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)

From:
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Published
25 March 2014
Last updated
2517 SeptemberJanuary 20242025 — See all updates

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  
Brazil ROC Additional sea service requirements – please email fse@mcga.gov.uk before applying
Bulgaria Yes  
Canada Yes No proof of English required
China (PRC) Yes  
Croatia Yes  
Cyprus Yes  
Czech Republic Yes  
Denmark Yes  
Estonia Yes  
Faroe Islands ROC  
Finland Yes  
France Yes Some Yacht CoCs also accepted
Georgia ROC  
Germany Yes  
Ghana Yes No proof of English required
Greece Yes  
Hong Kong Yes No proof of English required
Hungary Yes  
Iceland Yes  
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
Korea, Republic of ROC  
Latvia Yes  
Lithuania Yes  
Malaysia Yes No proof of English required
Malta Yes No proof of English required. Some Yacht CoCs also accepted
Mexico ROC  
Montenegro Yes  
Morocco  
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  
Pakistan ROC No proof of English required
Philippines Yes  
Poland Yes  
Portugal Yes  
Romania Yes  
Russian Federation Yes  
Serbia Yes  
Singapore Yes No proof of English required
Slovenia Yes  
South Africa Yes No proof of English required
Spain Yes  
Sri Lanka ROC No proof of English required
Sweden Yes  
Turkey Yes  
Ukraine Yes  
USA ROC No proof of English required. You may need to take a MCA oral exam
Vietnam ROC  

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 2517 SeptemberJanuary 2024 2025 + show all updates

  1. Morocco added to FSE list

  2. Bangladesh added to FSE List.

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

  6. Turkey added to FSE list

  8. 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.

  10. First published.

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