OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in Iowa.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
Iowa guides on the Mississippi River system typically hold OUPV Inland with awareness of Western Rivers Rules under 33 CFR Subchapter E.
The nearest USCG Regional Examination Center is St. Louis, MO. Compare centers and appointment rules in the USCG REC locations guide.
Major Iowa charter hubs
Iowa is bounded by Western Rivers on both sides — the Mississippi to the east and the Missouri to the west — and both fall inside the 33 CFR 83.03(n) definition, so the river-specific Inland provisions are the working rulebook for almost all Iowa service. That means the downbound vessel with a following current has the right of way in a narrow channel and in a head-on meeting, and proposes the manner of passage (83.09(a)(ii), 83.14(d)); a vessel crossing the river gives way to one ascending or descending it (83.15(b)); and a towing vessel pushing ahead may use the 83.24(j) light arrangement. No Part 80 line exists anywhere in the state. Coralville Lake and Lake of Three Fires are impoundments and should be logged by name rather than folded into "river time".
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in Iowa. 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 Missouri 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.
Document 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 St. Louis, MO
Or an approved course provider — what it covers and the score you need.
There is no Iowa captain's license to get — you earn a federal USCG credential, in the five steps set out above, and sit the exam at REC St. Louis, MO.
The same — a federal Merchant Mariner Credential endorsement, valid in every state. Iowa licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by Iowa: 18 for OUPV, 19 for most Master endorsements, 21 for higher-tonnage and ocean routes (46 CFR 11.201(e)).
At REC St. Louis, MO once the NMC approves the application, or through an approved course provider that administers the exam itself.
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