Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
Starting as a six-pack captain in Arizona means earning a U.S. Coast Guard OUPV credential, then stacking Arizona boat registration, tax licenses, insurance, and any park commercial permit on top. Arizona does not issue the captain license. You need 360 sea days, a medical, a drug test, First Aid and CPR, and usually a TWIC. Confirm every fee and wait time with the agency that collects it.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Arizona?
Yes, if you carry a passenger for hire on waters under U.S. Coast Guard jurisdiction. Arizona does not sell a six-pack captain card. The license is a Merchant Mariner Credential with an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels endorsement from the Coast Guard National Maritime Center.
Federal law is blunt. 46 U.S.C. 8903 says, "An uninspected passenger vessel shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, under prescribed regulations." [1]
A six-pack boat is an uninspected passenger vessel. It is under 100 gross tons and carries not more than 6 passengers, including at least one passenger for hire. [3]
Run your own ski boat on a Saturday with no fare aboard, and no OUPV is in play. Post a sunset cruise on Lake Havasu and collect money, and you are in license territory on federal water. That is the whole line.
46 CFR 15.605 states, "The operator of an uninspected passenger vessel must be licensed as required by 46 U.S.C. 8903 and 46 CFR part 11." [2]
Some stock tanks and purely private, non-navigable ponds sit outside Coast Guard manning rules. I would not bet a business on that line without counsel who actually reads navigable-waters cases. The water people try to monetize in Arizona is Lake Mead, the Arizona side of Lake Powell, Lake Havasu, Lake Pleasant, and the Colorado River corridor. Those are the waters that get you in trouble without an MMC.
The Coast Guard issues the six-pack credential, not the State of Arizona. For the license-only checklist, use six-pack captain license in Arizona. This article is the start-a-business path, including the state and park paper that sits on top of the federal card.
Which Arizona waters actually fall under the Coast Guard?
Most of the water people pay to ride in Arizona is under federal jurisdiction, or sits right next to it. The Coast Guard license attaches to the vessel and the waters, not to your Arizona driver license.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a National Park Service unit on a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell) follows the same pattern. Commercial activity there is federal twice. Manning sits under Title 46. Park business rules sit under Title 36. [4][5]
The lower Colorado around Lake Havasu and the Parker Strip is a mix of federal channel, state surface, and local launch rules. Treat it as Coast Guard water unless you have a written opinion that says otherwise. Lake Pleasant and the Salt River chain get the same conservative read if you take a fare.
Inland OUPV is the endorsement that matches desert reservoirs. Near coastal is extra exam scope you do not need for Powell or Mead. If you later move the same credential to the Pacific, you upgrade. The start path in California is different water and different local paper. See how to start six-pack captain in California.
Tribal lakes and irrigation reservoirs can have their own access rules. Confirm the landowner and the water manager before you take a fare. A six-pack captain Arizona plan that ignores the land status of the ramp is not a plan.
If you only run a private community lake with no federal nexus, talk to a maritime lawyer before you spend a year banking sea time. Most paid product in this state is not that lake.
What is the real USCG OUPV path from Arizona?
You apply to the National Maritime Center, not to Arizona Game and Fish. The core packet is an MMC application on form CG-719B, sea service evidence (often CG-719S), a CG-719K medical, a DOT drug test, First Aid and CPR cards, TWIC evidence, and either a Coast Guard exam or a completion certificate from a Coast Guard approved course. [6][7]
You must be at least 18 for an OUPV officer endorsement. [8]
Arizona has no Regional Exam Center. You do the medical and the drug collection locally. You sit an approved course online or in another state, or you schedule an exam through the current NMC process. Confirm exam delivery on the NMC site the week you need it. The delivery method has moved before.
TWIC comes from TSA, not the Coast Guard. Enroll at a Universal Enroll center. The nearest site to Phoenix or Lake Havasu shifts. Use TSA's locator. Do not mail NMC a promise to get TWIC later if the live checklist still lists it. [7]
I would run TWIC, the physical, and the drug test in the same two-week window. Those items expire on their own clocks. A physical that goes stale while you hunt sea service letters is a common, dumb redo.
Character and NDR checks are part of the officer file. Convictions and certain medical conditions do not always kill an application, but blanks and surprises do. Fill the forms like a person who expects a human to read them.
OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit if you want the form path in one pile. The Coast Guard still wants original sea service and medicals. A kit does not replace NMC, and it does not shorten evaluation.
How much sea time do you need for a six-pack license?
An applicant for an OUPV endorsement has to show 360 days of service. On vessels under 100 GRT, a day is a minimum of 4 hours. [9][10]
That is the number that stops most Arizona applicants. Lake weekends do not add up as fast as people think. 360 days at 4 hours is still 360 separate days, not 1,440 hours divided however you like. You cannot stack three 4-hour runs on one calendar day into three days.
46 CFR 11.467 is the OUPV service rule. Read the inland versus near-coastal split before you pick a course. [9]
Nobody has clean public data on how long a typical Arizona lake operator takes to bank 360 days. The closest honest answer is this. Work a marina boat or a tour pontoon already, and you might be close. Run a family boat 20 days a year, and you are looking at many years, or you need to work for someone who will sign Small Vessel Sea Service forms.
Get the signatures while the skipper still remembers you. Recreating an old season from memory is how applications bounce.
Recreational time can count if you document it properly. Commercial time is easier to defend. Keep a log with dates, hours, waters, vessel identifiers, and the owner's contact. A spreadsheet you invent the night before you apply looks like a spreadsheet you invented the night before you apply.
Recency matters. Original officer files generally need recent service, often described as 90 days in the last 3 years on NMC checklists. Confirm the recency line on the current OUPV checklist, because NMC updates those PDFs. [6]
If you are far under 360, stop shopping vinyl wraps. Go get days.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Arizona?
There is no single Arizona price. You pay federal user fees to the Coast Guard, a TWIC fee to TSA, medical and drug-test bills to private clinics, a course fee if you do not self-study, then Arizona registration, tax licenses, insurance, and possibly a park commercial-use authorization.
I will not invent the current NMC evaluation, examination, or issuance dollars. Those sit in the Coast Guard user-fee table and they move. Read the live NMC fees page and pay what it says. [11]
TWIC is a TSA fee. Confirm it on the TSA TWIC page before you budget. [7]
Clinic physicals and DOT 5-panel collections in Phoenix, Yuma, or Lake Havasu run in a wide private-market band. Call two clinics. I would not prepay a captain physical package from a school until you know that clinic will complete CG-719K the way NMC medical actually reads it. [6]
Approved OUPV courses cost whatever the school charges. Some are a few hundred dollars. Some clear four figures once you add a hotel. If you already read well and you only need inland scope, a course can be optional. Fail the exams once, and the course starts to look cheap.
State-side, Arizona watercraft registration fees depend on the boat. Confirm the current schedule with Arizona Game and Fish. [12][13]
Insurance is the sleeper. A six-pack liability policy for a pontoon on Havasu is not pleasure-boat insurance. Get a marine quote before you paint a logo on the tube. I have no honest average premium to publish. Anybody who quotes you a national average without the hull, passenger count, and waters is guessing.
Park commercial authorizations have their own application fees. Confirm with the park. [4]
Waste of money: a near-coastal weekend course in another state when you will only run Mead. Also any coach who guarantees the license.
How long does six-pack captain take in Arizona?
I will not give you a processing promise. NMC posts its own evaluation times and they move with volume. Check the current NMC processing board the week you apply. No article, kit, or school can honestly lock a date.
Your personal clock is usually sea time, not NMC. Bank 360 days first. [9] TWIC appointments can lag. Medical holds happen when a doctor leaves a blank on CG-719K.
Signed sea time and a clean file can move in a matter of weeks or a few months. A file with a broken drug-test chain of custody or a fuzzy sea service letter sits. That range is not a guarantee. It is the difference between a complete packet and a bounced one.
Arizona LLC and tax filings are faster than the federal credential. Do not wait on the MMC to form the company. Do not advertise passenger-for-hire trips until the endorsement is in hand.
Course length is often several days in a classroom, or a couple of weeks of serious self-study. People who claim they passed inland OUPV after one casual evening are not your model.
Drug tests and physicals go stale. So do CPR cards. Sequence the short-lived items after the slow ones, not before.
Colorado operators face the same federal core with different park offices and a different tax wrapper. If you also run high-country reservoirs, read how to start six-pack captain in Colorado.
What Arizona state paper do you still need after the Coast Guard?
After the MMC, you still need the boat legal in Arizona and the business legal to collect money. The federal card does not replace Title 5 watercraft rules or Title 42 tax licenses.
| Layer | Who issues it | What it actually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Federal OUPV / MMC | USCG National Maritime Center | Authority to operate an uninspected passenger vessel with not more than 6 passengers [1][3] |
| Arizona watercraft number | Arizona Game and Fish, under Title 5 | Boat numbered and currently registered for state waters [12][13] |
| Privilege tax license | Arizona DOR (and often a city) | Lawful collection of taxable gross receipts [14] |
| Park commercial authorization | National Park Service | Permission to solicit or conduct business inside the recreation area [4][5] |
Motorized watercraft used on Arizona waterways need a current Arizona number and registration unless a documented exception applies. That is Arizona Game and Fish territory under A.R.S. 5-321. [12][13]
A Coast Guard documented vessel still deals with Arizona numbering and use rules. Confirm the documented-vessel line on the AZGFD registration page rather than assuming you skip the state. [13]
A.R.S. 42-5005 makes it unlawful to engage in or continue in business in Arizona without obtaining a privilege tax license. Charter treatment (transportation versus amusement versus rental) is fact-specific. I am not your tax advisor. Read the statute and ask a CPA who has actually filed for a boat business. [14]
Cities on the water (Lake Havasu City, Parker, Page, Bullhead City) often want their own privilege license. Call the city clerk. Local compliance is how you keep a slip.
An LLC at the Arizona Corporation Commission is not required to hold an OUPV. It is still what I would form before I put a house behind a passenger claim.
Boating education cards are a separate operator rule for some recreational operators. Your MMC does not automatically replace every AZGFD education rule for every person you let take the helm. Confirm the current education rule with Game and Fish. [13]
Do Lake Mead and Lake Powell need extra commercial permits?
Yes, if you want to run a business inside the recreation area. A perfect OUPV does not authorize soliciting inside a National Park Service unit.
36 CFR 5.3 prohibits engaging in or soliciting any business in park areas except in accordance with a permit, contract, or other written agreement with the United States. [5]
Lake Mead NRA publishes a commercial path on its do-business page. Glen Canyon NRA (Lake Powell) runs its own commercial services desk. That path is usually a Commercial Use Authorization or a concessions contract, not a handshake at the ramp. [4]
Read the park's current CUA packet. Insurance minimums, operating plans, and drug-free workplace language show up there. Fees and any limits on authorizations change. Confirm with that park's commercial services office. Nobody else can quote you this year's packet.
Launch only from a city ramp outside the park boundary and never enter the NRA, and you may avoid that park paper. Plenty of Havasu product never enters Mead or Powell. Do not pretend a Mead trip is a city-ramp trip.
Rangers write cases on solicitation. Instagram geotags inside the park count as advertising in the real world, even if your lawyer has a prettier theory.
What boat, gear, and insurance does a six-pack need?
A six-pack boat is uninspected. That does not mean unequipped. 46 CFR Part 25 sets minimum safety equipment for uninspected vessels, including life preservers and fire extinguishers. [15]
State PFD and extinguisher rules still apply on Arizona waters. Follow the stricter stack. Kids still need to fit the jackets you actually carry.
Capacity is the product. You do not put 8 paying guests on a six-pack and call two of them crew. Crew has to be crew. The six-passenger cap is federal, not a suggestion. [3]
Buy the boat after you know the waters and the insurance quote. A 26-foot pontoon is the usual Arizona fantasy. It is also a wind sail on Havasu after lunch. Test the season you plan to sell, not a calm Tuesday in January.
Insurance means passenger liability, wreck removal, and fuel spill. Pleasure policies exclude carrying passengers for hire. Full stop. If a marina asks for a certificate, get the certificate from a marine market, not from the same agent who wrote your truck.
A USCG inspection certificate is not required for a true uninspected six-pack. If you want more than 6 passengers, you are in a different vessel class and a different license. Do not try to grow past 6 on the cheap. That is how people lose the boat.
Bareboat (no captain provided, true demise) is a different paper path. If you are still at the helm, it is not bareboat.
How should you set up the Arizona business entity and tax licenses?
Form an LLC or corporation with the Arizona Corporation Commission if you want entity separation. Get an EIN from IRS. Open a bank account that is not your rent account.
File the state privilege tax license before you take taxable receipts. Cities where you board guests may want their own license on top. [14]
If you take cards, use a merchant account that will not dump a charter MCC later. Read the reserve language.
Write a short passenger contract. Who can cancel for wind. Who brings child PFDs. Where you refund. A one-page contract you actually use beats a 12-page template you never send.
I would not spend money on a custom website before the MMC is issued. You will get inquiries you cannot legally fulfill, and those posts become evidence.
Workers matter. Hire a second captain, and that person needs their own OUPV. You do not cover them with yours. If they are employees, you just walked into payroll tax and workers' compensation. Confirm that with a payroll person, not a dock rumor.
Sales of food, alcohol, or lodging on the water are separate licenses. A six-pack ticket is not a liquor license. Do not pour a packaged sunset cocktail service until you have read the liquor board rules for that county.
The license-only sibling for operators who split time north of the state line is six-pack captain license in Colorado.
What would I do first if I were starting in Arizona this year?
Live in Peoria and want Lake Pleasant or Havasu income this cycle? Here is the order I would use.
First, count real days I can document toward 360. [9] Under 200, I would take a deck job or a shadow seat and stop shopping wraps.
Second, book TWIC, CG-719K, and a DOT collection in one burst. [6][7]
Third, pick inland OUPV only. Study or take a course. Skip near coastal unless I already know I am moving to the ocean.
Fourth, file the MMC. Watch NMC messages. Answer holds the same week they land.
Fifth, form the LLC and the privilege tax license while I wait, get insurance quotes, and call either the city clerk or the park CUA office. [14][4]
Sixth, buy or lease the boat the insurer will actually write.
That order saves the most cash. Reverse it and you own a pontoon you cannot legally fill.
Keep every sea service letter, drug-test result, and medical copy in one folder. NMC does not chase your clinic for you.
Move the business later, and the federal card travels. The city license and the park CUA do not. California operators rebuild the local stack from scratch. See six-pack captain license in California.
What wastes money on the six-pack captain Arizona path?
Paying for near-coastal scope you will not use.
Buying lifetime lesson packages that still leave you to collect 360 days of signatures. Schools do not mint sea time.
Advertising six-pack trips before the credential prints. That is evidence.
Cheap pleasure insurance on a fare-paying boat.
Skipping the park CUA and hoping rangers are busy. [5]
Hiring a document mill that fills CG-719S with fictional days. NMC checks. You can lose the career you have not started.
A bigger boat than the insurance market wants to write for a new operator. Start inside the policy, not inside your ego.
Compare neighboring start guides only after your Arizona file is real. Alabama and Alaska are different water and different winters. Use them if you are moving, not as a substitute. Those paths live at how to start six-pack captain in Alabama and how to start six-pack captain in Alaska.
Want form checklists after you understand the law? The OUPVPath kit is at /start. OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Confirm every fee, quota, and wait time with the board that bills you. No approval timing is promised here.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Arizona?
Yes, on waters under Coast Guard jurisdiction, if anyone aboard is a passenger for hire. Arizona does not issue that license. You need a USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV endorsement. Pleasure use of your own boat, with no fare and no passenger for hire, does not by itself require OUPV.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Arizona?
There is no single price. Budget Coast Guard user fees, a TSA TWIC fee, a medical, a DOT drug test, optional course tuition, Arizona registration, tax licenses, insurance, and any park commercial permit. Confirm each live fee with the agency that collects it. Insurance is often larger than the federal application fees.
How long does six-pack captain take in Arizona?
Sea time is usually the long pole. OUPV needs 360 days of service. NMC evaluation time changes with volume, so read the current NMC processing board when you file. A complete file can move in weeks or a few months. That is not a promise. Incomplete drug tests and weak sea service letters sit.
Is an inland OUPV enough for Lake Powell and Lake Mead?
For those desert reservoirs, inland scope matches the water. Near coastal is extra exam material you do not need for Powell or Mead. You still need any National Park Service commercial authorization to solicit or operate as a business inside the recreation area. The license and the park permit are different papers.
Can you run paid trips on a private Arizona lake without USCG papers?
Only if those waters are truly outside Coast Guard manning rules and local owners allow commercial use. Most paid Arizona product is not that lake. I would not build a business on a navigable-waters theory without a lawyer who has read the cases. When in doubt, get the OUPV.
Do you need a TWIC if you only run Arizona lakes?
NMC checklists still treat TWIC as part of the officer packet. Confirm the live OUPV checklist the week you apply. TWIC is issued by TSA, not by Arizona and not by Game and Fish. Book an enrollment center early. Do not assume a desert address waives it.
Do you need a Coast Guard inspected vessel for 6 passengers?
No. A true six-pack is an uninspected passenger vessel under 100 gross tons carrying not more than 6 passengers, including at least one for hire. You still need Part 25 safety gear and a licensed operator. More than 6 paying passengers is a different vessel class.
What if I only offer bareboat charters in Arizona?
A true bareboat, where you demise the boat and do not supply the operator, is not a six-pack trip. If you stay at the helm or you effectively direct the trip, it is not bareboat. NMC and the parks care about facts, not your brochure wording. Get counsel before you market bareboat as a license workaround.
Can I use a pontoon as a six-pack boat in Arizona?
Yes, if it stays inside the uninspected six-passenger cap, carries the required gear, and an insurer will write passenger-for-hire coverage on that hull and those waters. Afternoon wind on Havasu punishes tall, light boats. Test the season you will sell before you buy.
Where do Arizona applicants take the USCG exam?
Arizona has no Regional Exam Center. You use a Coast Guard approved course that waives the exam, or you follow the current NMC exam-delivery process. Confirm the method on the NMC site. Do not drive to a closed REC based on a forum post from 2018.
Does an OUPV replace Arizona boating education rules?
Not automatically for every person on the boat. Game and Fish still runs state education and registration rules. Your credential covers you as the licensed operator of an uninspected passenger vessel. Guests you let take the helm may still fall under state operator rules. Confirm the current education rule with AZGFD.
Do I need an Arizona LLC to hold a six-pack license?
No. The MMC is issued to a person, not to an LLC. An entity still makes sense before you put personal assets behind passenger claims, tax licenses, and slip contracts. Form it with the Arizona Corporation Commission, then get the privilege tax license if you are engaging in business.
Sources
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 46 U.S.C. § 8903: An uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary.
- eCFR, 46 CFR § 15.605 Uninspected passenger vessels: The operator of an uninspected passenger vessel must be licensed under 46 U.S.C. 8903 and 46 CFR part 11.
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 46 U.S.C. § 2101: Federal definitions for passenger for hire and uninspected passenger vessel (not more than 6 passengers).
- National Park Service, Lake Mead NRA Do Business With Us: Lake Mead National Recreation Area requires park commercial authorization to do business in the park.
- eCFR, 36 CFR § 5.3 Business operations: Engaging in or soliciting business in park areas is prohibited without a permit, contract, or written agreement.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Forms: MMC applications use Coast Guard forms including CG-719B, CG-719K, and CG-719S.
- Transportation Security Administration, TWIC program page: TWIC enrollment and fees are administered by TSA, and applicants must confirm the current TSA process.
- eCFR, 46 CFR § 11.201 General officer requirements: An applicant for an OUPV officer endorsement must be at least 18 years old.
- eCFR, 46 CFR § 11.467 OUPV endorsement: OUPV endorsement service requirement is 360 days.
- eCFR, 46 CFR § 10.107 Definitions in subchapter B: On vessels of less than 100 GRT, a day is a minimum of 4 hours.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, User fees: Coast Guard MMC evaluation, examination, and issuance user fees must be confirmed on the live NMC fee schedule.
- Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 5-321: Arizona watercraft numbering and registration requirements sit in A.R.S. 5-321.
- Arizona Game and Fish Department, Watercraft registration: Arizona Game and Fish administers watercraft registration and publishes current state registration procedures.
- Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 42-5005: It is unlawful to engage in or continue in business in Arizona without a privilege tax license.
- eCFR, 46 CFR Part 25 Subpart 25.25 Life preservers and other lifesaving equipment: Uninspected vessels must carry prescribed life preservers and related lifesaving equipment.