Guidance

List of countries accepted towards issuing a UK FSE

List of administrations whose Certificate of Competency (CoC) are accepted towards issuing a UK Flag State Endorsement (FSE)

In accordance with STCW Convention Regulation I/10 and MSN 1867 Amendment 1, the UK requires foreign seafarers to obtain a UK Flag State Endorsement (FSE) to work onboard a UK registered vessel. Please see the table below for merchant STCW CoCs that can be used to apply for a UK FSE.

We only accept yacht CoCs issued by France, Italy, Netherlands and New Zealand - please see Annex A of MSN 1867 Amendment 1 for more details. We will also accept some yacht CoCs issued by Malta. Please email fse@mcga.gov.uk for further details.

We only accept fishing CoCs issued by EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. We do not accept substitute skippers.

Where a CoC contains near-coastal limitations, these are included on the FSE as near-coastal to the country that issued the CoC (in line with the terms of the STCW Convention).

Country GMDSS Accepted Notes
Australia Yes No proof of English required
Bangladesh Yes No proof of English required
Belgium Yes Ìý
Brazil ROC Additional sea service requirements 바카라 사이트“ please email fse@mcga.gov.uk before applying
Bulgaria Yes Ìý
Canada Yes No proof of English required
China (PRC) Yes Ìý
Croatia Yes Ìý
Cyprus Yes Ìý
Czech Republic Yes Ìý
Denmark Yes Ìý
Estonia Yes Ìý
Faroe Islands ROC Ìý
Finland Yes Ìý
France Yes Some Yacht CoCs also accepted
Georgia ROC Ìý
Germany Yes Ìý
Ghana Yes No proof of English required
Greece Yes Ìý
Hong Kong Yes No proof of English required
Hungary Yes Ìý
Iceland Yes Ìý
India Yes No proof of English required
Iran ROC No proof of English required
Ireland, Republic of Yes No proof of English required. Masters exempt from UKLAP1 exam
Italy Yes All Yacht CoCs also accepted
Jamaica Yes No proof of English required
Jordan TBA Ìý
Korea, Republic of ROC Ìý
Latvia Yes Ìý
Lithuania Yes Ìý
Malaysia Yes No proof of English required
Malta Yes No proof of English required. Some Yacht CoCs also accepted
Mexico ROC Ìý
Montenegro Yes Ìý
Morocco TBA Ìý
Myanmar Yes No proof of English required
Netherlands Yes All Yacht CoCs also accepted
New Zealand Yes No proof of English required. Some Yacht CoCs also accepted
Norway Yes Ìý
Pakistan ROC No proof of English required
Philippines Yes Ìý
Poland Yes Ìý
Portugal Yes Ìý
Romania Yes Ìý
Russian Federation Yes Ìý
Serbia Yes Ìý
Singapore Yes No proof of English required
Slovenia Yes Ìý
South Africa Yes No proof of English required
Spain Yes Ìý
Sri Lanka ROC No proof of English required
Sweden Yes Ìý
Turkey Yes Ìý
Ukraine Yes Ìý
Uruguay TBA Ìý
USA ROC No proof of English required. You may need to take a MCA oral exam
Vietnam ROC Ìý

We also accept GMDSS as GOC from: Albania; Andorra; Austria; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Moldova; Monaco; North Macedonia; San Marino; Slovakia; Switzerland; Taiwan; Trinidad & Tobago; Vatican City.

The UK has also developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the Red Ensign Group (REG) Category 1 Registers.

Updates to this page

Published 25 March 2014
Last updated 30 January 2025 show all updates
  1. Jordan and Uruguay added to FSE list

  2. Morocco added to FSE list

  3. Bangladesh added to FSE List.

  4. We now accept some yacht CoCs issued by Malta.

  5. Turkey added to FSE list

  6. Update to reflect requirements of STCW Convention Regulation I/10 and MSN 1867. Mexico added to list of accepted FSE countries. List of countries accepted towards issuing Red Ensign Groups (REG) FSEs added.

  7. First published.

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