Last updated 2026-08-19
TL;DR
Arkansas issues no six-pack captain license. You renew the federal OUPV Merchant Mariner Credential, valid 5 years, through the Coast Guard National Maritime Center. You need it on Coast Guard waters to carry six or fewer passengers for hire. Budget medical, drug test, and TWIC on top of the published USCG user fees. Confirm current NMC times before you book trips.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Arkansas?
Yes, if you carry six or fewer passengers for hire on waters under U.S. Coast Guard jurisdiction. Arkansas does not print a six-pack card. The license is a federal Merchant Mariner Credential with an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels endorsement. Isolated private ponds are a different fact pattern. Confirm the water.
Federal law is blunt here. 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] That licensed person is you. The six-passenger ceiling lives in the definitions at 46 U.S.C. § 2101. [2] Seven paying passengers is a different vessel, a different inspection regime, and a different endorsement.
Coast Guard manning rules track the statute. 46 CFR 15.605 requires an uninspected passenger vessel to be under the direction and control of an individual credentialed under 46 CFR part 11, with the right route and tonnage. [3] An inland OUPV covers most Arkansas river work. Near Coastal is extra scope you should not pay to keep if you never use it.
A six-pack captain in Arkansas still hears two bad stories. One says a Game and Fish boat number plus insurance is enough to sell sunset trips on the Arkansas River. That fails if the water is under Coast Guard rules. The other says Little Rock or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission issues a state captain license. They do not.
AGFC recreational boater education is a real program with a real card. It is not an OUPV. [13] I would not run paying passengers on a boater-ed certificate and a hope. If you take money to put people on a boat, hold the federal credential or get written advice you can keep.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Arkansas?
A clean officer renewal at the Coast Guard is the published user fees in 46 CFR 10.219: $50 for evaluation and $45 for issuance. If NMC requires an exam, that line adds $45. Arkansas tacks on no state captain-license fee. Confirm the table before you pay, because the live list is the National Maritime Center fees page. [6] [7]
46 CFR 10.219 sets the Coast Guard officer renewal evaluation fee at $50 and the issuance fee at $45. [6] Those two lines total $95 when you do not sit an exam. That is not your all-in number.
You still pay a physician for the CG-719K medical exam. You still pay a clinic for a chemical test unless you hold a current letter from a random-testing consortium. You still need a Transportation Worker Identification Credential if your MMC requires one, and TSA posts that enrollment fee on its own site. [10] [11] I will not invent a clinic price. In practice the physical plus drug screen often costs more than the Coast Guard user fees. If the doctor sends you to a specialist for blood pressure, sleep apnea, or vision, the bill grows. Leave a cushion.
An original six-pack costs more. 46 CFR 10.219 lists a higher evaluation fee and an examination fee for original officer endorsements. [6] Add an approved course if you take one, travel if you test in person, TWIC, medical, and the drug test. School prices bounce. Compare the actual syllabus and the Coast Guard approval, not the brochure.
Waste of money: a middleman who charges hundreds of dollars to put your sea service in a prettier PDF. NMC wants facts, a signature, and vessel identifiers. Read the checklist. Fill the current forms. Keep copies.
User fees can change. Treat $50 and $45 as the amounts in the current Code of Federal Regulations, then verify on the NMC fees page the week you apply. [7]
How long does six-pack captain take in Arkansas?
There is no honest fixed clock. National Maritime Center evaluation time moves with the backlog. NMC posts current processing information. Check that posting the week you apply. I will not invent a week count, and nobody can promise you a date. [14]
The part you control is the packet. A complete renewal (application, user fees, medical, drug test or consortium letter, TWIC, sea service or course completion) can be assembled in a couple of weeks if your doctor turns the physical around. A messy medical file can sit. One missing signature on a sea service letter sends the file back.
A Merchant Mariner Credential is valid for a term of 5 years from the date of issuance, under 46 CFR 10.205. [4] You may apply while it is still valid. 46 CFR 10.227 also addresses what happens after the printed date. [5] If I had spring bookings, I would start 8 to 12 months before expiration. That is how I run my own calendar. It is not a Coast Guard guarantee.
Original issue takes longer because of the exam or approved course and, often, more medical questions. Same rule applies. Confirm current NMC times. Do not advertise a first-trip date until the credential is in hand.
Arkansas adds no separate captain-license queue. Boat numbering through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is a different errand. [13] Do not mix those clocks.
Who issues a six-pack captain license in Arkansas?
The U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center issues and renews the credential. Your Arkansas address does not change the issuer. You do not get an OUPV from the county clerk, the Secretary of State, or AGFC licensing. [14]
Applications follow the process NMC publishes. That may be the Coast Guard credentialing portal when it is open for your transaction, or the paper path still listed on the how-to-apply page. [14] Use the current CG-719B application and the current CG-719K medical form. Old PDFs get rejected. I have no patience for people who recycle a 2018 file and then blame NMC.
The MMC and the medical certificate are related, and they are not the same document. A physician completes the exam. Coast Guard medical evaluators decide the term of the medical certificate or they hold the file. [8] [9] People let the medical expire and keep running trips. That is a boarding problem waiting to happen.
TWIC is TSA paper. Not Arkansas DPS. Not NMC. [10] [11]
If a school or a broker says they "issue" six-pack licenses, they do not. They may teach a course or coach a packet. Only the Coast Guard issues the MMC.
How do you renew a six-pack captain credential from Arkansas?
You renew the same way a captain in Mobile or Chicago renews. Same regulation. Same National Maritime Center. Same user fees. Living in Arkansas does not create a state renewal form.
Read 46 CFR 10.227 before you spend money. That section is the renewal rule. [5] In plain language you prove identity, pay the fees, satisfy TWIC and security checks, present a medical path NMC will accept, and meet the professional requirement for every endorsement you want to keep.
The professional piece is where lake operators get sloppy. If you have the service, write it down with vessel name, official number or state number, gross tonnage, dates, waters, your position, propulsion, and a responsible signature. If you do not have the service, take a Coast Guard-approved renewal or refresher course, or follow the exam path the regulation describes. Do not invent days. NMC will ask.
Keep the route honest. Inland matches most Arkansas river and reservoir work. I would not pay to renew Near Coastal if I never leave the McClellan-Kerr system and I do not need that route next season.
Submit the file. Track the application number. Answer medical questions in writing and fast. They will not chase you forever.
The federal machine does not care which state is on your driver's license. If you want to see how the same renewal reads from nearby desks, start with six-pack captain renewal in alabama and six-pack captain renewal in georgia. Same NMC. Different docks.
What documents does the Coast Guard want for renewal?
Use the current NMC renewal checklist, then send a completed application, fee payment, medical exam, chemical test or consortium letter, TWIC evidence, and proof you still meet the professional standard. That is the whole packet. Missing one item is how a simple renewal turns into summer email.
CG-719B is the application. CG-719K is the medical. There is a privacy release (CG-719P) in the same family of forms. Get them from the NMC forms list, not from a random search result. [14] [9]
Sea service letters should name the vessel, the official number or state registration, gross tonnage, the dates you served, the waters, your capacity, horsepower or propulsion, and who is attesting. A vague letter that says "worked boats around Heber Springs" is junk. Name the boat.
If you closed the professional gap with a course, attach the completion certificate that names the Coast Guard approval. If you are in a random drug-testing program, attach the consortium letter NMC describes, not a casual email from a buddy. [15]
Pay the user fees the way NMC is accepting payment that month. Screenshot the receipt.
If you want the federal forms and a checklist in one bundle, OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit at /start. It is paper help from an independent publisher. It is not a Coast Guard approval, and it is not a filing service. The free NMC forms still work if you read them.
What if your six-pack MMC already expired?
You may still be able to renew, but the professional burden grows with the gap, and you cannot carry passengers for hire on an expired credential. 46 CFR 10.227 is the rule for late filings, including extra proof and, in a long lapse, a continuity endorsement or a return to examination. Read that section. Do not let a group chat rewrite it. [5]
46 U.S.C. § 8903 has no "card is in the mail" clause. [1] If the MMC is dead, the trip is not legal on Coast Guard waters. I would cancel before I would bluff a boarding officer.
A short overlap is why people apply early. Apply during validity when you can. If you already blew past the date, stop advertising trips, gather service or a course certificate, and file. Continuity keeps the credential from disappearing entirely in some cases, but continuity is not authority to operate.
Medical holds are a separate trap. An MMC that looks valid in your wallet does not help if the medical certificate lapsed. Check both dates. [8] [9]
Nobody has clean public data on how many Arkansas holders miss the window. The closest thing to a rule of thumb is ugly and personal. If the card expires in-season, you lose revenue. File off-season.
Do Arkansas lakes and rivers fall under Coast Guard rules?
Many of the waters people actually charter in Arkansas do. The Arkansas River navigation system is a federal project. Plenty of Corps reservoirs sit on, or connect to, systems the Coast Guard treats as navigable waters of the United States. 33 CFR 2.36 is the Coast Guard definition you start with, not a marina rumor. [12]
I will not draw you a fake map that says "this cove is federal and that cove is state only." Jurisdiction is fact-specific. Isolated farm ponds and some landlocked waters fall outside the manning statute. Popular trip water usually does not. If you take money, treat 46 U.S.C. § 8903 as the default and get advice if you think you found an exception. [1]
AGFC rules still apply on the same lakes. Registration, numbering, safety equipment, and operating rules do not replace a merchant mariner credential. [13] A Corps lake permit, if one is required for your commercial activity, also does not replace it. Stack the paper. Do not swap it.
Boarding officers care about the credential, the medical certificate, the passenger count, and whether you are operating beyond the route on the card. Six paying passengers is the OUPV lid. [2] Kids count. Complimentary "friends" who paid you last week count. Do not play word games with "donation."
If you run the same business model in another state, the federal question travels with you. The Florida and Illinois writeups matter only as a reminder that NMC does not rewrite 46 CFR for your shoreline. See six-pack captain renewal in florida and six-pack captain renewal in illinois.
Do you need a new medical, TWIC, and drug test to renew?
Usually yes to a current medical path, yes to a valid TWIC if your MMC requires one, and yes to a chemical test or an acceptable consortium letter. Skip any of the three and NMC parks the file. Confirm the current checklist, because medical term and drug-test recency go stale fast. [9] [11] [15]
46 CFR 10.301 is the medical-certificate framework. [8] The physician fills CG-719K. NMC decides the term. Some mariners get five years. Some get two. Some get one, or a hold, if the file shows blood pressure, diabetes, sleep disorders, or medications the evaluators want explained. I am not your doctor. If you already know a condition is messy, start the physical early.
TWIC is a TSA credential. 46 CFR 10.203 is why it sits next to the MMC for most officer transactions. [11] Renew TWIC on TSA's clock, not on a guess. The enrollment fee is whatever TSA is posting. [10] Do not copy a dollar figure from a 2019 forum thread.
Chemical testing for applicants is in 46 CFR part 16. [15] NMC wants a test in the window they publish, or proof you are in a bona fide random program. A same-day clinic test is fine if the lab is acceptable. A printout with no collector information is not.
The medical certificate can expire before the MMC. Put both dates on a kitchen calendar. Working with a live MMC and a dead medical is a rookie mistake.
Should you use sea service or a renewal course?
Use sea service if you actually have it. Take an approved renewal or refresher course if you do not. That is the whole decision. 46 CFR 10.227 sets the professional options. [5] Paying for a course you do not need is a waste. Inventing days you did not serve is worse.
Documented days on a named vessel beat a vague memory of "a lot of weekends on Beaver." If you skippered your own six-pack boat, you can still write a proper letter, but make the identifiers real. Official number. State number. Tonnage. Dates. Waters.
If your last five years were mostly shop work, real estate, or a boat that never left the lift, buy the course. A Coast Guard-approved renewal course is the clean close. Compare approval numbers. A first-aid card is not a renewal course. A YouTube marathon is not a renewal course.
I would not sit a full original OUPV class just to renew unless my credential is so stale that NMC is sending me back to the exam path. Read the letter they send you. Then spend money.
STCW is a separate pile. A domestic inland OUPV used on Arkansas lakes often carries no STCW endorsement to renew. Do not let a school upsell you STCW modules you will never use. If you later want oceans, that is a different raise of grade.
What extra Arkansas paper sits beside the federal card?
State paper does not replace the MMC, and the MMC does not replace state paper. You still number and register the boat the way AGFC requires, carry the safety gear the state and the Coast Guard both expect, and handle tax and business filings if you are actually running a charter company. [13]
AGFC recreational boater education is for recreational operators. It is not authority to carry passengers for hire. [13] If someone at the ramp tells you the state card is "good enough on this lake," they are not the boarding officer and they will not pay your lawyer.
Fishing-guide arrangements, if you sell guided angling, are wildlife rules. Confirm current guide requirements with AGFC if that is your product. A guide credential, where one applies, still does not satisfy 46 U.S.C. § 8903 on Coast Guard waters. [1] Two jobs. Two sets of paper.
Insurance is not optional in the real world even when a statute names no policy limit. Get a marine policy that matches passenger-for-hire use. A pleasure-boat policy that excludes charter is a hole.
Local Corps or county commercial-use permits show up on some reservoirs. Ask the project office that runs your lake. I would not invent a permit that is not posted. I also would not assume silence means none exists.
When should you start six-pack captain renewal in Arkansas?
Start in the off season before the year the MMC dies, and start sooner if your medical history is messy. The credential lasts 5 years. [4] NMC time is whatever they are posting. [14] Your doctor and TSA run their own lines. Stack those three and you see why a May expiration is a January problem.
Put four dates on one card: MMC expiration, medical expiration, TWIC expiration, and drug-consortium membership if you have it. Renew the one that dies first. People stare at the MMC and miss the medical. That is the usual failure.
Do the physical first if you already know a specialist might get involved. Do TWIC next if the card is close. Draft sea service while the season is still in your head. File when the stack is complete, not when you are one form short and hopeful.
Same federal steps apply if you later move. The California and Colorado versions of this story are still NMC stories. six-pack captain renewal in california and six-pack captain renewal in colorado are useful only for that comparison.
OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not the Coast Guard. The kit at /start is optional. The NMC checklist is not. Confirm fees, medical terms, and processing on the board pages cited here before you take a deposit for next season.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Arkansas?
Yes, on waters under Coast Guard jurisdiction, if you carry six or fewer passengers for hire. Arkansas does not issue that license. You need a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV endorsement under 46 U.S.C. § 8903. Recreational boater education from AGFC is not a substitute. Confirm the water if you think you found a private-pond exception.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Arkansas?
For renewal, 46 CFR 10.219 lists $50 for the officer evaluation and $45 for issuance, plus $45 if an exam is required. Confirm those user fees on the NMC fees page. Add a physician exam, a drug test or consortium letter, and TSA’s current TWIC fee. Original issue costs more at NMC and usually adds a course. Arkansas has no separate captain-license fee.
How long does six-pack captain take in Arkansas?
NMC evaluation time is not a fixed number. Check the National Maritime Center’s current processing post the week you apply. Your own packet can come together in a couple of weeks if the physical is clean, or drag if medical follow-up starts. The MMC itself is issued for 5 years under 46 CFR 10.205. Do not promise customers a date until the credential is in hand.
Can I renew my OUPV online from Arkansas?
Often yes, through the Coast Guard credentialing process NMC is using at the time, if your transaction type is open in the portal. Paper filing is still described on NMC’s how-to-apply page. Living in Arkansas does not block either path. Use current forms only. Confirm the accepted method on the NMC site before you mail anything.
What happens if my six-pack expired more than a year ago?
46 CFR 10.227 still governs late renewal. The professional showing gets heavier as the gap grows. You may face a course, an exam path, or a continuity endorsement that does not let you operate. Do not carry paying passengers on an expired MMC. File the renewal, then wait for the new credential before you take deposits.
Do I need a TWIC to renew in Arkansas?
Most officer MMC transactions require a Transportation Worker Identification Credential under 46 CFR 10.203. Arkansas does not issue a substitute. Renew TWIC with TSA and use the fee TSA posts. If you think you qualify for an exception, confirm it on the current NMC checklist rather than assuming lake work is exempt.
Does Arkansas require a state captain license on Greers Ferry or Lake Ouachita?
No. There is no Arkansas six-pack captain license. Popular Corps and AGFC waters still often fall under Coast Guard manning rules when you carry passengers for hire. You hold the federal OUPV, plus whatever registration, safety, and commercial-use rules the lake office and AGFC post. Confirm jurisdiction if you believe a water is truly isolated.
Can I run charters on the Arkansas River with only a state boat registration?
No, not if you are carrying passengers for hire on waters under Coast Guard jurisdiction. 46 U.S.C. § 8903 requires a licensed operator on an uninspected passenger vessel. AGFC numbering is still required for the boat. It does not authorize you to take paying passengers. Get the MMC with OUPV before you advertise trips.
How many passengers can a six-pack carry?
Six paying passengers. That is the uninspected-passenger-vessel limit in 46 U.S.C. § 2101 and the reason people call it a six-pack. A seventh paying passenger moves you into inspected-vessel rules and a different endorsement. Count everyone who paid, including children. Complimentary seats used to dodge the cap are a bad idea.
Do I need STCW to renew an OUPV used only on inland lakes?
Usually no. A domestic inland OUPV used on Arkansas lakes often has no STCW endorsement to renew. Do not buy STCW modules for a lake-only card unless NMC or a raise-of-grade plan actually requires them. If your MMC already lists STCW, renew only what you still need. Read the credential before you shop courses.
When should I start the renewal if my card expires in May?
Start in the prior fall or winter. The MMC term is 5 years, but medical, TWIC, and NMC backlog each add time you do not control. If the physical might need a specialist, start even earlier. Apply while the credential is still valid when you can. Confirm current NMC processing rather than backing into Memorial Day.
Is a fishing guide license the same as a six-pack in Arkansas?
No. A state guide arrangement, where AGFC requires one, is wildlife paper for selling guided hunting or fishing. The six-pack is a federal operator credential for carrying passengers for hire. On Coast Guard waters you can need both. Confirm current guide rules with AGFC. Confirm the OUPV with NMC. They are not interchangeable.
Do I need a new physical every time I renew?
You need a medical certificate path NMC will accept. 46 CFR 10.301 governs medical certificates. Some mariners still have time left on a prior certificate. Others must do a new CG-719K because the medical term is shorter than the five-year MMC. Check the date on the medical certificate, more than the MMC. Start early if you have conditions to explain.
Can I keep working while NMC evaluates the renewal?
Only if your current MMC and medical certificate are still valid. An application in process is not a license. If either document expires while the file sits, stop carrying passengers for hire on Coast Guard waters. That is why people file months early. Confirm both expiration dates before you take in-season deposits.
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.
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 2101 Definitions: Uninspected passenger vessel and passenger-for-hire definitions set the six-passenger OUPV ceiling.
- 46 CFR 15.605 Credentialed operators for uninspected passenger vessels: An uninspected passenger vessel must be under the direction and control of a Coast Guard-credentialed operator.
- 46 CFR 10.205 Validity of a merchant mariner credential: A Merchant Mariner Credential is valid for a term of 5 years from the date of issuance.
- 46 CFR 10.227 Requirements for renewal: MMC renewal, professional requirements, and late-renewal rules are set in 46 CFR 10.227.
- 46 CFR 10.219 Fees: Officer renewal user fees are $50 evaluation, $45 issuance, and $45 examination if required.
- U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center Fees: NMC publishes the live merchant mariner user-fee list that applicants should confirm before paying.
- 46 CFR 10.301 Medical certificate: Medical-certificate standards for merchant mariners are in 46 CFR 10.301.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC Medical Certificate: NMC administers merchant mariner medical certificates separately from the five-year MMC.
- TSA Transportation Worker Identification Credential: TWIC enrollment and current TSA fees are posted by the Transportation Security Administration.
- 46 CFR 10.203 Requirement to hold a TWIC and an MMC: Most mariners must hold a TWIC in connection with an MMC.
- 33 CFR 2.36 Navigable waters of the United States: Coast Guard definition of navigable waters of the United States used for jurisdiction questions.
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Boating: AGFC administers recreational boat registration and boater education, which are separate from a federal OUPV.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC How to Apply: NMC publishes current MMC application methods, forms path, and processing information.
- 46 CFR 16.210 Applicant testing requirements: Coast Guard chemical-testing rules for merchant mariner applicants are in 46 CFR part 16.