OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in Arkansas.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
Arkansas guides typically pursue OUPV Inland for navigable inland waters. The Mississippi River is a Western River subject to specific rules under 33 CFR Subchapter E.
The nearest USCG Regional Examination Center is Memphis, TN. Compare centers and appointment rules in the USCG REC locations guide.
Major Arkansas charter hubs
Arkansas straddles the line inside inland water. The Mississippi River along the eastern border and the Arkansas River through the state are Western Rivers under 33 CFR 83.03(n), which turns on four provisions the rest of the Inland Rules do not carry — downbound-with-the-current right of way in a narrow channel (83.09(a)(ii)) and head-on (83.14(d)), the crossing-vessel reversal at 83.15(b), and the towing light exception at 83.24(j). Lake Ouachita, Bull Shoals and Beaver Lake are impoundments, and whether a given impoundment is a Western River within 83.03(n) is a determination for the OCMI rather than something to read off a map. Record which water each trip was on: the same 360 days can support a very different exam answer.
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in Arkansas. Its 106 sections cover the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the Pacific islands and Alaska; a state with no coast has no section, which is itself the answer.
Western Rivers (the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers) are defined at 33 CFR 83.03(n) and carry Inland Rules provisions the rest of inland water does not: 83.09(a)(ii), 83.14(d), 83.15(b) and the towing-light exception at 83.24(j).
This decides which rulebook you steer by, not where your credential may operate: the route limit is the 46 CFR Part 7 Boundary Line, and the two lines are not drawn in the same place. How the two lines differ · International Rules · Inland Rules
33 CFR Part 80 and the Part 83 definitions above read from eCFR on 12 Aug 2026. Any specific water is a determination for the cognizant Coast Guard Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection.
Not sure the trip needs a credential at all? The captain's-license trigger guide.
Inspected small-passenger-vessel authority — that is a Master.
Master requirementsDocument your sea service
Pass the medical & drug test
CG-719K and CG-719P — medical certificate guide.
Get a TWIC + CPR / First Aid
Submit your application to the NMC
Pass the exam at REC Memphis, TN
Or an approved course provider — what it covers and the score you need.
There is no Arkansas captain's license to get — you earn a federal USCG credential, in the five steps set out above, and sit the exam at REC Memphis, TN.
The same — a federal Merchant Mariner Credential endorsement, valid in every state. Arkansas licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by Arkansas: 18 for OUPV, 19 for most Master endorsements, 21 for higher-tonnage and ocean routes (46 CFR 11.201(e)).
At REC Memphis, TN once the NMC approves the application, or through an approved course provider that administers the exam itself.
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