USCG captain's license exam modules by credential#
For OUPV Near Coastal (exam code ONC07), the NMC Deck and Engineering Examination Guide lists Q100 Rules of the Road: Inland and International (50 questions, 90%), Q170 Deck General/Safety (50 questions, 70%), Q171 Navigation General: Near Coastal (50 questions, 70%), and Q172 Navigation Problems: Chart Plot (10 questions, 90%). That means a candidate can miss only 5 Rules questions and only 1 plotting question.
For OUPV Great Lakes and Inland (GLI07), the guide lists Q100 Rules of the Road: Inland and International, Q300 Rules of the Road: Inland, Q356 Deck General/Safety, Q357 Navigation General Great Lakes and Inland, and Q358 Chart Plot. The route requested controls whether the Inland-only Rules module creates a COLREGS limitation.
For Master less than 100 GRT Near Coastal (ONC06), original candidates commonly see Q100 Rules of the Road, Q160 Deck General, Q161 Deck Safety, Q162 Navigation General: Near Coastal, and Q163 Chart Plot. OUPV Near Coastal holders raising grade to Master less than 100 GRT often take Q165 Navigation and Deck General/Safety instead of repeating the whole original Master sequence, but the ATT letter controls the final module list.
Practice-test sources and question strategy#
Use the NMC sample examinations as format checks, not as a promise that the live exam will reuse the same questions. The sample sets show module structure, answer style, and topic spread; your study plan still needs topic drilling across Rules of the Road, Deck General, Deck Safety, Navigation General, and Chart Plot.
A practical sequence is: take one sample module cold, tag misses by topic, drill those topics with citations open, then retake a timed module. Rules and Chart Plot deserve the most buffer because their passing marks are 90%. A 50-question Rules module allows five misses; a 10-question plotting module allows one. If you are sitting for Master, keep plotting in the plan even if your deck-general scores look comfortable.
Approval to Test, time limits, and retests#
The Approval to Test (ATT) letter is the document to build your exam calendar around. It identifies the exam modules, directs payment of the exam fee before testing, and sets the deadline for completing the exam series. Under 46 CFR 10.217, the examination fee covers the original, raise-of-grade, renewal, or endorsement exam series taken within 1 year from the application approval date.
The governing retest rule is 46 CFR 11.217(a), and it is stricter than "you get to retake it." The fee in Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.219(a) must be paid before you sit the first section. If you fail one or two sections, you may be retested on those sections twice during the next 3 months. If you fail three or more sections, a complete re-examination must be taken. All examinations and retests must be completed within 1 year of approval for examination, so do not use the first attempt as a diagnostic if your ATT clock is already running.
What happens if you fail the captain's license exam: the full retest clock#
Most pages stop at "you can retake it." 46 CFR 11.217(a) is more specific than that, and the branch you land on is decided entirely by how many sections you failed on the attempt in front of you. Text below is the current regulation as published in the eCFR title 46 issue of 2026-07-20 and retrieved 2026-07-22.
If you failed one or two sections, you may be retested on those sections twice during the next 3 months. If you do not successfully complete them inside that 3-month window, a complete re-examination must be taken — and not immediately: it must come at least 3 months from the date of the last retest, and a new examination fee is required. Two missed retests therefore cost you roughly six months plus a second fee, which is why the sequencing of your two retest attempts matters more than the attempts themselves.
If you failed three or more sections, there is no partial retest. A complete re-examination must be taken. If you again fail three or more sections on that subsequent exam, at least 3 months must elapse before another complete examination is attempted, and a new examination fee is required.
There is one extension, and it has a ceiling. The 3-month retest period may be extended by the Coast Guard if you provide evidence documenting sea time that prevented you from taking a retest during that period. This is the one lever a working mariner has, and it is capped: the retest period may not be extended beyond 7 months from the initial examination. Sea time buys you up to 7 months from the first exam — it does not buy you relief from the separate 1-year-from-approval deadline, and the two limits run at the same time.
Plan against whichever deadline arrives first. The practical consequence is that the ATT date, not the exam date, is the number to schedule against. If NMC approved you for examination in January and you first sit in October, a one-or-two-section failure leaves you weeks — not 3 months — of usable retest window before the 1-year limit closes. Sit early enough that the 3-month retest window fits inside the year.
If the Coast Guard denies the endorsement for exam failure#
A failed exam series does not leave you guessing about what comes next. Under 46 CFR 11.217(b), if the Coast Guard refuses to grant the endorsement you applied for because you did not pass a required examination, it will provide you with a written statement setting forth the portions of the examination that must be retaken and the date by which the examination must be completed.
Treat that letter the way you treat the ATT: it is the controlling document for your remaining attempts. It names the specific portions — not the whole series — that you owe, and it carries the completion date the retest clock above is measured against. Keep it with the ATT letter and your Pay.gov exam-fee receipts, because a complete re-examination under 11.217(a) requires a new fee and the receipts are what prove which fee covered which attempt.
REC testing vs approved-course testing#
You can test at a USCG Regional Examination Center or Monitoring Unit after the NMC evaluates your application and issues the ATT. REC testing keeps the exam separate from prep: you pay the Coast Guard exam fee, schedule the appointment, and sit the NMC modules at the REC.
A USCG-approved captain's license course may include course-final exams that satisfy the Coast Guard exam requirement for that approved scope, but that authority is specific to the course approval. Before paying for a course, verify whether it covers your exact credential, route, and tonnage. If you only need practice, use sample exams and public drills first; if you need bundled exam authority, compare the total course cost against the REC path.
Exam-day materials and planning#
For REC testing, plan around the REC/MU appointment rules: schedule after the ATT is issued, bring the Pay.gov exam-fee receipt, and arrive early enough for registration. NMC's exam FAQ points mariners to the published Examination Room Materials list for what can enter the room; do not assume a phone, programmable calculator, notes, or course handouts are allowed.
The Coast Guard builds questions from, and allows in the room, an authorized deck reference library — not just one book. Bowditch (Pub. No. 9, The American Practical Navigator) is the most cited, but the same authorized list includes the Navigation Rules (COLREGS/Inland), the Light List, Tide Tables, Tidal Current Tables, Chart No. 1, and the chart provided for the plotting module. Know which references your module draws on and practice with the same editions.
Build your practice around the materials you will actually have in the room: plotting tools, chart-plot workflow, a non-programmable calculator when permitted, and the authorized references listed for the module. The gap between an untimed practice set and a REC module is usually pacing, not knowledge. Time full modules before you schedule the REC appointment, and use the USCG REC locations and scheduling guide to pick the center nearest your home port.