OUPV License
Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels Course - (6-Pack License)
3 credits
Course fee: $695
Course Materials: Sent by Priority Mail
Time: Complete within 9 weeks; Exam within 45 days of completion
Registration: Online or call NWTC at 920-498-6240
This is a 56-hour, information-packed maritime training course for boaters with at least 360 days of boating experience. A Certificate of Completion is given upon successful completion of the course and final exam. This must be submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard when applying for an OUPV (Captain’s) License.
Sailing Instructors, Dive Boat Operators, Assisted Towing Captains, Water Taxi Operators, Fishing Charter Captains, and anyone else who is on U.S. federal navigable waters in a power driven vessel with passengers for hire must have, at a minimum, an OUPV License. The OUPV license lets you take 6 passengers for-hire, plus crew, on your vessel (thus the nick name “6-pack”). If you want to carry more passengers, you need a Masters license to operate an inspected vessel.
Topics include Piloting, Marlinspike Seamanship, Navigation Rules, Magnetic Compass, Characteristics of Weather, Tides and Currents, Vessel Maneuvering and Handling, Small Engine Operations and Maintenance, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Emergency Procedures, Maritime Law, Shipboard Management and Training, Ship’s Business, Communications, and Lifesaving Appliances.
The course fee includes all course materials, instruction, charts, 250+ page Student Manual, five-part final exam, and Certificate of Completion. No traveling to the Regional Exam Center for U.S.C.G. exams. No add-on costs.
OUPV.pdf, 10k (Download)The USCG website provides the detailed requirements for obtaining the OUPV License. In order to meet the minimum requirements for the OUPV License, the mariner must:
- Be at least 19 years old
- Be a U.S. Citizen
- Speak English
- Have required sea service - 360 days since age 15*
*Your sea service determines the waters covered by the license. Normally, a license is issued for inland waters. When you are seeking a Great Lakes or Near Coastal Endorsement, you must have at least 90 days of the 360 days of sea service in the last three years to obtain that endorsement. That will enable you to legally work on the Great Lakes or Near Coastal areas.
Finally, the U.S.C.G. approval requires the instructor to provide a teaching syllabus of each lesson, a course outline, and course schedule. We include ours in the front of our student manual. You know exactly what is required to be taught.
Have more questions? Feel free to call us at (800) 487-6029.