Six-pack captain renewal in Arizona starts with USCG

Last updated 2026-08-19

Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Arizona?

Carry even one passenger for hire on waters the Coast Guard treats as navigable waters of the United States, and the answer is yes. You need a federal Merchant Mariner Credential with an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels endorsement. Arizona does not print a six-pack card of its own.^[3][4]

That is the distinction most first-year operators miss. The six-pack nickname is only the federal cap of six paying passengers on an uninspected passenger vessel. The paper is an MMC. The issuer is the U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center. Phoenix does not have a captain licensing window. Neither does Flagstaff.

46 U.S.C. 8903 is the statute that puts a licensed operator on that vessel. 46 CFR 15.605 is the manning rule that points at the credential. If the ride is recreational and nobody paid, you do not need an OUPV. You may still need Arizona's recreational boating education card. Confirm the current cutoff with Arizona Game and Fish. Do not assume the federal card swallows the state card.^[12]

Private ponds are a gray zone. I would not take money on any Arizona water without a written read from the Coast Guard or a lawyer who actually does marine work. The Colorado River chain is not a gray zone. Lake Mead, Lake Havasu, and the river corridor are treated as waters where the manning rules attach.

If you only rent boats and never take the helm for hire, that is a livery problem, not an OUPV problem. Different paper.

Who actually renews a six-pack credential if you live in Arizona?

The National Maritime Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia renews it. Your Arizona address does not move the file to a state board. You file the same CG-719B package any other inland OUPV holder files, and NMC issues the MMC and the medical certificate as federal documents.^[7]

NMC evaluates the application. Sector offices do not stamp an Arizona courtesy renewal. If fingerprints or a safety and suitability review come up, that still runs through the federal process. Living in a desert state only changes the errands. You will not walk into a waterfront Regional Exam Center the way a San Diego operator might.

Most Arizona mariners upload or mail, sit the physical with a local doctor who will actually finish form CG-719K, and do the DOT drug test at a clinic that knows Coast Guard chain of custody. That is the local piece. The decision still happens in Martinsburg.

Nobody has a clean public count of how many Arizona residents hold an OUPV endorsement. NMC does not publish a state-by-state six-pack table I trust. Plan your own file. Do not plan off a Facebook group.

How much does six-pack captain cost in Arizona?

Renewal cost is the 46 CFR 10.219 user fees, then whatever you pay locally for identity and medical proof. Table 1 lists $50 to evaluate an officer renewal and $45 to issue the MMC. Add $45 if you must sit the examination. Confirm every figure on the live NMC fee page before you pay.^[2][6]

46 CFR 10.219 is blunt about the math. "Use table 1 to § 10.219(a) to calculate the mandatory fees for MMCs and associated endorsements." That sentence is the fee rule. Blogs that invent a single Arizona captain price are mixing original issue, a school upsell, and last year's TWIC.

Item	Who sets it	Figure in the rule	Where to confirm
MMC renewal evaluation	46 CFR 10.219	$50	NMC fees page
MMC examination (if required)	46 CFR 10.219	$45	NMC fees page
MMC issuance	46 CFR 10.219	$45	NMC fees page
TWIC	TSA	not a Coast Guard fee	TSA TWIC page
Medical exam (CG-719K)	private clinician	clinic quote	NMC medical page
DOT chemical test	46 CFR part 16	clinic quote	NMC drug testing page
AZ watercraft number	A.R.S. 5-321	statutory schedule	Arizona statute / AZGFD

The table above is the honest pile. TSA sets the TWIC price and I will not quote a number that may have moved. Read it on the TSA page the week you book.^[9] Clinic prices for a physical and a DOT 5-panel bounce around Maricopa County and Mohave County. Call two clinics. I have no honest statewide average.

If you lack 1 year of sea service in the last 5 years, you also pay for an approved refresher or you sit the open-book exercise. A lot of we-handle-your-renewal packages are the public NMC checklist with a markup. I would skip those.

Original issue is a different pile. 46 CFR 11.467 still wants 360 days of service for an OUPV endorsement, and table 1 charges more to evaluate an original officer endorsement than a renewal. People who ask how much six-pack captain costs in Arizona often mean that first card. If you are starting from zero, follow the original path first. OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit at /start if you want the paper map in one place. You do not need a kit to renew.

Arizona watercraft registration is separate and sits in A.R.S. 5-321. That is the boat, not your license.^[10][11]

How long does six-pack captain take in Arizona?

Renewal time is the current NMC evaluation queue plus the days you spend on a physical, a drug test, and a TWIC appointment. There is no honest fixed Arizona number. Read the National Maritime Center processing board the week you apply. Original issue is much longer because 46 CFR 11.467 still wants 360 days of service.^[7][10]

You may apply while the MMC is still valid. 46 CFR 10.227 also lets a complete renewal land for 1 year after the expiration date and still be treated as a renewal. After that year you are in a harder box. Do not cut it close if you already booked spring trips on Lake Powell.^[1]

The physical has its own clock. Use the current CG-719K instructions, not a forum post from 2019. A stale exam is a common reason a clean-looking packet sits.

If you are asking how long six-pack captain takes in Arizona and you have no sea service, the honest answer is however long it takes you to stack 360 days, then NMC time on top. Weekends you forgot to log do not count. TWIC appointments exist in the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. Wait times vary. Book that before you blame Martinsburg.

Anyone selling a guaranteed Arizona turnaround is guessing. NMC times move. Confirm them.

What papers does USCG want for an OUPV renewal?

NMC wants a complete CG-719B, the user fee, TWIC evidence, a chemical test or consortium letter, a medical package that supports a certificate, and proof you still meet 46 CFR 10.227 professional rules. Missing one item is how desert applications stall. Use the current officer renewal checklist, not a blog graphic.^{[7][8][13][14]}

Professional proof is the part Arizona operators blow. 46 CFR 10.227 lets you renew a national officer endorsement by showing at least 1 year of sea service in the past 5 years, or by passing the open-book exercise, or by finishing an approved refresher, or by showing closely related employment for 3 of the last 5 years. Small lake logs count if they are real. Fake days are a criminal problem, not a paperwork problem.^[1]

46 CFR 10.227 is blunt on validity. "A renewed MMC is valid for a 5-year period from the date of issuance." That sentence is the whole cycle. Plan the next one the day this one prints.

First aid and CPR are an original-officer item under 46 CFR 11.201. Do not mail a random classroom card unless the live NMC renewal checklist asks for it. I keep copies of every page. NMC loses less than people claim, but bad scans still kill weeks.

A renewed MMC is valid for a 5-year period from the date of issuance, per 46 CFR 10.227.^[1]

What happens if your six-pack license already expired?

If the MMC expired less than a year ago, 46 CFR 10.227 still treats a complete application as a renewal. You should not carry passengers for hire while the credential is dead. After that one-year window, the Coast Guard can demand original-level proof. Read the lapsed checklist before you pay a school.^[1][3]

The statute does not give you a grace season on the water. A packet in the mail is not a license. If a boarding officer on Lake Mead asks for the MMC, expired is expired.

An expired medical certificate is a different problem from an expired MMC. You can hold a valid credential and still be out of service if the medical is dead. National-endorsement medical certificates can run up to 5 years under 46 CFR 10.301, unless the doctor or NMC shortened them. STCW medicals are 2 years. Most Arizona six-pack work is national OUPV, not STCW.^[5][8]

If you are more than a year late, I would not guess. Read 10.227 all the way through and use the current NMC lapsed-credential checklist. Schools love this moment because it sounds like you must buy a full original course. Sometimes you do. Sometimes the open-book exercise is enough. Confirm before you spend.

Does Arizona add its own captain card or boating card?

No. Arizona does not issue a six-pack captain license or a state OUPV stamp. The extras are a recreational boating education card for some operators and a watercraft certificate of number under A.R.S. 5-321. Confirm the current education cutoff with Arizona Game and Fish. A federal MMC does not automatically replace that card.^[11][12]

Arizona Game and Fish runs the mandatory boating education program. The birth-year cutoff and the exact card name have been amended. I am not going to lock a year here that the legislature may have moved. Read the department's boating education page the week you hire a new deckhand.

Watercraft on Arizona waters generally need a certificate of number unless a Title 5 exemption fits. A.R.S. 5-321 is the numbering and fee statute. Commercial liveries pick up more Game and Fish and city rules. That is business licensing, not a master's credential.

Cities around Lake Havasu and the river also write launch and noise rules. Those are not USCG endorsements. Read them anyway. If you take money, talk to a CPA about Arizona transaction privilege tax. I am not going to guess your tax class.

Which Arizona waters actually trigger a Coast Guard six-pack?

Federal manning attaches on waters treated as navigable waters of the United States when you carry a passenger for hire. The Colorado River chain, including Lake Mead, Lake Havasu, and the Lake Powell corridor, is the clean Arizona example. Isolated stock tanks are not. Get a written read before you advertise paid trips on a random reservoir.^[3][4]

I have not seen a public, lake-by-lake OUPV map that I trust. Some desert reservoirs sit on river systems or federal dam projects and still draw federal interest. Some farm ponds do not. The fact pattern is the water plus the hire. A suggested tip that is not optional is still pay. A free family ride is not. Venmo jokes do not help you in a boarding.

Uninspected passenger vessel, in plain terms, is the small-boat model with six or fewer paying passengers. Cross seven paying passengers and you are in inspected small passenger vessel land. That is a Certificate of Inspection, not a six-pack. Different world. Different money.

Lake Powell straddles Arizona and Utah. The park service is in your face every morning. The captain credential is still the federal MMC. Utah does not issue a six-pack either. If you run both sides of the line, you still renew one file in Martinsburg.

How do you keep sea service and medical current from a desert state?

Log every running day when it happens, then keep a doctor who will finish CG-719K without skipping boxes. Arizona lake days count as inland service if they are real. If you are short of 1 year of service in 5 years, take the approved refresher or the open-book exercise instead of inventing days.^[1][15]

46 CFR 10.232 is the sea service documentation rule people actually fail. Letters from owners work if they have the vessel identifiers, the dates, the waters, the horsepower or tonnage, and a signature that can be found later. A notebook in the dry box beats a winter reconstruction.

You do not need oceans. You need truthful days in a capacity the endorsement allows. If you only ran 40 days in five years, stop pretending. The refresher is cheaper than a rejection and a dead spring calendar.

For the physical, find a doctor who will fill CG-719K completely. A sports-physical scribble gets bounced. Vision, color vision, meds, and the signature block are where packets die. 46 CFR 10.301 is why the medical certificate is its own card. Keep it with the MMC.^[5][8]

Drug tests have to be DOT collections. A cheap box from a smoke shop is worthless. A letter from a random-testing consortium is often cleaner than a one-off if you actually belong to the consortium.^[14]

If you winter in Arizona and summer somewhere else, the days still stack on one MMC. Compare the same federal file against six-pack captain renewal in california and six-pack captain renewal in colorado. The credential does not reset at the state line.

What is a waste of money on Arizona six-pack renewal?

A marked-up we-handle-NMC renewal package is the usual waste, especially if you already have recency. So is STCW basic training you will not use on an inland six-pack. Pay for a real physical, a proper DOT collection, and a live TWIC. Skip the hotel captain week if you are only renewing.

Paying a school to fill CG-719B when you can read is silly. Paying for a near-coastal upgrade you will not run is silly unless you already have the sea service and a reason. New logbook software is optional. NMC still accepts paper sea service letters.

A second TWIC just in case is silly. One valid TWIC is the rule.^[9][13]

What is not a waste is sitting out a season if your medical is a mess. Pushing a bad 719K just delays the good one. Copies of every page you mail are not a waste either.

If you operate across state lines, skim six-pack captain renewal in florida for the same federal checklist. Ignore Florida tax folklore. It will not help you in Parker.

How is Arizona renewal different from other states?

NMC does not run a different renewal for Arizona. The forms, fees, and 5-year cycle are the same file a Florida or California operator sends. What changes is the local boater card, the water, and how far you drive for a DOT collector. The MMC itself travels. The state card may not.^[1][7]

Coastal states add port security flavor and more STCW pressure. Arizona adds heat, altitude, and rangers. Read six-pack captain renewal in alabama or six-pack captain renewal in alaska if you move. You take the MMC with you. You do not take an Arizona Game and Fish card and call it done.

Hawaii is a completely different water story and still the same NMC file. six-pack captain renewal in hawaii is geography, not a second license theory.

I would keep a folder labeled federal and a thinner folder labeled Arizona boat. Mix them up and you will renew the wrong thing.

What should you do 8 months before your MMC expires?

Read three expiration dates: MMC, medical certificate, and TWIC. Download the current NMC officer renewal checklist. Add up sea service. If you are short, book the refresher before you apply. Pay the table 1 fees and whatever TSA is charging that week. Do not run paid trips on a dead card while you wait.^[2][6][9]

Order a new physical if the medical will die first. Book TWIC if that date is first. Delete the PDF you saved in 2021. Fee tables and checklists move. 46 CFR 10.219 sets the MMC officer renewal evaluation fee at $50 and the issuance fee at $45. Still confirm both on the live NMC page the day you write the check.

If you have never held the license and you landed here by mistake, stop. Renewal advice will not create sea time. Start with the original OUPV path and 46 CFR 11.467, not with a renewal checklist.^[10]

OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Nobody here can promise NMC will approve your file. If you want the original-issue kit already mentioned, it lives at /start. For renewal, use the Coast Guard forms and confirm every fee and queue time on a .gov page the day you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Can I renew an OUPV from Phoenix without visiting a Coast Guard office?

Yes. Renewal is an NMC file, not a local counter visit. Most Arizona holders upload or mail CG-719B, pay the user fee, and attach TWIC, medical, drug-test, and sea-service proof. You still may need a TSA TWIC appointment and a clinician who will finish CG-719K. Confirm current submission instructions on the NMC merchant mariner credential page before you send anything.

Does a federal MMC replace Arizona's boating education card?

Do not assume it does. Arizona Game and Fish runs a separate mandatory education program for certain motorized operators. The cutoff has been amended, so read the current department education page. Carry the state card if the statute reaches you. Rangers do not want a lecture about 46 CFR while a launch line waits.

How many paying passengers can I carry on a six-pack in Arizona?

Six. That is the uninspected passenger vessel model under federal law, not an Arizona seat-count. One paying passenger is enough to trigger the licensed-operator rule on waters where Coast Guard manning applies. Seven paying passengers puts you in inspected small-passenger-vessel territory and a Certificate of Inspection, which is a different process.

Do I need STCW to run Lake Mead or Lake Powell?

Usually no for a straight inland OUPV six-pack. STCW is the international watch standard coastal and ocean mariners hit. Most Arizona lake work is a national endorsement. STCW would shorten your medical certificate to a 2-year cycle under 46 CFR 10.301. Do not buy the class unless a route or employer actually requires it.

What if I only have 80 days of sea service in five years?

Do not invent the other days. 46 CFR 10.227 lets you renew a national officer endorsement with an approved refresher, the open-book exercise, or certain related employment if you lack 1 year of service in 5 years. Price the course against a study weekend. A rejection for bad sea service costs more than honesty.

Can I operate the day after my MMC expires if the renewal is in the mail?

No. An application in transit is not authority to carry passengers for hire. 46 CFR 10.227 lets a late packet still be processed as a renewal for 1 year after expiration. It does not let you keep working. Park the paid trips until the new MMC is in hand.

Is the OUPV the same as a 25-ton master license?

No. OUPV is the six-or-fewer uninspected passenger endorsement. A master of towing or a 25/50/100-ton master is a different officer endorsement with different service and exam scopes. You can hold more than one endorsement on one MMC. Renewing OUPV does not quietly upgrade you to 25-ton master.

Do I need a radar observer endorsement in Arizona?

Not for a typical inland six-pack on a clear desert lake. Radar observer is a separate endorsement some routes and some inspected vessels require. If your MMC already has it, check whether you must show recency to keep it. Do not buy radar school for Roosevelt Lake because a catalog bundled it.

Will NMC accept a drug test from a walk-in clinic in Tucson?

Only if it is a proper DOT collection and lab path, not a cheap storefront panel. NMC wants a chemical test that meets 46 CFR part 16, or a letter showing you are in a random consortium. Call the clinic and ask if they do DOT collections for merchant mariners before you pay. Confirm details on the NMC drug testing page.

How do I document sea service on a friend's boat at Roosevelt Lake?

Use a sea service letter that meets 46 CFR 10.232. Put the vessel identifiers, dates, waters, propulsion or tonnage, your capacity, and a reachable signature. Arizona inland days count if they are true. A reconstructed winter spreadsheet with round numbers is how packets get questioned. Write the day down the day you run it.

What forms do I actually mail for renewal?

Start with CG-719B and the current NMC officer renewal checklist. Add CG-719K (or the medical path NMC is using that week), TWIC evidence, fee payment, and chemical-test proof. Do not build the stack from a 2018 blog. Forms get revised. Download them from the NMC forms and credential pages the week you apply.

If I move from Florida to Arizona, do I renew in Arizona?

You still renew with NMC. Update your address on the application. Arizona does not reissue the MMC. Your Florida state boating card does not become an Arizona card. Handle Game and Fish education and watercraft numbering as separate Arizona chores. The federal five-year clock does not reset because you changed states.

How much does an original six-pack cost if I do not have a license yet?

More than a renewal, and the real cost is time. 46 CFR 11.467 wants 360 days of service. Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.219 charges more to evaluate an original officer endorsement than a renewal. Course prices move, so get a written quote. Confirm NMC fees on the live fee page. I would not pay resort rates for the same approved outline.

Does Lake Powell count as inland waters for the endorsement?

Operators treat the Powell and Mead corridor as inland waters for a national OUPV, not as near-coastal oceans. The park service still runs the shoreline. The credential is still the federal MMC. If your card is inland-only, stay inside the waters it names. If you also run a coast, that is a different endorsement conversation with NMC.

Sources

1. eCFR 46 CFR 10.227 Requirements for renewal: A renewed MMC is valid for 5 years and a complete renewal may be processed during validity and for 1 year after expiration, with listed professional options including 1 year of sea service in 5 years.
2. eCFR 46 CFR 10.219 Fees: Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.219(a) sets MMC officer renewal user fees at $50 evaluation, $45 examination, and $45 issuance.
3. U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. 8903 Uninspected passenger vessels: Federal statute requires an appropriately licensed operator on an uninspected passenger vessel.
4. eCFR 46 CFR 15.605 Credentialed operators for uninspected passenger vessels: An uninspected passenger vessel must be under the direction and control of an individual credentialed by the Coast Guard.
5. eCFR 46 CFR 10.301 General medical requirements: Medical certificates are issued for up to 2 years for STCW service and up to 5 years for national-endorsement service unless shortened.
6. U.S. Coast Guard NMC User Fees: The National Maritime Center publishes the live MMC user-fee table applicants must confirm before paying.
7. U.S. Coast Guard NMC Merchant Mariner Credential: NMC, not a state agency, issues and renews the Merchant Mariner Credential and posts application instructions.
8. U.S. Coast Guard NMC Medical Certificates: NMC issues the medical certificate as a separate document and publishes current medical-certificate instructions.
9. TSA Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC): TSA issues the TWIC and publishes the current enrollment fee and validity period.
10. eCFR 46 CFR 11.467 Operator of uninspected passenger vessels: An applicant for an OUPV endorsement must document 360 days of service under the OUPV service rule.
11. Arizona Revised Statutes 5-321 Numbering; registration fees: Arizona statute provides for certificates of number and watercraft registration fees separate from any federal captain credential.
12. Arizona Game and Fish Department Boating Education: Arizona Game and Fish administers the state boating education program that can apply to motorized operators in addition to a federal MMC.
13. eCFR 46 CFR 10.203 Requirement to hold a TWIC: MMC applicants covered by 46 U.S.C. 70105 must hold a TWIC as part of credentialing.
14. U.S. Coast Guard NMC Drug Testing: NMC publishes the chemical-testing evidence it accepts with MMC original and renewal applications.
15. eCFR 46 CFR 10.232 Sea service: Sea service submitted for an MMC must be documented in the form the Coast Guard specifies, including vessel and date detail.