OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in Vermont.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
Vermont charter is concentrated on Lake Champlain — OUPV Inland is the typical credential.
The nearest USCG Regional Examination Center is Boston, MA. Compare centers and appointment rules in the USCG REC locations guide.
Major Vermont charter hubs
Vermont's entire answer turns on one word that Lake Champlain does not qualify for. 33 CFR 83.03(o) defines the Great Lakes as the Great Lakes and their connecting and tributary waters, and then names exactly what it means to include — the Calumet as far as the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock, the Chicago River as far as the Ashland Avenue Bridge, the St. Lawrence as far east as Saint Lambert Lock. Champlain is not on that list and is not tributary to it, so despite its size it is ordinary inland water under 83.03(q): the 83.23(e) lights option does not apply, and neither does the 46 CFR 11.467(b) carve-out that would otherwise put a Champlain operator outside a plain inland OUPV endorsement. That is a favourable answer and it is worth knowing it is the correct one rather than an oversight. No Part 80 line reaches Vermont, and REC Boston handles the file.
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in Vermont. 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.
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 Boston, MA
Or an approved course provider — what it covers and the score you need.
There is no Vermont captain's license to get — you earn a federal USCG credential, in the five steps set out above, and sit the exam at REC Boston, MA.
The same — a federal Merchant Mariner Credential endorsement, valid in every state. Vermont licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by Vermont: 18 for OUPV, 19 for most Master endorsements, 21 for higher-tonnage and ocean routes (46 CFR 11.201(e)).
At REC Boston, MA once the NMC approves the application, or through an approved course provider that administers the exam itself.
Last verified:
Primary sources
Was this page helpful?
The written test is the same federal exam nationwide. One citation-backed question — no sign-up.
No signup, no credit card. Answer real exam questions and find out where you stand.
