Mandatory fees
USCG original lower-level officer endorsement: $100 evaluation + $95 examination + $45 issuance if you test at a REC. CG-719K physical: $80–200 depending on provider. Drug test: $50–80. TWIC: $124 for a new card or in-person renewal. CPR / First Aid: $60–100.
Optional but common
Test-prep course: $0 (CaptainsGround) to $400–900 (in-person 8-day intensive). Sea-time-letter notarisation: free if you have a notary at the bank, $5–10 elsewhere. Travel to a Regional Examination Center if you take the exam at the REC instead of a third-party school — see the USCG REC locations guide for the closest centre to your home port.
What you pay at each stage
The fees don't hit all at once. You spend on the CG-719K physical, the drug test, and the TWIC pre-enrolment before the application is even mailed to the NMC. The $100 evaluation fee posts when you submit. The $95 examination fee is due before testing at a REC. The $45 issuance fee posts after you pass and before the NMC prints and mails your Merchant Mariner Credential. Approved course providers may bundle exam administration into their course price, so verify whether the REC examination fee applies before paying twice.
Budgeting tip: front-load the physical, drug test, and TWIC because they each have their own lead time (TWIC fingerprint appointments can be a 2–4 week wait), and a stale CG-719P drug test will expire before the NMC review finishes if you wait too long to start.
Cost differences by credential tier
USCG original lower-level officer fees are the same across OUPV, Master 25, Master 50, and Master 100: $100 evaluation, $95 examination, and $45 issuance. What changes is your prep cost: Master tiers add the Plotting (chart-work) module, which most candidates report needing 1–2 extra prep weeks for. If you upgrade from OUPV to Master 50/100 later, the raise-of-grade table is $100 evaluation, $45 examination, and $45 issuance, and you only re-test on the modules required by the ATT letter.
Near-Coastal endorsements cost no additional fees over Inland, but they require additional ocean / near-coastal sea time and you test on the COLREGs (International) Rules of the Road instead of the Inland Rules.
Renewal cost vs initial issuance
Once you have the credential, the 5-year renewal cycle is materially cheaper than the initial issuance. The USCG fee for a basic lower-level officer renewal is $95 ($50 evaluation + $45 issuance) if you document 360 days of sea service in the last five years and avoid the renewal exam. Candidates who can't show recent sea time can renew via the open-book Rules of the Road exam; that adds the $45 renewal examination fee, bringing the USCG total to $140. For the paperwork sequence, use the renew a USCG captain's license guide.
The recurring out-of-pocket costs are dominated by the TWIC card (also a 5-year cycle: $124 in-person, $116 online renewal when eligible), the CG-719K physical (24-month validity at issuance, so 2–3 renewals per credential cycle), and keeping CPR / First Aid certs current.
Hidden time costs
Money isn't the only cost. The NMC application review takes 4–8 weeks once a complete package is received; missing forms or unsigned sea-service letters can push that to several months. After review, the NMC issues an Approval to Test (ATT) letter, which is valid one year — you have to pass all required modules within that window or the ATT expires and the evaluation fee is wasted.
Other time-bound items: the CG-719K physical is good for 24 months at issuance, so if your application stalls for a year and a half, the physical can expire before the credential is issued. The TWIC fingerprint appointment has its own queue at TSA enrolment centres (commonly 2–4 weeks). Building the sea-time package from owner/operator signatures can take longer than the exam itself if you sailed on multiple vessels.