OUPV (Six-Pack) and Master credential paths for charter boats, tour boats, and passenger-for-hire operators in West Virginia.
It isn't a state license — it's the same federal USCG Merchant Mariner Credential with an OUPV or Master endorsement, used nationwide.
West Virginia inland-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 West Virginia charter hubs
These are planning questions, not a state-issued license checklist. The National Maritime Center and the responsible Coast Guard Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection make the final route and vessel determination.
Start with the exact water, not with the state boundary. A Summersville Lake guide service, an Ohio River passenger trip, and a Greenbrier River operation do not establish the same Coast Guard route merely because all are in West Virginia. Confirm federal passenger-vessel jurisdiction with the Coast Guard or the responsible Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection before counting on an MMC as the complete local operating requirement.
For an uninspected vessel carrying six or fewer passengers on qualifying inland waters, OUPV Inland is the comparison point. If the vessel is inspected or the operation carries more passengers, compare a Master endorsement instead. For a narrowly defined inland operation, 46 CFR 11.467(g) also permits the Coast Guard to issue a restricted local OUPV for a specifically approved body of navigable water; it is not a statewide shortcut.
Log Ohio River days separately from Summersville Lake or Greenbrier River days, with vessel identity, tonnage, passenger capacity, and inspection status. The service record should show where the vessel actually operated so the National Maritime Center can evaluate route authority. REC Memphis or an approved course provider is the examination route listed for this guide, but geography on the application must come from operating records rather than residence.
Federal route baseline verified 7 Aug 2026: 46 CFR 11.467.
West Virginia's navigable water is river water: the Ohio along the western border and the Kanawha through Charleston are inside the 33 CFR 83.03(n) Western Rivers definition, and no Part 80 demarcation line is drawn in the state. That puts the four river-specific provisions in force on the commercial reaches — 83.09(a)(ii), 83.14(d), 83.15(b) and the towing-light exception at 83.24(j) — which is the material an inland Rules of the Road module will examine. Summersville Lake and the Greenbrier are a different case: they are inland water under 83.03(q) with the plain Inland Rules applying, and whether they are navigable water of the United States for credentialing purposes is an OCMI determination. West Virginia candidates test at REC Memphis.
33 CFR Part 80 draws no demarcation line in West Virginia. 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 Ohio and Kanawha 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 Memphis, TN
Or an approved course provider — what it covers and the score you need.
There is no West Virginia 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. West Virginia licenses the business, the guide and local fishing separately.
The minimum age is federal, not set by West Virginia: 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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