Last updated 2026-08-19
TL;DR
A six-pack captain in Delaware needs a federal USCG OUPV, not a state captain card. The regulation charges $100 to evaluate and $45 to issue, plus $110 if you sit the exam. Add TWIC, a physical, a drug test, first aid, and usually an approved course. Delaware layers on business and fishing paper. Sea time sets the calendar. Confirm live fees.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Delaware?
The cost is a stack, not one Delaware invoice. The six-pack credential is a Coast Guard Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential. 46 CFR 10.219 sets the original officer evaluation fee at $100 and the issuance fee at $45. Sit the Coast Guard exam instead of finishing an approved course and you add the $110 examination fee.[3]
That $145 to $255 block is the only piece locked in the federal fee table. TWIC, the merchant mariner physical, a chemical test, first aid and CPR, and an approved OUPV course are separate bills. Course tuition is market priced. Schools list OUPV classes across a wide band, often from the mid hundreds to near $1,000. Confirm the current tuition before you enroll.
If you already have the sea days, a working budget for the credential itself often lands in the high hundreds to the low thousands. That is the card. It is not a boat, a slip, or a season of insurance.
Delaware does not sell a substitute card that replaces the MMC. People mix the Coast Guard paper up with the DNREC recreational boating course. Different agency. Different purpose. Take money for trips and you still look at a Delaware business license and, if you fish, DNREC license rules.[10][15]
I would fund the credential first, then insurance, then a slip. The license is the cheap line. Summer dockage on Delaware Bay will dwarf the NMC fees. Confirm every live amount with the National Maritime Center, TSA, and the Delaware Division of Revenue. This page is a reference, not a quote and not an approval clock.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Delaware?
Yes, if you carry paying passengers on an uninspected vessel. Federal law is short and it applies in Delaware the same way it applies offshore. 46 U.S.C. 8903 states that an uninspected passenger vessel "shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, and designated as operator by the owner of the vessel."[1]
Six-pack means six or fewer passengers for hire. The boat stays uninspected. You still need an OUPV (or a higher officer endorsement) on an MMC. A DNREC boating education card is not that license. It is recreational paper. It does not let you charge six guests for a trip out of Lewes or Indian River.[15]
You need the federal license in Delaware waters the same way you need it for a six-pack captain cost in Florida route. The shoreline changes. The MMC does not.
Set up a true bareboat charter, where the customer is the operator and you are not directing the vessel, and the analysis shifts. People get that wrong and treat a handshake rental like a loophole. If you are at the helm with paying guests, get the OUPV.
Free hops with friends are not the legal test. Compensation is. If money or something that counts as hire changes hands, treat it as a licensed trip. The Coast Guard does not care that the cash went through Venmo.
What USCG fees apply to an original OUPV?
The fee table lives in 46 CFR 10.219. For an original officer endorsement the regulation charges $100 to evaluate the file, $110 to examine you, and $45 to issue the credential.[3] NMC also posts how to pay those user fees. Read the NMC fees page the week you file, because the payment method can change even when the dollar amounts in the CFR hold still.[6]
Hold a course completion from a Coast Guard approved OUPV school and you usually skip the $110 exam charge. That is the clean path for most first-time six-pack applicants. The regulation still wants the evaluation fee and the issuance fee. $145, not zero.
Walk into a Regional Exam Center instead, and budget $255 in USCG user fees before anyone prints the card. Fail the exam and you are not getting that $110 back. I would buy the approved course if the tuition is sane. The exam looks cheaper on a spreadsheet and gets expensive after a drive to the REC and a retake.
These figures are the original officer line in the table. Raises of grade, renewals, and duplicates use other rows. Do not apply the original numbers to a renewal five years from now. Read the current table.
Pay only through the channel NMC names. Random sites that offer to "file your captain license" for a mystery surcharge are a waste. The Coast Guard already published the fee.
What other credential costs sit on top of the Coast Guard bill?
TWIC comes first for most people. 46 CFR 10.203 says MMC applicants, unless excepted, "must hold a valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) issued by the Transportation Security Administration under 49 CFR part 1572."[4] TSA sets the enrollment fee. I will not invent the live dollar amount. Book through the TSA TWIC page and pay what that page shows that week.[9]
Next is the medical certificate. You use the Coast Guard medical form (CG-719K or the equivalent NMC currently accepts) and a physician who will actually complete it. NMC explains the medical certificate process on its medical page.[7] Clinic prices vary. Treat $75 to $250 as a common private-pay band and call two offices. Do not mail a physical that is about to expire.
You also need a chemical test for dangerous drugs. 46 CFR 16.210 covers pre-employment testing.[13] Use a lab that knows DOT or USCG collections. The report has a short validity window. Do not take it half a year before you file.
First aid and CPR sit in the general officer rules at 46 CFR 11.201.[5] Community classes are fine if the provider is one NMC accepts. A $400 "captain first aid weekend" is usually a waste when a Red Cross or American Heart course meets the rule.
The approved OUPV course is the largest variable after sea time. Only a Coast Guard approved provider substitutes for the exam. NMC keeps the training list.[14] A random online quiz with a pretty certificate is junk paper.
Add prints, postage, and a TWIC trip. Small money. Still real. OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit if you want the forms and sequence in one place. It does not replace NMC, TSA, or Delaware.
How long does six-pack captain take in Delaware?
Sea time is the long pole. An original OUPV endorsement is built on documented service under 46 CFR 11.467, which is 360 days for the standard credential.[2] Work weekends on a friend's boat and that is years, not months. Already have the days? The remaining calendar is TWIC, the course, the physical, and NMC evaluation.
NMC evaluation time moves. The Center posts a processing table and it changes. I will not invent a week count and I will not promise a date. Check that table the week you file, then add your own TWIC appointment lag and course schedule. No honest writer can lock an approval clock.
TWIC appointments in the mid-Atlantic can be quick or not, depending on the enrollment center you pick. Wilmington and the Philadelphia side are the usual options for Delaware applicants. Book early. The card itself is not instant.
An approved OUPV course is often one to two concentrated weeks, or a longer evening stretch. Online-plus-exam hybrids exist. Confirm the provider is on the NMC approved list before you start the clock.[14]
Physical, drug test, and first aid are days, not months, if you schedule them. The mistake is taking them too early so the paper goes stale while you wait on sea-service letters.
Some people chase a limited OUPV with less service, restricted to a defined local area under 46 CFR 11.467.[2] Whether a Delaware River or inland pocket qualifies is an NMC call. Do not assume Delaware Bay is automatically a 90-day shortcut.
From a standing start with no sea days, plan in years. From a complete file, plan in the time NMC is actually running that month, plus mailing. Confirm. Do not buy a summer charter calendar on a guess.
Does Delaware add its own six-pack or business fees?
Delaware does not issue a state six-pack captain license that replaces the MMC. The captain paper is federal. What Delaware adds is ordinary business and, if you fish, ordinary fish and wildlife paper.
Take money and the Division of Revenue expects a business license. The state's obtaining-a-business-license page is the starting point, not a forum thread.[10] License tax varies by activity. I will not invent your occupation code or the dollar amount. Read the current occupation list and ask Revenue if your charter activity is unclear.
Delaware has no state sales tax. That is a real operating difference versus Maryland or New Jersey. Gross receipts tax can still apply to a business. Confirm the current GRT treatment for your activity with Revenue. Do not skip the license because someone at the ramp said "Delaware is tax free."
If passengers will fish, DNREC license and permit rules apply to the people holding rods and sometimes to the operation itself. Use the current Fish and Wildlife education page and ask the fisheries desk before you advertise a flounder trip.[15] Seasons and stamps change. A Coast Guard OUPV does not waive a fishing stamp.
Boat registration or federal documentation is separate from your personal MMC. A documented vessel and a state-numbered skiff follow different paperwork. Sort the vessel before you sell seats.
Municipal slip rules in Lewes, the inland bays, or Wilmington are local. They are not in Title 46. Budget time for harbor masters, more than NMC.
What should you budget for first-year six-pack operations?
The license is not the business. First-year cash usually dies in insurance, the boat, dockage, fuel, and the weeks you sit empty. Nobody publishes a clean public dataset of Delaware six-pack P&I premiums. The honest statement is that commercial passenger liability is a four-figure conversation at minimum, and often higher once a broker sees your hull, your waters, and your experience. Get two quotes. Do not take the first "captain insurance" ad.
A slip on the Delaware Bay or inland bays for a working small passenger boat will likely beat the entire MMC stack over one season. Rates move with length, power, and whether the yard wants commercial traffic. Call the yard. Internet averages are junk for a 24-foot center console in July.
Fuel, ice, bait, and engine reserves are operating costs, not licensing costs. Still put them in the same notebook. A six-pack that runs three trips a week in season has a fuel line that makes the $145 USCG fee look like a rounding error.
Marketing is optional until the card is in your wallet. I would not pre-sell July Saturdays while NMC still has the file. You cannot honestly promise a date.
Do not already own a suitable boat? Stop. Finish the MMC. Buying a "charter ready" hull before the credential prints is how people end up with a payment and no legal seats.
Keep a cash reserve for the survey, safety gear, and the day the outboard eats an impeller. That is operations. It is not a Coast Guard fee, and it is where first-year six-pack captains actually bleed.
Inland or near coastal, does the route change what you pay?
The USCG user fees in 46 CFR 10.219 do not change because you asked for inland instead of near coastal.[3] Evaluation is still evaluation. Issuance is still issuance. The course outline and the exam modules do change. Near coastal wants more navigation and chart work. Inland is narrower.
Pick the route that matches the water you will actually run. Delaware Bay, the ocean side of Cape Henlopen, and trips that leave the demarcation line are not an inland fantasy. If you only poke around a confined river pocket, inland may be enough. If you sell "outside the inlet" trips, do not cheap out on inland and hope nobody notices the buoys.
Course tuition can run a little higher for near coastal because the school spends more hours. That is a school choice, not a federal surcharge. Compare approved providers on the NMC list, not on who uses the word "captain" more times on a landing page.[14]
A 100-ton near coastal course costs more than OUPV and takes longer. It is worth it if you already know you will outgrow six passengers. It is a waste if you just want a six-pack on a 23-foot bay boat. You can raise grade later. You cannot unspend the extra tuition this spring.
The same federal fork exists if you compare a six-pack captain cost in Connecticut Long Island Sound plan with a Delaware Bay plan. The endorsement wording is national. The waves are local.
What is a waste of money on the Delaware six-pack path?
Paying anyone who is not the Coast Guard, TSA, a physician, a lab, an approved school, or Delaware for "the license itself" is the first waste. The MMC comes from NMC. Period.
A framed novelty captain certificate is decoration. It has no force on a boarding. Same for a state boating education card sold as if it were an OUPV. DNREC's course is useful if you need recreational compliance. It is not a six-pack.[15]
Rush services that claim they can make NMC evaluate you next week cannot control NMC. You are buying a middleman and a story.
Overbuying training is the quiet waste. Need OUPV? Buy OUPV. A full 100-ton resident program is the right spend only if the extra tonnage and oceans module is in your two-year plan. Otherwise you paid for a classroom you will not use.
Fancy first aid "for mariners only" weekends are usually unnecessary when a standard accepted CPR and first aid card satisfies 46 CFR 11.201.[5] Read the accepted-provider list. Then buy the cheap card that matches it.
I would not prepay a season of Facebook ads, embroidered shirts, or a new T-top before the credential prints. Those are business toys. They do not shorten evaluation.
Comparing other states is useful for fees, not for shopping a loophole. A six-pack captain cost in California file still goes to the same NMC. So does six-pack captain cost in Georgia and six-pack captain cost in Hawaii. You cannot buy a cheaper federal license by filing from a different couch.
How do you document sea time so NMC actually counts it?
NMC does not take vibes. 46 CFR 10.232 sets how service is computed, including what counts as a day.[12] Read that section before you build a spreadsheet. A day is not "I was at the marina." It is service under the rule, usually tied to hours of watchstanding or dayworking, with the details in the text.
Use the current small vessel sea service form NMC wants (CG-719S or whatever the live checklist names). The owner or operator who can swear to the trips should sign. Letters from your spouse that say you "always loved boats" will bounce.
The NMC OUPV checklist is the packing list. It names the application, the TWIC evidence, medical, chemical test, first aid, and service proofs. Follow that list instead of a blog's older version.[8]
Recency matters. 46 CFR 11.201 and 11.467 both speak to recent service and original OUPV proof.[2][5] If your 360 days were fifteen years ago and you have been ashore since, fix the recency problem before you pay a course.
Keep abstracts of operating time, remember photos do not replace signatures, and do not double count the same calendar day on two boats unless the rule actually lets you. Evaluators have seen every cute trick.
Ran commercial fisheries or towing? Say so in the right boxes. Mislabeling oilfield time as passenger time helps nobody. Honest, boring paper wins.
I would gather sea service before I spent money on a near coastal weekend. A course completion letter also goes stale. File while every page is still accepted.
How does the Delaware six-pack cost compare with other states?
The Coast Guard fee table is national. A first MMC in Delaware uses the same 46 CFR 10.219 numbers as a first MMC filed from six-pack captain cost in Alabama or six-pack captain cost in Illinois.[3] Evaluation is $100. Issuance is $45. The exam is $110 if you sit it.
What changes is everything around the card. TWIC travel, course availability, slip prices, insurance, and state business or fishing paper. Delaware's lack of a sales tax is a real operating difference. Its business license and possible gross receipts tax are the trade. Confirm both with Revenue. Do not import a Florida tax story onto a Lewes dock.
Insurance quotes will not match a Keys six-pack or a Great Lakes six-pack. Brokers price waters, weather, and your hull. Delaware Bay in November is not a brochure.
State recreational cards stay cheap everywhere and stay irrelevant to hire. Do not let a $30 boating certificate talk you out of an MMC.
Run multi-state trips and you still hold one federal credential. You may pick up more state fishing or landing rules. That is operations, not a second captain license.
The comparison that matters is not Alabama versus Delaware on the $45 issuance fee. It is whether you already have 360 honest days. Without those days, every state's price is "not yet."
What should you confirm before you spend anything?
Confirm three things in writing, in this order. One, your sea days actually meet 46 CFR 11.467 and 10.232 as written, not as you remember a forum.[2][12] Two, the course you want is on the current NMC approved training list.[14] Three, you can pass a merchant mariner physical and produce a chemical test that NMC will still accept when the file lands.[7][13]
Then open the NMC OUPV checklist and lay the forms on a table. Application, TWIC, medical, drug test, first aid, sea service. If a box is empty, do not pay a marketing coach.[8]
Call the Delaware Division of Revenue about the business license before you take a deposit.[10] Call DNREC if the product is fishing.[15] Call a marine insurer before you advertise six seats.
Confirm the live USCG user fees on the NMC fees page even though 46 CFR 10.219 is public. Payment instructions change.[3][6] Confirm the live TWIC amount on TSA's page.[9]
Want the paper path bundled? The kit is at /start. OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Nothing here is a filing, a promise, or a board decision.
Last check. If you cannot name the owner who will sign your sea service, you are not ready to spend. Get the signature. Then spend.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Delaware?
Yes, if you carry paying passengers on an uninspected vessel. Federal law at 46 U.S.C. 8903 requires a licensed operator. Delaware does not issue a replacement six-pack card. A DNREC recreational boating course is not an MMC. Bareboat arrangements are a different analysis. If you are at the helm for hire, get the OUPV.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Delaware?
USCG original officer fees in 46 CFR 10.219 are $100 to evaluate, $45 to issue, and $110 if you take the exam. An approved course usually drops the exam fee, so the Coast Guard piece is $145. Add TSA's TWIC fee, a physical, a drug test, first aid, and course tuition. Delaware may add a business license. Confirm live amounts.
How long does six-pack captain take in Delaware?
If you still need 360 sea days, it takes as long as those days take, often years of weekend time. If the days are done, the remaining wait is TWIC, the course, medical paper, and NMC evaluation. NMC's queue changes. Check the Center's current processing table. Nobody can honestly promise an approval week.
Is a Delaware boating education card the same as a six-pack license?
No. DNREC's boating education card is recreational. The six-pack is a Coast Guard OUPV endorsement on a Merchant Mariner Credential. You can hold both. Only the MMC lets you carry up to six passengers for hire on an uninspected vessel. Do not advertise trips on the strength of a state boating class.
Do I need a TWIC for a Delaware OUPV application?
Usually yes. 46 CFR 10.203 requires MMC applicants to hold a valid TWIC unless a listed exception applies. Enroll through TSA and pay the fee TSA publishes that week. Book a mid-Atlantic enrollment center early. NMC will not finish an original officer file on a missing TWIC story.
What sea time does an OUPV need?
The standard original OUPV path under 46 CFR 11.467 is built on 360 days of documented service, with recency rules in that section and in 46 CFR 11.201. Limited local endorsements can use less time if NMC agrees the waters qualify. Count days under 46 CFR 10.232. Do not invent a personal formula.
Can I skip the Coast Guard exam with a course?
Yes, if the school is on the Coast Guard approved training list and you finish the OUPV course they are approved to teach. That completion usually replaces the $110 exam fee. A random online certificate is not approved training. Check NMC's training list before you pay tuition.
Does Delaware charge sales tax on six-pack trips?
Delaware does not impose a state sales tax. That does not mean the business is fee-free. The Division of Revenue still runs business licenses, and gross receipts tax can apply depending on the activity. Confirm your classification with Revenue before you advertise rates as "tax free charters."
Do I need a Delaware fishing license to run a six-pack?
The OUPV does not replace Fish and Wildlife rules. If passengers will fish, DNREC license and permit requirements apply to the anglers and possibly to the operation. Read the current DNREC boating and fisheries pages and ask the fisheries desk. Seasons and stamps change independently of your MMC.
What forms does NMC want for an original OUPV?
Follow the current NMC OUPV checklist. Expect an application, TWIC evidence, a medical form, a chemical test, first aid and CPR proof, and signed sea service. Use the live checklist, not a screenshot from three years ago. Incomplete files sit. Pretty folders do not impress evaluators.
Is insurance required with the six-pack credential?
The OUPV itself is a personnel credential, not a hull policy. USCG does not hand you P&I when the MMC prints. Yards, brokers, and customers will still want commercial passenger liability. Get quotes before the first paid trip. There is no solid public average for Delaware six-pack premiums.
Should I take a 100-ton course instead of OUPV?
Only if you already know you will need more than six passengers or the extra tonnage soon. The 100-ton path costs more and takes longer. USCG user fees for an original officer evaluation and issuance stay on the same table. Extra school tuition is the real difference. I would not overbuy classroom time for a 23-foot bay boat.
Sources
- U.S. Code Title 46 section 8903 (GovInfo USCODE-2023): An uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary and designated as operator by the owner.
- eCFR 46 CFR 11.467 Operator of uninspected passenger vessels: Sets original OUPV endorsement requirements, including the 360-day service path and limited local endorsements.
- eCFR 46 CFR 10.219 Fees: Original officer MMC user fees are $100 evaluation, $110 examination, and $45 issuance.
- eCFR 46 CFR 10.203 TWIC requirement: MMC applicants must hold a valid TWIC issued by TSA unless excepted.
- eCFR 46 CFR 11.201 General officer requirements: General requirements for officer endorsements, including first aid and recency-related rules.
- USCG National Maritime Center fees page: NMC publishes current instructions for paying MMC user fees.
- USCG NMC medical certificate page: NMC requires a medical certificate process using the Coast Guard medical forms.
- USCG NMC OUPV checklist MCP-FM-NMC5: NMC checklist lists the documents required for an OUPV endorsement application.
- TSA Transportation Worker Identification Credential: TWIC enrollment and the live enrollment fee are set and published by TSA.
- eCFR 46 CFR 10.232 Sea service: Federal rules for how merchant mariner sea service days are computed.
- eCFR 46 CFR 16.210 Pre-employment testing: Requires a pre-employment chemical test for dangerous drugs for covered mariners.
- USCG NMC approved training and assessments: Only Coast Guard approved courses can substitute for the OUPV examination.
- Delaware DNREC boating education: Delaware recreational boating education is a DNREC program and is not a USCG merchant mariner credential.