OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in Tennessee.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
REC Memphis is the inland-South REC. Tennessee River and reservoir guides pursue OUPV Inland.
The nearest USCG Regional Examination Center is Memphis, TN. Compare centers and appointment rules in the USCG REC locations guide.
Major Tennessee charter hubs
Tennessee is Western Rivers country from end to end: the Mississippi at Memphis, and the Tennessee and Cumberland across the state, are all inside the 33 CFR 83.03(n) definition, and no Part 80 line is drawn anywhere in the state. That makes the river provisions the working rulebook rather than an exception — 83.09(a)(ii) and 83.14(d) give the downbound vessel with a following current the right of way and the duty to propose the manner of passage, 83.15(b) reverses the crossing rule for a vessel crossing the river, and 83.24(j) changes the towing lights. Watts Bar, Norris and Pickwick are impoundments on the same system and their exact status is an OCMI question. REC Memphis sits on the Mississippi itself, which is convenient for asking it.
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in Tennessee. 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, Tennessee and Cumberland 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 Tennessee 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. Tennessee licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by Tennessee: 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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