What's on the exam#
Vision (46 CFR 10.305): deck applicants need correctable vision of at least 20/40 in one eye and uncorrected vision of at least 20/200 in that same eye; engineering, radio, and tank-vessel applicants need 20/50 corrected. Color sense is checked without color-sensing lenses using pseudoisochromatic plates (e.g. Ishihara), a Farnsworth lantern, or a Titmus tester. Hearing (46 CFR 10.306): an unaided audiometric threshold of 30 dB or less in at least one ear (averaged over 500, 1,000, and 2,000 Hz), or functional speech discrimination of at least 90% for an original credential (80% on renewal) at 65 dB. Blood pressure is recorded — sustained readings around 150/90–160/100 and above typically prompt further evaluation under USCG medical guidance. A cardiac / neuro / respiratory screen and a medication review round out the form.
Who can sign#
Under 46 CFR 10.302(b), any required test, exam, or demonstration must be performed, witnessed, or reviewed by a licensed medical doctor (MD or DO), a licensed physician assistant, a licensed nurse practitioner, or a USCG-designated medical examiner. The provider does NOT need to be USCG-affiliated, but they must hold a current US license to practise.
How long it's valid#
The medical certificate's validity depends on the kind of service you do, not the credential you hold. Mariners serving on vessels subject to STCW get a certificate valid for 2 years (1 year if under 18). Every other mariner — which covers most OUPV/six-pack and Master less than 100 GRT operators on domestic, non-STCW routes — can be issued a certificate valid for up to 5 years (46 CFR 10.302). Renew the certificate before it lapses; the NMC will not issue or renew a credential against an expired CG-719K.
What the medical certificate costs to renew#
The U.S. Coast Guard charges no fee to issue or renew a merchant mariner medical certificate. Under 46 CFR 10.219, Coast Guard credentialing fees apply only to the evaluation, examination, and issuance of a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) — the CG-719K medical certificate is not a line item on that fee schedule, so filing or renewing one on its own costs nothing at the National Maritime Center.
The only money the medical certificate costs is the physical itself. The licensed practitioner who examines you and signs the CG-719K sets that fee privately — it is paid to the provider, not to the Coast Guard, and it typically runs about the cost of a routine physical. When you renew the medical certificate as part of a full MMC renewal, the credential's own 46 CFR 10.219 evaluation and issuance fees still apply, but those are MMC fees, not a medical-certificate charge. Budget for the doctor's visit, not a government fee.
How to renew the medical certificate on its own#
You do not have to wait for a credential transaction to renew the medical certificate, and you do not file it through the normal Merchant Mariner Credential route. Since the NMC's 2022-08-08 bulletin on direct submission, a medical-certificate-only application goes straight to the National Maritime Center: e-mail the completed CG-719K (or CG-719K/E) to [email protected], or upload it through the NMC Medical Document Upload Portal. Direct submission is for the medical certificate application only — the NMC states that any MMC application or awaiting-information document sent down this channel will not be processed.
The formatting rules are the most common reason a filing bounces. The entire application must arrive as a single PDF: not JPEGs, not photographs of pages, not several separate PDFs. The upload portal accepts one file per submission with a 75 MB ceiling, and the document must not be password-protected — the NMC's system cannot open a protected file, so a locked PDF reads as a missing application. Scan or export every page of the CG-719K into one document before you send it.
None of this costs anything. There is no Coast Guard fee for the medical certificate application itself, whether you file it standalone or alongside a credential transaction, so there is no payment step to complete and nothing to enclose beyond the form.
Common flags#
Diabetes (insulin-dependent vs not), seizure history, sleep apnea, cardiovascular events, controlled substances. Most flagged conditions can still be cleared with documentation — it just takes longer at the NMC review stage.