How to apply for a FSE for deck and engineer officers

As a non-UK officer, you can apply for a Flag State Endorsement (FSE) to serve on UK-registered vessels if you hold a STCW Certificate of Competency (CoC) from a country whose standards of competency and training are considered equal to those of the UK.

Find information about countries that have CoC and GMDSS certificates which are acceptable equivalents:

Your FSE will contain the same limitations as your original CoC but in some cases, there can be differences in motorship and steamship limitations.

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).

There are no nationality restrictions on officers or crew sailing on UK vessels but there is a nationality restriction on masters of strategic vessels.

Applications for FSEs can be submitted by individuals or companies but you must sign the form yourself.

Use the same form whether you are applying for your first FSE, revalidation or upgrade. Use form MSF 4203 below:

Detailed guidance is available in MSN 1867 Amendment 1 (Merchant applications) and MSN 1825 for fishing applications.

Submit the following documents with your application:

If you already hold a UK FSE, we do not need to see proof of English again.

Please email your application to [email protected] with photos/scans of your supporting documents and pay the appropriate fee.

We aim to process your application within 20 working days (roughly 4 weeks). You will receive an email from us if further information or evidence is needed.