The U.S. Coast Guard has issued new relief for mariners whose credentials expired while they are still working on open book exams or fixing errors with the professional qualifications section of their renewal applications. If that is you, you are getting 120 more days to keep working while you finish. If you did your renewal application paperwork correctly and have been sailing for over 360 days in the last 5 years and are simply waiting in line, this new relief does not apply to you.
The new policy, a bulletin issued August 27 and titled "Relief for Mariners with Pending MMC Applications," provides a temporary 120 day authorization to keep working under an expired MMC. To qualify, three things must all be true. First, your MMC with national endorsements expired between January 1 and July 31, 2026. Second, your renewal application was submitted before your credential expired, and no later than August 26, 2026. And third, your pending renewal currently has an Awaiting Information letter or an Open Book Take Home Renewal Exam Approved to Test letter.
- Those two letters mean something very specific: An Awaiting Information letter is issued when something in an application is missing or incomplete, like sea service, training certificates, a renewal TOAR, or proof of ownership for a vessel you used on your CG-719S form that you own.
- An Approved to Test letter means sea service did not fully cover the requirement for a renewal, so the mariner completes the open book take home renewal exam. For mariners in either situation, this authorization is genuinely helpful. It provides 120 days from the date the NMC issues the letter to finish those remaining requirements without losing the ability to work.
If you receive one of these letters, act on it quickly. The bulletin is explicit that failing to satisfy the requirements of the pending renewal application will not result in any additional temporary authorization. Mariners must carry their expired credential and the authorization letter while working, the authorization covers national endorsements only, and it does not extend STCW endorsements or medical certificates.
If you are one of the estimated 10,000 to 14,000 pending applications currently at the NMC, the NMC's guidance has been clear and consistent. Applications are processed first in, first out. The published processing estimate is that a complete application is processed within four months of the date received. Your application is in line, and the best thing you can do is wait in line and let the NMC staff do their job. Processing has been improving all year as the team works through the largest backlog in the program's history. Many mariners are seeing credentials well before the four month mark. That progress is real and the people doing that work deserve recognition for their herculean efforts in tackling the 19,000 application backlog caused by the partial government shutdown back in May.
If your renewal is not in yet, submit it now. A complete, accurate application with zero mistakes is the single fastest path through the system. If your credential expired between January 1 and July 31 and your renewal application is still pending, the Update 3 blanket extension ends August 31, and after that date you cannot work until your new MMC is issued and in hand. Talk with your employer about your credential status before your next hitch so nobody finds out at crew change.
If you are an employer, pull your list of crew with pending renewals today.
The NMC Customer Service Center is available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern, by phone at 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662), live chat, or email at [email protected]. Include "Status" in the subject line with your reference number.
