Maritime Training & STCW Courses › Refresher vs. Revalidation
Checked against 46 CFR 11.302 and 12.602 · October 2026
The short answer
- STCW Basic Training must be kept current every five years.
- At least one year (360 days) of sea service in the last five years? You can take the shorter revalidation: hands-on assessments of certain survival and firefighting skills, done ashore.
- Less than that? You need the longer refresher, which covers all the Basic Training competencies again.
- Either way, the course certificate is only evidence. Your Basic Training is current once the Coast Guard processes it on your credential.
What is it?
When you first complete STCW Basic Training, the endorsement doesn't last forever. Every five years you must show the Coast Guard that you've kept up the standard of competence. 46 CFR 12.602(b) 46 CFR 11.302
The regulations give two ways to do that. Schools usually call them revalidation and refresher, and the Coast Guard's Basic Training guidance (NVIC 08-14, as changed in 2019) uses the same terms.
| Revalidation | Refresher | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | At least 1 year (360 days) of sea service in the last 5 years | Less than 1 year of sea service in the last 5 years |
| What it covers | Approved assessments, conducted ashore, of specific survival and firefighting skills. Your sea service counts for the rest. | Approved or accepted refresher training that assesses all Basic Training competencies |
| Length | Shorter | Longer |
| Regulation | 46 CFR 12.602(c)–(d) | 46 CFR 12.602(e) |
The skills everyone must demonstrate ashore
Even with a year of sea service, these must be assessed in an approved setting ashore, because you can't practice them safely on board: 46 CFR 12.602(d)
- Survival: donning and using an immersion suit, jumping into the water from a height, righting an inverted liferaft, swimming in a lifejacket, and staying afloat without one.
- Firefighting: using portable extinguishers, putting out small fires (electrical, oil, propane), extinguishing extensive fires with water and with foam, powder or other agents, and fighting a fire in a smoke-filled space wearing breathing apparatus.
Who needs it?
- Anyone who holds STCW Basic Training and wants to keep STCW endorsements current, usually when renewing the MMC.
- Anyone returning to seagoing work whose Basic Training has expired.
Who may not need it?
- If you no longer sail on vessels where STCW applies and don't need any STCW endorsement, you may not need to keep Basic Training current. Your national endorsements renew under separate rules. Renewal & Continuity →
- If your Basic Training is still well inside its five years, there's nothing to do yet. Just put the expiration date on your calendar.
Where it fits in your career
Requirements
- Document the sea service. To take the revalidation route, you'll need evidence of at least 360 days in the last five years. Under the Coast Guard's 2019 change to its Basic Training guidance, service in any capacity aboard a vessel required to hold regular fire, emergency and abandon-ship drills can count, including some reduced operating status time. Summary of NVIC 08-14 Change 1 Documenting Sea Time →
- Use an approved or accepted course. The course must be approved or accepted by the Coast Guard for Basic Training revalidation or refresher. Course names vary by school. How to check a course →
The course
Revalidation is mostly practical: the pool and the fire field, demonstrating the skills listed above. Refresher covers the whole Basic Training standard again, including survival, firefighting, first aid, and personal safety and social responsibilities. Schedules vary by school.
What happens after the course?
- Keep the course certificate.
- Submit it to the National Maritime Center with your application. For most mariners that's the MMC renewal, along with proof of sea service if you took the revalidation route.
- Your Basic Training is current again once the Coast Guard has processed it on your credential.
Common mistakes
- Taking the refresher when you qualify for revalidation. If you have the sea service, you probably don't need the longer course.
- Taking revalidation without enough sea service. If you can't document 360 days in the last five years, it won't meet the requirement.
- Counting sea service you can't prove. Get your letters and discharges together before you book.
- Waiting until it has expired. Plan it around your MMC renewal, not after it.
- Assuming national renewal takes care of STCW. They're separate requirements on the same credential.
- Forgetting Advanced Fire Fighting. If you hold it, it has its own five-year requirement.
Count your sea days before you call the school. A year of documented service in the last five years can save you days in a classroom. Pull your discharges and letters first, then book the right course.
Official sources
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