boat is usually the large cost, not the card.
How long does six-pack captain take in Alaska?
Sea time dominates. You need 360 days of documented service, plus 90 days in the last three years for an original officer endorsement. The class is often one to two weeks. TWIC, medical review, and NMC evaluation add calendar time that changes. Confirm current NMC processing on the official apply page. Nobody can honestly guarantee a credential date.
Does Alaska issue its own six-pack captain license?
No. The operator credential is federal. Alaska adds a business license under AS 43.70 if you engage in business, plus municipal paper in some cities, plus ADF&G guide licensing if clients fish. Those state products do not authorize you to carry passengers for hire. The MMC with OUPV is what 46 U.S.C. 8903 is talking about.
Can I run Alaska charters on an Inland-only OUPV?
Only on waters that fit an Inland endorsement. Most paying Alaska saltwater work is a poor match. OUPV Near Coastal covers near-coastal waters not more than 100 miles offshore and is the card I would get. Read 46 CFR 11.467 and your actual routes before you pay for the cheaper Inland exam. Upgrading later means more paper and more waiting.
Do I need a TWIC to start as a six-pack captain in Alaska?
Plan on it. NMC's officer-endorsement path uses TWIC enrollment and a security check. Enroll through TSA's TWIC program and confirm the current fee and appointment wait on the official TWIC page. A TWIC is not a captain license. It does not replace the MMC, the medical certificate, or the Alaska business license.
Can a permanent resident get an OUPV for Alaska work?
Yes. 46 CFR 10.221 lets the Coast Guard issue an OUPV endorsement to a lawful permanent resident, even though most other officer endorsements require U.S. citizenship. Bring the immigration paper NMC lists on the live application instructions. If you are not a citizen and not a permanent resident, do not pay for a course until you read 10.221 yourself.
Do I need a drug test for a six-pack in Alaska?
Yes for the original credential, and yes if you serve under the credential on a vessel in the USCG chemical testing program. 46 CFR Part 16 is the rule set. Use a lab that knows the DOT/USCG panel. After you start working, join a consortium that runs randoms. A clinic urine cup with no chain of custody will not satisfy NMC.
Does time on my own Alaska skiff count as sea service?
It can, if you document it on the Small Vessel Sea Service form and the days are real. NMC wants vessel identifiers, size, propulsion, waters, and dates you can defend. A paragraph that says you fished every summer is not a log. Recency still applies: 90 days in the last three years for an original officer endorsement under 46 CFR 11.201.
Is a Master 25-ton license better than OUPV in Alaska?
It is different, not automatically better. OUPV matches an uninspected boat carrying no more than six passengers. Master is the path for inspected small passenger vessels and higher passenger counts. If your plan is six people, OUPV is the endorsement that fits. Buying a 100-ton Master course in year one is a common way to overspend.
Can I carry a seventh person if two are crew?
Do not play that game. The six-passenger cap is about passengers for hire on an uninspected vessel, not about how many bodies you can physically seat. Extra working crew who are not passengers are a separate analysis, and boarding officers know the fake-crew move. If you need seven paying seats, you need an inspected boat and a different endorsement.
How often do you renew a six-pack MMC?
The Merchant Mariner Credential is issued on a five-year cycle. The medical certificate is shorter and often runs up to two years, less if NMC limits it. Renewal is its own NMC application with recency and physical rules. Confirm the live renewal checklist. For a lower-48 renewal walkthrough you can compare later, see six-pack captain renewal in California on this site.
Sources
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 8903: A self-propelled uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary.
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 2101: An uninspected passenger vessel under 100 GRT is defined with a limit of not more than 6 passengers.
- eCFR 46 CFR 11.467: Original OUPV endorsement requires 360 days of service and sets Near Coastal limits, including not more than 100 miles offshore.
- eCFR 46 CFR 11.201: Original officer endorsements require age 18, 90 days of service in the prior 3 years, and recent first aid and CPR evidence.
- eCFR 46 CFR 10.221: OUPV endorsements may be issued to lawful permanent residents, unlike most other officer endorsements.
- eCFR 46 CFR 10.219 user fees: MMC officer endorsement user fees are $100 evaluation, $45 examination, and $45 issuance.
- USCG National Maritime Center user fees: NMC publishes the live merchant mariner user-fee instructions operators should confirm before paying.
- TSA TWIC program page: TWIC enrollment, eligibility, and current fee are set and published by TSA.
- Alaska Statute AS 43.70.020: A person engaging in a business in Alaska must apply, pay the fee, and obtain a valid state business license.
- Alaska DCCED Business License FAQ: Alaska DCCED publishes current business license fee options and application rules.
- USCG NMC Apply page: MMC applications are submitted under current National Maritime Center instructions, not through a state captain board.
- USCG NMC Regional Exam Centers: NMC lists the Anchorage Regional Exam Center as the Alaska REC for Coast Guard exams.
- USCG NMC medical certificate page: Merchant mariners must hold a medical certificate issued from a CG-719K medical evaluation.
- Alaska DMV boat registration: Motorboats that are not federally documented generally register with the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles.
- Alaska Statute AS 16.40.260: Alaska statute requires licensing for sport fishing services and related guide activity.
- eCFR 46 CFR Part 25: Uninspected vessels must carry specified fire, lifesaving, and related safety equipment.