Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
Alaska runs no six-pack captain board. The card is a federal Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV endorsement from the Coast Guard National Maritime Center. You need 360 days of sea service, a medical certificate, a drug test, a TWIC, and an Alaska business license to operate. Fishing add-ons come from ADF&G. Confirm current NMC fees and processing times before you file.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Alaska?
Yes. Paid six-pack work in Alaska needs a Coast Guard OUPV endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential. The state does not issue a substitute captain license.
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, in the manner prescribed by regulation under section 7101 of this title." [1]
That one sentence is why a website listing does not matter. If the boat is an uninspected passenger vessel, the operator holds a federal license. Coast Guard manning rules say the same thing for credentialed operators of those boats. [5]
The trigger is passengers for hire. A private day with unpaid friends sits outside this. A listed charter, a lodge transfer you charge for, or a wildlife run with a per-head price sits inside it. If value changes hands for the ride, treat it as for-hire and get the card.
Alaska's recreational boating course is not a commercial license. The Office of Boating Safety under State Parks teaches safe rec operation. It does not authorize paying passengers. [10]
Inspected small passenger vessels are a different pile of steel and paper. If the boat is in inspected service, you want a Master endorsement, not OUPV. Buy the class that matches the vessel.
Nonresidents do not get a pass. If the trips run in U.S. navigable waters of Alaska, the federal credential still applies. An Alaska six-pack plan starts with NMC, not with a state exam room.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Alaska?
There is no official Alaska six-pack price tag. You stack a federal credential fee, private medical and lab bills, and state business paper. Confirm every government charge the week you pay it.
46 CFR 10.219 is the Coast Guard user-fee regulation. It splits an original officer endorsement into evaluation, examination, and issuance amounts. [3] The National Maritime Center copies the live figures onto its user fees page. Read that page. Do not trust a total you saw on a forum years ago. [4]
Finish an approved OUPV course and you usually skip the government exam, so the examination line may drop off. Evaluation and issuance still show up unless the current NMC chart says otherwise. I am not going to invent a package number. Variable fees belong on the agency page, not in my sentence.
TWIC comes from TSA, not NMC. TSA posts the current enrollment fee on its TWIC program page. [6] The physical follows the medical certificate path NMC describes. [7] A clinic sets the visit price. Anchorage is not Dutch Harbor. Call more than one office. A chemical test belongs in the original application under the marine drug-testing rules. [12] Collection sites set their own fees.
Course tuition is a private-school number. In Alaska I would usually pay for the course. Skipping class to save the tuition, then buying a last-minute ticket to a REC, is how people waste a week of weather.
State layer next. DCCED issues the Alaska business license required to engage in business. Their licensing pages carry the current fee. [8][13] Fishing add-ons sit with ADF&G, and those amounts move. Confirm on the guide page before you advertise fish. [9]
| Cost piece | Who sets it | How to treat it |
|---|---|---|
| USCG evaluation, exam, issuance | 46 CFR 10.219 and NMC | Confirm live amounts before you pay |
| TWIC | TSA | Confirm on the TWIC page |
| Medical certificate exam | Private clinician | Shop two clinics |
| Drug test | Collection site | DOT marine panel |
| Approved OUPV course | Private school | Optional if you sit a REC exam |
| Alaska business license | DCCED | Required to engage in business |
| ADF&G guide or operator | ADF&G | Only if clients are fishing |
Waste of money: paid approval guarantees, a Master class you cannot document sea time for, and novelty captain IDs.
Want the USCG forms and a bareboat checklist in one bundle? OUPVPath sells a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit. You can still file with the free NMC checklists alone. [14]
How long does six-pack captain take in Alaska?
It depends on whether you already have 360 days of service. The Coast Guard does not start a useful clock until the sea time is real.
46 CFR 11.467 sets the OUPV service floor at 360 days. [2] Near-coastal authority also asks for a block of that time on ocean or near-coastal waters. Inland-only service supports a narrower ticket. Alaska work is often near coastal in practice. Read the section before you assume a lake logbook gets you Resurrection Bay.
Still short on days? Then the timeline is your work pattern. A full season on a water taxi or a tender stacks time fast. A weekend halibut hobby can take several years. Nobody has a clean public dataset on the average Alaska applicant. Your log is the dataset.
If the days are already in the book, you still have a course or exam, TWIC, a physical, a drug test, and NMC evaluation. Classroom courses often run several consecutive days. Online courses run longer because you do them after work. I will not quote an NMC decision time. Their published processing times change. Look at what NMC is posting the month you submit.
Medical waivers stretch everything. A clean CG-719K is one appointment. A waiver file can sit for months. TWIC appointments follow the enrollment center, not your charter calendar. Book that early.
Incomplete sea-service letters are the delay you actually control. Use the NMC checklist and make the math add up. [14] Alaska business licensing after the MMC is usually the shorter wait. ADF&G guide timing follows that agency, not NMC. Do not take paid anglers until both stacks are done.
Is the six-pack captain board in Alaska a state office?
No. There is no Alaska six-pack captain board. The credentialing authority is the U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center.
Local Sector offices in District 17 do boarding, inspections, and marine safety work. They are not a state licensing board and they do not print MMCs. Application intake and exams follow the NMC Regional Exam Center list, which NMC updates. Confirm the current site list with NMC rather than with a dock rumor.
This is the same federal card you would hold in Florida or Idaho. The six-pack is national. What Alaska adds is business licensing and, if you fish, ADF&G guide paper.
Some search results blur three programs into one mythical board. Those programs are the MMC, the rec boating card, and sport fishing guide registration. They answer different questions. Mixing them is how people show up opening day with the wrong plastic.
I would talk to Sector about a route or a vessel question. I would not call Sector to ask if they can just issue an OUPV. They cannot.
The same split shows up in Hawaii. Remote water, federal card, local extras on top. Do not plan your Alaska file around a state exam that does not exist.
What does a six-pack let you run in Alaska waters?
An OUPV lets you operate an uninspected passenger vessel of less than 100 gross register tons while carrying six or fewer passengers for hire, inside the route on your endorsement. That passenger cap is the reason people say six-pack.
Go to seven paying passengers and you have left OUPV. The vessel and the operator credentials both change. Do not squeeze one more in because the weather is pretty.
Your endorsement also carries a route. Near coastal, Great Lakes and inland, or a limited local route are not the same ticket. Inside Passage work is not a farm-pond limitation. Match the route to the water you actually sell.
OUPV does not make you a fishing guide. It does not replace a business license. It does not authorize inspected-vessel service.
Tonnage is 100 GRT, not "my 32-foot welded boat feels small." If the vessel is documented above that, you are in a different endorsement.
National park waters add permits. Glacier Bay and other park units use commercial use authorizations. That paper sits on top of the MMC. Read the park's commercial services page before you advertise a tidewater glacier.
For how another coastal state stacks the same federal limit, the California six-pack board explainer is a useful parallel. The Coast Guard math does not change at the state line.
How much sea time do you need, and what counts in Alaska?
You need 360 days of service to qualify for OUPV under 46 CFR 11.467. [2] Near-coastal authority needs a portion of that time on ocean or near-coastal waters. Limited local endorsements can be narrower. Read the text. Do not let a school paraphrase it for you.
A day is a day you can prove. Setnet skiffs, water-taxi deck time, tender work, commercial fishing, and honest charter deckhand days can all count if the letter describes the vessel and does not lie. Fudging a sea-service letter is a credentialing problem, not a paperwork shortcut.
I want letters that name the vessel, official number or state number, tonnage or length, waters, your duties, and dates that do not overlap like a cartoon. The owner, master, or another person in a position to know should sign. A relative who visited once is not that person.
Self-attestation has limits. NMC publishes what they will accept on the checklists. Follow that, not dock lore. [14]
46 CFR 11.201 also sets the age floor. An applicant for an OUPV endorsement "must be at least 18 years of age." [11] You can be 18 and still wait on the days.
Time on a pure recreational family boat is the weakest story. Some of it can count. It is also where evaluators get picky. Keep pay stubs, crew lists, fish tickets, or dispatch logs that back the letters. Alaska jobs leave a paper trail if you bother to keep it.
What medical, drug test, and TWIC steps do you file?
Three federal side quests sit next to the application: a medical certificate, a drug test, and usually a TWIC.
NMC's medical certificate page is the instruction set for form CG-719K. [7] A physician, PA, or other accepted examiner completes it. Vision, hearing, and medical history all matter. If you have a condition that needs a waiver, start that before you pay for a course you cannot use yet.
Original officer applicants submit a chemical test for dangerous drugs. 46 CFR 16.220 is the pre-employment testing rule in the marine program. [12] Use a DOT collection site that knows how to send a Coast Guard pack. A cash-lab printout from a drugstore panel is how people redo the test.
TWIC comes from TSA. For most original MMC officer applicants it is part of the identity and security stack. Enroll through TSA's TWIC process and keep the receipt. [6] If you think you are exempt, read NMC's current checklist rather than a comment thread. [14]
46 CFR 10.221 is the citizenship rule. A lawful permanent resident can hold OUPV. Most other officer endorsements require U.S. citizenship. [15] That matters for Alaska deckhands who are not yet citizens.
Book TWIC and the physical in the same week you start the course, then write sea-service letters at night. Parallel beats sequential when the season is short.
What extra Alaska paper sits on top of the USCG card?
The MMC lets you operate the boat. It does not let you ignore Alaska business law.
AS 43.70.020 requires a person engaging in business in the state to obtain a business license. [13] DCCED runs that program and posts how to apply. [8] Get the license in the legal name you will use on invoices and on the ADF&G side, so the names match.
City or borough sales taxes, harbor stall permits, and park landings are local. Homer is not Sitka. Call the harbor office for the stall you actually want. There is no single statewide harbor fee, and I will not pretend there is.
Board passengers from a state park launch as a business and parks staff can ask for proof you are a commercial operator. Bring the MMC and the business license. Do not argue from a rec boater card. [10]
Insurance is not a license, but no serious harbor or lodge will let you run without it. Your underwriter will ask for the MMC number. Get the credential first, then bind the policy, then take money.
Compare this overlay with Colorado or Alabama and the pattern shows. The Coast Guard card is constant. The state business and wildlife paper is what changes.
Do you need a fishing guide license on top of the six-pack?
If the paying clients are sport fishing, yes. You are in ADF&G territory on top of the MMC.
Alaska registers sport fishing guides and sport fishing operators as a separate professional license problem. ADF&G's professional licenses page is the current instruction set for who must register and what the season's forms look like. [9] Confirm the live fee and the live definitions there. I will not invent this year's dollar amount.
Wildlife viewing and water-taxi drops with no fishing usually sit outside the guide statute. The moment you hand someone a rod and take money for the trip, treat it as guide work and read the ADF&G page yourself.
Guide registration does not replace OUPV. ADF&G does not examine you on rules of the road. The Coast Guard does not issue king salmon stickers. You can hold both. Many operators here do.
Work for a lodge that already holds the operator registration and you may still need your individual guide registration. That is a fact pattern question. Ask ADF&G, not a group chat.
I would finish USCG first only if your first jobs are pure transit or sightseeing. If the business plan is limits of silvers, start both piles the same week.
Where do Alaska applicants take the exam and send the file?
NMC, not Juneau, accepts the credential application. Use the current NMC checklist for an original OUPV so you do not omit a form. [14]
You have two exam paths. Sit the Coast Guard exam at a location NMC recognizes, or complete an approved course that issues a completion certificate NMC will accept in lieu of the exam. Approved schools advertise when they run Alaska cohorts. Some years that is a larger town. Some years you travel.
I would take the approved course. Alaska distances make a missed exam sitting expensive. A course also forces you through plot problems before you have paying grandparents aboard.
Where you physically sit is a scheduling fact. NMC's REC contact list changes. Confirm it. Do not plan around a building that stopped offering exams.
You can assemble the file from a small community if the scans are clean and the drug test and physical are valid. The weak link is usually a medical exam or TWIC enrollment that requires travel to a larger town.
Fees are paid as NMC instructs on the user fees page, often through Pay.gov. [4] Keep the receipts. NMC will not hunt for a payment you cannot prove.
For a fee-line comparison from another state writeup, see the Connecticut six-pack cost breakdown. The federal lines are the same idea. The state extras differ.
Near coastal, inland, or limited: which OUPV should you ask for?
Ask for the route that matches the water you will sell, and no extras you cannot document.
Near coastal is what most Alaska six-pack operators actually need if they leave protected basins and run coastwise. 46 CFR 11.467 requires extra ocean or near-coastal days for that authority. [2] If your whole book is lakes, do not pretend it is Cape Decision.
Great Lakes and inland is the wrong label for most saltwater Alaska work. The name is literal.
A limited OUPV can restrict you to a defined local waterway. That can be honest if you only ever run one lake or one short harbor route. It is a poor fit if your website already lists three fjords and a wildlife island.
I would rather hold a clean near-coastal OUPV than a mosaic of limits I have to explain to an insurance desk. Limits also make it harder to pick up a midseason job in another bay.
Radar observer is not an automatic OUPV add-on. Do not buy that class just in case unless a vessel or employer requires it. It is a common upsell.
If you later want Master 100, keep every sea-service letter. Those days still count. The OUPV is not wasted time. It is a step.
What would I actually do in year one, and what is a waste?
I would document sea time like a skeptic is going to read it, take an approved course, file a complete NMC pack, then get the Alaska business license before the first paid deposit. If I sell fishing, I would finish ADF&G in the same window. [8][9][14]
Join a drug-testing consortium before opening day, not after a random boarding. 46 CFR 16 is not only a pre-employment form. Once you serve under the credential on a covered vessel, the marine employer program continues. [12]
Waste: paying a consultant to retype NMC's own checklist. Paying for a big Master class while you still need hundreds of days. Printing cards that say Captain before the MMC exists. Buying a boat on a loan and assuming the license is the easy part.
Keep a paper copy of the MMC on the boat. Keep the medical certificate current. Log every trip. If a boarding officer asks who is operating, the answer is you, with the credential in reach.
OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a Coast Guard office. Want the kit after you have read the primary pages? Start at /start. The free government checklists remain enough to file. [14]
Other state explainers worth a look after this one include Hawaii and Delaware. The federal spine stays put. The local extras shift.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Alaska?
Yes, if you carry passengers for hire on an uninspected vessel with six or fewer passengers. The license is a federal OUPV endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential, issued by the Coast Guard National Maritime Center. Alaska does not issue a substitute six-pack card. A State Parks rec boating course does not cover paid work.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Alaska?
There is no single state price. You pay USCG evaluation, exam, and issuance fees under 46 CFR 10.219, plus TWIC, a medical exam, a drug test, and usually a course. Then you add an Alaska business license, and ADF&G paper if you fish. Confirm live government fees with NMC, TSA, DCCED, and ADF&G the week you pay.
How long does six-pack captain take in Alaska?
Sea time is the long pole. 46 CFR 11.467 requires 360 days of service. If you already have the days, you still need a course or exam, TWIC, a physical, a drug test, and NMC review. NMC processing times change. Check what they are publishing the month you file. Do not take a promised week count from a school.
Is there an Alaska state captain license for six-pack work?
No. Alaska has no six-pack captain board and no state-issued OUPV. Commercial passenger work on an uninspected vessel is a Coast Guard MMC problem. The state still wants a business license, and ADF&G wants guide paper if clients fish. Those are add-ons, not replacements.
Can I run paid trips on an Alaska recreational boating card?
No. The Office of Boating Safety course is recreational. It does not authorize passengers for hire. 46 U.S.C. 8903 requires a federally licensed operator on an uninspected passenger vessel. Use the rec card for your own unpaid boating. Use the MMC for charters.
Does an Alaska OUPV work in other states?
The endorsement is federal, so the MMC travels. The route on the card still controls the water. A limited local ticket from one harbor does not magically become near coastal in another state. You still have to satisfy that state's business and tax rules if you operate there.
Can a green card holder get an OUPV for Alaska work?
Yes. 46 CFR 10.221 lets a lawful permanent resident hold an OUPV endorsement. Most other officer endorsements still require U.S. citizenship. If you later want Master, check the citizenship rule again before you pay for that class.
Does OUPV let me take more than six passengers in Alaska?
No. Six paying passengers is the uninspected passenger vessel cap that makes the ticket a six-pack. Seven or more paying passengers puts you into inspected small passenger vessel rules and a different operator endorsement. The scenery does not create an exception.
Do I need a TWIC for day charters out of Homer or Seward?
Most original officer MMC applicants enroll in TWIC as part of the identity stack. TSA runs TWIC. NMC's current OUPV checklist tells you whether your file needs the card or a receipt. Read that checklist. Do not skip TWIC because a dock comment said day boats are exempt.
Can commercial fishing or setnet time count toward OUPV sea service?
It can, if the days are real and the letter can describe the vessel, waters, dates, and your duties. Tender, skiff, and fishing time is common in Alaska files. Recreational family trips are weaker. False letters are how people lose credentials. Follow the NMC checklist and keep backup records.
Is radar observer required for a six-pack in Alaska?
Not automatically. OUPV does not, by itself, demand a radar observer endorsement. An employer or a specific vessel might. I would not buy the class as a default upsell. Spend that money on a complete application and on sea-service letters that actually add up.
What is the difference between bareboat and a six-pack charter?
On a true bareboat, the customer takes the vessel without a hired captain and meets a short list of legal tests. The moment you stay aboard as the paid operator, you are in six-pack territory and need the OUPV. Marketing a trip as bareboat while you still run the helm is a bad idea.
Sources
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 8903, Uninspected passenger vessels: Federal law requires an uninspected passenger vessel to be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.467, OUPV endorsement: Minimum service to qualify for OUPV is 360 days, with added ocean or near-coastal time for near-coastal authority.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.219, Fees: Coast Guard user fees for an original officer endorsement are split into evaluation, examination, and issuance charges.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, User Fees: NMC publishes the live MMC evaluation, examination, and issuance fee amounts applicants must confirm before paying.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 15.605, Qualified operators for uninspected passenger vessels: An uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual holding an MMC endorsed as OUPV.
- Transportation Security Administration, TWIC program page: TSA administers TWIC enrollment and posts the current TWIC fee and process.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Medical Certificate: NMC sets the medical certificate (CG-719K) process required for officer endorsements.
- Alaska DCCED, Business Licensing: Alaska's Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing issues the state business license required to engage in business.
- Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Office of Boating Safety: Alaska's Office of Boating Safety program is recreational and is not a commercial six-pack license.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.201, General officer requirements: An applicant for an OUPV endorsement must be at least 18 years of age and must meet first aid and other original-officer rules.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 16.220, Pre-employment testing requirements: Original MMC officer applicants submit a chemical test for dangerous drugs under the marine employer testing rules.
- Alaska Legislature, AS 43.70.020 License required: A person engaging or intending to engage in a business in Alaska must obtain a state business license.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center, Application checklists: NMC publishes the official original-officer and OUPV application checklists applicants should follow.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.221, Citizenship: A lawful permanent resident may be issued an MMC with an OUPV endorsement, unlike most other officer endorsements.