The CG-719 forms, walked through

Most captain’s license delays are not caused by hard rules. They are caused by paperwork: a box left blank, a signature missing, a sea-service form that does not add up. The National Maritime Center (NMC) evaluates what you actually submit, so a clean form set is the single biggest thing in your control. This guide walks each form in the CG-719 family in plain English.

These are public U.S. Coast Guard forms. This site is independent and is not the Coast Guard, the NMC, or a course provider, and nothing here is legal advice.

Which CG-719 forms do you need?

A typical Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) or Master application uses five forms, plus supporting documents:

• CG-719B, the application itself.
• CG-719C, the conviction and narrative disclosure.
• CG-719K, the medical certificate, completed by a medical practitioner.
• CG-719P, the periodic drug-test (DOT chemical test) result.
• CG-719S, the small-vessel sea-service form that proves your sea time.

You do not need all of them in every case, but for a first small-vessel license this is the core set. Download the current editions from the NMC forms page rather than reusing an old PDF, because editions change.

Form CG-719B: the application

The CG-719B is the Application for Merchant Mariner Credential. It is where you state who you are, which credential and endorsement you are applying for (for example, OUPV Near Coastal or Master 100 Ton), and the basis for it.

Things people get wrong:

• Naming the wrong endorsement or route. Match it to what your sea time actually supports, near-coastal versus inland, and the tonnage tier. If the form asks for more than your documented days justify, expect a bounce-back.
• Skipping the checklist. The NMC publishes a checklist for each credential type. Work from it so nothing is left out.

Form CG-719C: conviction disclosure

The CG-719C is where you disclose your record. This is the form people are most tempted to shade, and it is the worst place to do it. The rule is blunt: failing to disclose a conviction is treated as more serious than the conviction itself. A disclosed offense is a reviewable item; a concealed one that the NMC finds reads as dishonesty and can sink an application that would otherwise pass.

• Disclose everything the form asks for, including old or expunged-seeming matters if they fall within scope.
• Attach the court disposition documents showing the charge, the outcome, and that any sentence and probation are complete.
• For how the NMC actually weighs what you disclose, see eligibility with a record and, for the most common case, DUI and the captain’s license.

Form CG-719K: medical certificate

The CG-719K, the Merchant Mariner Medical Certificate, is filled out by a licensed medical practitioner after a physical exam covering vision, hearing, and general fitness. Two common mistakes: using an out-of-date edition of the form, and submitting it with a known condition or medication but no supporting documentation, which triggers a slower detailed review. The full breakdown of what the exam checks and which conditions draw a closer look is in the CG-719K medical certificate and disqualifiers.

Form CG-719P: drug test

The CG-719P records a negative Department of Transportation (DOT) chemical test, a standard 5-panel urinalysis at an approved collection site. It is simple, but it must be current when you file. Do it near the end of your prep so it does not go stale while you finish everything else.

Form CG-719S: small-vessel sea service

The CG-719S, the Small Vessel Sea Service Form, is how you prove your sea time. One form is filled out per vessel and signed by that vessel’s owner or operator. If you owned the vessel, you can self-certify. This is the form the NMC scrutinizes most, because it is the evidence behind your day count.

Get these fields right:

• Days and dates that support your total without double-counting a calendar date.
• Water type (near-coastal, ocean, inland, Great Lakes), which decides your route.
• Vessel tonnage, which decides which Master tier you can earn.
• The owner or operator’s signature. An unsigned CG-719S proves nothing and is a classic reason a package is returned.

The sea-time calculator produces a clean per-trip breakdown you can use to fill these forms in accurately before you sign them.

The one rule that prevents most delays

Submit a complete, signed, internally consistent package the first time. The NMC is working through a backlog (see the dated processing tracker), and a package returned for a missing signature goes back into the queue. Complete packets move ahead of the ones that get kicked back, so the extra hour spent checking every form is the cheapest time you will spend on the whole license.

Sources: the public U.S. Coast Guard CG-719 form set and National Maritime Center application checklists (dco.uscg.mil/nmc), and 46 CFR Part 10 via ecfr.gov, verified 2026-07-22. Form editions change; download the current version from the NMC forms page. The National Maritime Center makes the final determination on every application. This guide describes the public forms and is not legal advice.