How to Get Your Captain's License in Florida
If you want to be a charter captain in Florida, you have to have a license issued by the United States Coast Guard as an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels. The process is straightforward; you have to prove experience in operating a boat, apply for and receive an identification document from the Department of Homeland Security, and pass a physical. You can take a test on maritime knowledge or a course in lieu of a test.
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Things You'll Need
- Transportation Workers Identification Card
- USCG physical report
- USCG drug screen report
- License application
Instructions
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Meet the requirements for sea time and training. Minimum requirements for a charter captain's license are spelled out on the Coast Guard website on the checklist for a charter captain's license, also called an "Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels." All the forms you need to complete, including the application, physical and drug screen are on the National Maritime Center website at www.uscg.mil/nmc/applications_forms.asp.
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Get a Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC). This involves an application and an investigation into your past and is required by the Department of Homeland Security. While you can operate your own boat without one, if you operate a boat professionally, you're required to have one before your license can be issued. The application is on the Department of Homeland Security Website at www.twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/
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Pass a physical and DOT drug screen. The physical is exclusionary, to prevent people with untreated conditions like diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea from obtaining a license. People who have been treated can get a license, but the conditions for medical waivers are strict and the waivers must be completed by a licensed physician.
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Put your application package together, containing all of the required information. Mail it to the Coast Guard Regional Examination Center in Miami. The address is:
U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office
Regional Examination Center
Claude Pepper Federal Building
51 SW 1st Ave., 6th Floor
Miami, FL 33130-1608 -
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One school in Florida, Adams Marine Seminars, in Crystal River, offers a 54 1/2 hour course that is approved by the Coast Guard. Successful completion of the course is a substitute for the examination. All other requirements, including the physical, drug screen and TWIC, must be submitted in the application package, together with the proof of course completion.
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