Last updated 2026-08-19
TL;DR
You do not renew a six-pack with Delaware. The license is a U.S. Coast Guard MMC with an OUPV endorsement, valid 5 years under 46 U.S.C. 7106. File at the National Maritime Center. Keep a current medical certificate and usually a TWIC. State boat numbering and safety-card rules still apply, and they do not replace the MMC. Confirm live NMC fees and processing times before you file.
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Delaware?
Yes, if you carry passengers for hire on waters the Coast Guard treats as navigable waters of the United States. The license is federal. Delaware does not issue a six-pack captain card, and a state boating safety card does not let you take pay-to-ride passengers.
The workhorse credential is a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) with a national endorsement as Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels. People call that a six-pack. It is written in 46 CFR 11.467.[8] The boat is an uninspected passenger vessel when you carry six or fewer passengers for hire and you are not in the inspected-vessel system.
Federal law is blunt. 46 U.S.C. 8903 says a self-propelled, uninspected passenger vessel "shall be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary to operate that type of vessel, under prescribed regulations."[1] That Secretary function sits with the Coast Guard, not DNREC and not a Delaware court clerk.
Run a private boat with friends who never pay, and you are outside the six-pack problem. The minute someone pays, and you are on waters under federal jurisdiction, the MMC is the license that matters. Delaware Bay, the Delaware River, the Atlantic off the beaches, and a lot of the Inland Bays traffic fall in that bucket. I would not invent a "state-waters only" loophole and hope an at-sea boarding agrees with you.
A six-pack captain Delaware operator still needs the boat itself numbered or documented the right way, and still needs the safety gear 46 CFR Subchapter C wants on an uninspected passenger vessel. That is vessel paper. It is not a substitute for your personal MMC.
Is six-pack renewal handled by Delaware or the Coast Guard?
The Coast Guard. Renewal is an NMC transaction. You do not walk into a Delaware DMV, a DNREC office, or a county building and renew an OUPV.
The National Maritime Center evaluates the application, the medical file, the professional evidence, and then issues the new credential.[5] Regional Exam Centers still exist for some original testing and in-person pieces, but a clean renewal is not a Delaware form. If a school or a Facebook ad sells you a "Delaware six-pack renewal license," that is a product looking for a statute that is not there.
Other states work the same way on the federal card. The local extras change. Compare the state-side clutter in six-pack captain renewal in connecticut or six-pack captain renewal in florida if you also run out of those docks. The MMC packet does not change just because your trailer title says Sussex County.
Keep the two stacks apart in your head. Stack one is the MMC, medical certificate, TWIC, and chemical-test proof. Stack two is Delaware boat numbering, any state boating-safety card, fishing permits, and federal for-hire fishing permits if you target those species. Mixing the stacks is how people mail the wrong agency and then miss a season.
How long is a six-pack captain license good for?
Five years. 46 U.S.C. 7106 states, "A license issued under this part is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods."[2] That is the federal term. Delaware does not shorten or stretch it.
NMC will take a renewal application up to 8 months before the MMC expires.[5] I would not file on day one of that window unless I had a trip, a bank, or an insurer demanding a card that already shows a new date. Ask NMC how they will date the new credential. Filing very early can clip unused months. Filing three weeks out is how you sit at the dock if the queue is slow.
The medical certificate is a separate clock. Read the date printed on it. 46 CFR 10.301 sets medical-certificate validity, and it is often shorter than the MMC.[9] A live MMC with a dead medical certificate is a paperweight if you try to serve under it.
Write three dates on one index card: MMC expiration, medical expiration, TWIC expiration. That is the whole calendar. Everything else is a supporting document.
What does the Coast Guard want for OUPV renewal?
NMC wants proof you still meet the professional standard, a current medical file, identity and citizenship or nationality evidence they already know how to read, a TWIC in most cases, chemical-test evidence, and the application itself. Use the current NMC checklist, not a blog recap from 2017.[5]
46 CFR 10.227 is the renewal rule. It says, "In order to renew a credential issued under this subchapter, every person seeking renewal must meet one of the following professional requirements."[3] The menu is evidence of at least 1 year of sea service during the past 5 years, an open-book exercise, an approved refresher course, or evidence of closely related employment for at least 3 years during the past 5 years.[3]
One year of qualifying sea service means 360 days. That definition lives in 46 CFR 10.107.[14] Small-boat days still count when they are real days underway in the right capacity. A sloppy spreadsheet with no vessel identifiers is how evaluations stall.
If you actually ran charters, I would use sea service. It is the cleanest story. The open-book exercise exists for people who stepped away. I would not pay for a fancy refresher unless I needed the classroom hours for my own rust, or I could not document the days. Related shoreside employment is real, but you have to show the work is close to vessel operation, construction, or repair. "I sold boat insurance" is a fight you may lose.
Original OUPV issue is a different animal. That path wants the full sea-service pile, first aid and CPR, the exam, and the rest of 46 CFR 11.467.[8] Do not mail an original packet when you meant to renew. Do not mail a renewal packet when you never held the endorsement.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Delaware?
There is no Delaware six-pack license fee, because there is no Delaware six-pack license. The money goes to the Coast Guard user-fee table, to TSA if your TWIC is due, to a physician for the CG-719K medical exam, and to a drug-testing lab or consortium. Confirm every federal dollar on the live chart. Do not trust a quote from a forum thread.
Evaluation and issuance fees sit in 46 CFR 10.219.[4] NMC also posts a fees page you should open the week you pay, because tables move.[6] I am not going to invent a current total. Anyone who publishes a single "Delaware six-pack price" that never tells you to check NMC is guessing, or selling.
The physical exam is private-market pricing. Shop it. You need a clinician who will complete the Coast Guard form, not a casual sports physical on a notepad. Drug tests are cheap next to a missed season. TWIC is a TSA product with its own published fee and a five-year card life.[10]
Delaware may still charge you for boat registration or numbering under Title 23, Chapter 21, and for any state boating-education course if you still owe that card.[12][13] Those bills are not MMC renewal. If someone bundles them into a "captain license package," ask them to show the statute that makes DNREC your licensing board. They will not find it.
Skip the paid middleman who only reprints NMC checklists. If you are still building an original OUPV file rather than renewing, OUPVPath publishes a $149 one-time USCG OUPV + Bareboat Kit at /start for that first paper stack. Renewal itself is a government filing. Pay the government, pay the clinic, pay TSA, and stop there unless you truly cannot assemble the forms.
How long does six-pack captain take in Delaware?
For a renewal, the long pole is NMC processing plus whatever you still owe on medical or TWIC. There is no honest fixed number of days I can print here. NMC posts processing times and updates them. Read that page the week you apply, and treat it as a snapshot, not a promise.[7]
I would start the medical exam as soon as I enter the renewal window, then file once the CG-719K and the chemical-test paper are in my hand. Photos and the application are easy. Clinics and labs are what slip.
Original issue is slower in human time even when NMC is fast, because you have to grow the sea service. OUPV wants the service 46 CFR 11.467 describes, including recent service, before you ever sit the exam.[8] People who start from zero often spend a season or more collecting days. That is not a Delaware delay. That is the job.
Do not plan next Memorial Day weekend on an application you have not filed. Do not tell a charter client you are "basically renewed." You are renewed when the new MMC is issued and your medical certificate is valid. Until then you operate on the old dates, or you do not operate.
What Delaware paper still sits beside a federal MMC?
The MMC is necessary. It is not the only paper on a working Delaware boat.
Title 23, Chapter 21 is the motorboat chapter. That is where state numbering and related vessel duties live.[12] If the boat is not federally documented, Delaware numbering is the usual path for a craft principally used here. Documented vessels have their own Coast Guard documentation file. Confirm the current registration term and fee with DNREC. I will not invent either.
Title 23, Chapter 22 is boating safety.[13] Delaware runs a statutory boating-safety education program. A lot of recreational operators still need that card. Your MMC does not automatically erase every state operator rule, and the state card does not erase 46 U.S.C. 8903. Carry what you personally owe. Do not argue with a state officer using a federal anecdote, and do not argue with a boarding team using a plastic state card.
Fishing charters add another layer. State fishing licenses and any for-hire or party-boat rules DNREC publishes are theirs to set. If you leave for tuna, swordfish, sharks, or other Atlantic highly migratory species, look at the NOAA Fisheries charter/headboat permit page before you advertise those trips. That permit is federal fisheries paper, not an MMC endorsement.
Insurance binders, marina contracts, and ramp permits will ask for copies. Keep a wet bag with the MMC, medical certificate, TWIC, registration or documentation, and the drug-consortium letter if you have one. The boarding that ruins your Saturday is usually a missing card, not a missing knot.
Inland or near coastal for Delaware six-pack work?
It depends where you point the bow. An inland OUPV keeps you inside the boundary lines the Coast Guard draws. A near-coastal OUPV is the endorsement people want when they leave those lines.
Delaware looks small on a road map and then gets real around the mouth of the bay. A Lewes or Indian River Inlet trip that runs outside is not an inland errand just because you launched in the state. Read your endorsement line. Read the COLREGS demarcation information for the inlet you actually use. If the printed route on your website crosses that line, inland-only is the wrong card.
Raising grade later is a separate evaluation. It is not a Delaware upgrade. It is more sea service, more NMC fees from the 10.219 table, and whatever exam pieces still apply.[4][8] I would not buy a tonnage increase you will never use. I also would not keep an inland-only card out of stubbornness if your booked trips already live in the ocean swell.
Same federal endorsement logic shows up in six-pack captain renewal in california and six-pack captain renewal in georgia. The water changes. The MMC language does not.
What if your six-pack MMC already expired?
Stop carrying passengers for hire. An expired MMC is not a soft suggestion. 46 U.S.C. 8903 still wants a licensed operator on that uninspected passenger vessel.[1]
46 CFR 10.227 is also the late-renewal rule. In ordinary cases you can still use the renewal professional path for a period after expiration rather than starting from zero.[3] NMC describes the early window and the expired-credential path on the renewals page. Read both before you invent your own grace period.[5] I treat the year after expiration as a paperwork recovery window, not a permission slip to keep running six-packs.
After that recovery window, NMC can put you back into exams or approved courses. That is how a lazy year becomes an expensive winter. If the card is already dead, assemble sea service or the open-book path, get the medical done, and file. Do not take a deposit for Saturday.
If you let the credential go cold for years, you are closer to an original problem than a renewal problem. Be honest on the application. NMC has the old record.
Do medical certificates and TWIC renew on the same clock?
No. That mismatch is the quiet way Delaware operators get stuck with a pretty MMC they cannot use.
The MMC term is 5 years.[2] A TWIC is also issued for five years by TSA, but the start date is whenever you last enrolled, not when NMC printed your license.[10] The medical certificate follows 46 CFR 10.301 and the validity NMC prints on the card.[9][15] Those three dates almost never land in the same month unless you forced them to.
NMC generally wants TWIC evidence when you apply for the MMC transaction. Showing up with an MMC packet and an expired TWIC is a self-inflicted delay. I renew TWIC first if it dies inside the MMC window. I do not renew TWIC two years early just to feel tidy. That wastes the fee.
Medical is the one I refuse to let get close. Book the exam early. If the clinician wants tests, you are already inside the lag. Keep a copy of the signed CG-719K. NMC's medical staff can hold an MMC evaluation for a thin file even when your sea service is perfect.[15]
What renewal sequence would I actually follow?
I would work it in this order, starting about seven months out if the last season was normal.
First, pull the old MMC, medical certificate, and TWIC out of the same drawer and photograph the fronts and backs. Write the three dates. Second, book the medical exam and, if you are not in a random-testing program, book the chemical test. 46 CFR 16.220 is the drug-test rule for credential transactions. You can skip a new test when you can show you are in a bona fide random program. Most small six-pack operators cannot show that unless they joined a consortium on purpose.[11]
Third, build the professional evidence. Sea-service letters with vessel numbers, horsepower or tonnage, waters, and your capacity beat a vague paragraph. If the year of days is not there, pick the open-book exercise or an approved course and stop pretending the logbook will grow in a week.[3]
Fourth, open the current NMC application path and the renewal checklist. Forms change. CG-719B and its online successor are not the place to wing it.[5] Fifth, pay the 10.219 fees the way NMC tells you to pay them that week.[4][6] Sixth, sit on your hands and watch application status. Calling daily does not move medical review.
Same sequence works if you keep a winter place in another state. The filing does not care whether you sleep in Rehoboth or in a six-pack captain renewal in alabama zip code. It cares whether the packet matches 46 CFR 10.227.
What mistakes burn Delaware six-pack renewals?
The expensive mistakes are boring.
People pay for a fake state captain license. People file with a dead TWIC. People mail sea-service letters that never name the vessel. People assume a first-aid card renews an OUPV. People run the last three weekends on an expired MMC because "the application is in." People hold an inland endorsement and sell an offshore sunrise trip off the beaches. People ignore the medical date because the MMC still looks valid in a wallet photo.
A smaller mistake is waiting for a friend who "knows someone at the REC." Baltimore can still be the mid-Atlantic exam center people talk about, but renewal evaluation is an NMC process. Your friend does not set 46 CFR 10.227.
If you also keep paper in other states, do not copy their extras onto Delaware and do not copy Delaware extras onto them. Six-pack captain renewal in illinois is still the same federal card with different dock rules. So is six-pack captain renewal in hawaii. Steal the MMC checklist. Do not steal the local fishing permit story.
After the new MMC arrives, check the printed endorsements before you celebrate. Wrong route, missing OUPV, or a restriction you did not expect is fixable sooner than after you have taken deposits. Keep the old card until you are sure the new one is right, then destroy the old plastic so you cannot grab it by habit.
OUPVPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a Coast Guard office. If you are starting from zero instead of renewing, the $149 one-time kit at /start is the original-issue paper map we sell. For renewal, the controlling pages are NMC, 46 CFR 10.227, and the dates already in your wallet.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for six-pack captain in Delaware?
Yes, to carry passengers for hire on waters under federal jurisdiction. The license is a U.S. Coast Guard MMC with an OUPV or higher endorsement. Delaware does not issue a substitute six-pack card. A state boating safety card does not authorize paid passengers. Confirm your waters and your passenger-for-hire facts before you advertise trips.
How much does six-pack captain cost in Delaware?
There is no state six-pack fee. Budget Coast Guard evaluation and issuance fees in 46 CFR 10.219, a TWIC fee if that card is due, a medical exam, and a drug test if you are not in an accepted random program. Confirm live amounts on the NMC fees page and with TSA. Delaware may still charge vessel numbering and education-course fees that are separate from the MMC.
How long does six-pack captain take in Delaware?
Renewal time is NMC processing plus medical and TWIC lag. The Coast Guard posts processing times and they move, so confirm them when you file. Original issue takes longer in real life because you must first collect the sea service 46 CFR 11.467 requires. Do not book paid trips against an unfiled or pending application.
Can I renew my OUPV at a Delaware DMV or DNREC office?
No. Merchant Mariner Credentials renew through the Coast Guard National Maritime Center. DNREC handles boat numbering and state boating-safety rules under Title 23. Those offices cannot reprint an MMC. If a vendor claims they issue a Delaware captain license that replaces the federal card, ask for the statute. There is not one.
Do I need a Delaware boating safety card if I already have an MMC?
Maybe. Title 23, Chapter 22 is the state boating-safety chapter, and it is a different legal duty from 46 U.S.C. 8903. Your MMC covers passengers for hire on the federal side. It does not automatically cancel every state operator rule. Read the current DNREC education rule that applies to you, and carry both cards if both apply.
What if I did not get 360 days on the water in five years?
You still have options under 46 CFR 10.227. The regulation lets you use an open-book exercise, an approved refresher course, or qualifying related employment for at least 3 of the past 5 years. I would use sea service if the days are real. If they are not, pick one of the other three paths and document it cleanly.
Can I run six-pack trips while my renewal sits at NMC?
Only if the MMC in your hand is still unexpired and your medical certificate is still valid. A pending application is not a license. If the MMC date has passed, you are done carrying passengers for hire until NMC issues the new credential. Taking deposits against a pending file is how weekend work turns into a complaint.
Does a near coastal OUPV matter out of Lewes or Indian River Inlet?
It can. Inland OUPV is limited to inside the Coast Guard boundary lines. Trips that run outside those lines want the near-coastal endorsement. Look at the route you sell, not the county on your trailer. If your marketing shows ocean water, fix the endorsement before you take the money.
Is a Master 25 or 50 ton better than OUPV for Delaware work?
Sometimes. OUPV already covers six or fewer passengers for hire on an uninspected vessel. Master tonnage helps if you move to inspected boats, more complex vessels, or employers who will not hire OUPV-only. It costs more sea service and more NMC evaluation. I would not buy the upgrade as decoration.
Do I need a new drug test every renewal?
Often yes if you are a typical small six-pack operator. 46 CFR 16.220 requires chemical-test evidence for the credential transaction unless you can show participation in an accepted random-testing program. A one-boat shop rarely has that program unless it joined a consortium. Get the test, keep the result with the packet, and do not argue from memory.
What happens if my TWIC expires before my MMC?
You can be fine to serve for a short stretch depending on the situation, but you will have a problem when you try to renew the MMC without a current TWIC. TSA issues the TWIC for five years on its own calendar. If TWIC dies inside your renewal window, renew TWIC first, then file with NMC. Confirm current TWIC enrollment rules on the TSA page.
Does Delaware tax or register the captain license itself?
Delaware does not register an OUPV as a state occupational license the way it numbers boats. The credential is federal. You may still owe Delaware taxes on charter income, and the vessel may owe numbering or documentation. That is tax and vessel law, not a second captain card. Ask a Delaware tax preparer about the income. Ask DNREC about the boat.
Who do I call if NMC rejects the packet?
Start with the deficiency notice. It usually names the missing item. Fix that item. Medical holds go through NMC medical, not a Delaware clinic manager. Professional-service fights go back to 46 CFR 10.227 and better letters. There is no Delaware appeals board for an MMC. Re-read the checklist before you call, or you will spend the call being told to read the checklist.
Can I renew early and lose leftover time on the old card?
You can apply up to 8 months early, per NMC. How the new expiration date is calculated is an NMC issuance detail, so ask them before you file on the first allowed day. I wait until I am inside the window and the medical is done, and I do not race to file at month eight unless a contract demands a new print date.
Sources
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 8903: A self-propelled uninspected passenger vessel must be operated by an individual licensed by the Secretary.
- U.S. Code 46 U.S.C. § 7106: A license issued under that part is valid for a 5-year period and may be renewed for additional 5-year periods.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.227 Requirements for renewal: Renewal requires one of the listed professional paths, including 1 year of sea service in the past 5 years, an open-book exercise, approved refresher training, or related employment.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.219 Fees: Coast Guard MMC evaluation and issuance user fees are set in the 10.219 fee table.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC Renewals: MMC renewals are filed with NMC, which states applications may be submitted up to 8 months before expiration.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC Fees: NMC publishes the live merchant mariner user-fee amounts applicants should confirm before paying.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC Processing Times: Current MMC evaluation and issuance processing times are posted by NMC and should be confirmed at filing.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 11.467 OUPV endorsements: National OUPV endorsement requirements, including original-issue service and exam rules, are in 46 CFR 11.467.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.301 Medical certificate: Medical-certificate validity periods and issuance rules are set in 46 CFR 10.301 and can differ from the 5-year MMC term.
- TSA Transportation Worker Identification Credential: TSA issues the TWIC, which is valid for five years and carries its own enrollment fee.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 16.220 Periodic testing requirements: MMC applicants must provide chemical-test evidence unless they document participation in an accepted random drug-testing program.
- Delaware Code Title 23 Chapter 21 Motorboats: Delaware statutory motorboat numbering and related vessel rules live in Title 23, Chapter 21, not in a state captain-license chapter.
- Delaware Code Title 23 Chapter 22 Boating Safety: Delaware's boating-safety education program is statutory under Title 23, Chapter 22 and is separate from a USCG MMC.
- eCFR 46 CFR § 10.107 Definitions: For merchant mariner service calculations, a year means 360 days.
- U.S. Coast Guard NMC Medical Certificate: NMC administers medical-certificate applications and holds, which run on a separate track from MMC professional evaluation.