Your Certificate of Competency (COC) is valid for five years. Before it expires, you must revalidate it. Revalidate means renew: you show that you are still competent, and MARINA (the Maritime Industry Authority) gives you a new COC.
This guide is for officers with a COC issued by the Philippines. On deck, it covers masters, chief mates, officers in charge of a navigational watch (OIC-NW) and GMDSS radio operators. In the engine room, it covers chief engineers, second engineers, officers in charge of an engineering watch (OIC-EW) and electro-technical officers (ETO). The information is correct as of November 2026.
The rules come from two MARINA circulars. Memorandum Circular SC-2021-03 covers deck officers and GMDSS radio operators. Memorandum Circular SC-2021-06 covers engineer officers and ETOs. The steps for both are the same.
When to apply
Apply at least three months before your COC expires.
If you apply late, you must send an affidavit that explains why. You also pay an extra fee of 500 pesos.
There is no late fee in three cases: the death of an immediate family member, your own illness, or force majeure (an event nobody could control). You must send documents that prove it.
An expired COC can still be revalidated, but you have fewer options. See the section on not enough sea service below.
How much sea service you need
You need approved sea service in the rank of your certificate. One of these two is enough:
12 months in total during the last five years, or
3 months in total during the last six months.
For example, a chief mate needs the service as chief mate. An OIC-EW needs the service as an engineering watch officer on a ship of 750 kW propulsion power or more. You also need a valid medical certificate. If MARINA requires updating training for your certificate, you must complete it too.
If you do not have enough sea service
You can still revalidate. You must show in another way that you are still competent. There are three options:
Pass the practical assessment that MARINA prescribes for your certificate. You must take it within six months before you apply.
Complete the approved training course that MARINA prescribes for revalidation of your certificate.
Serve at least three months at sea in a lower officer rank or as a supernumerary. A supernumerary is an extra person, not part of the minimum crew. This service must come just before you take up your own rank again. This option cannot be used for an expired COC.
Documents to prepare
The circulars list the documents in their Annex A. For most officers the list is:
Your current COC. A navigational watch officer also needs the COC for GMDSS radio operator.
Valid Certificates of Proficiency (COPs) in four courses: Basic Training (BT), Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (SCRB), Advanced Fire Fighting (AFF) and Medical First Aid (MEFA). Masters and chief mates also need Medical Care (MECA).
Proof of your sea service. Your crewing agency or shipping company enters this in the MISMO system.
The first page and the sea service entries of your SIRB or SRB (seaman's book).
A valid medical certificate in the PEME format (Pre-Employment Medical Examination).
MARINA may ask for more documents during the evaluation.
Step by step in MISMO
MISMO (MARINA Integrated Seafarers Management Online) is MARINA's online system for certificates. All revalidation applications go through it. Making an account and booking an appointment are free. The system is at online-appointment.marina.gov.ph.
Create a MISMO account. Click Sign-up, then Register New Account, and fill in the form. Accept the terms and click Register. Then open the link in the email that MARINA sends you. After you sign in, fill in your Personal Information and click Save Changes.
Check your records. Your training centre, medical clinic and crewing agency must enter your training, medical and sea service records in MISMO. MARINA accepts only records that these institutions have entered. If something is missing, ask them to add it.
Apply. Choose the Certification tab. Choose the type of process: regular, expedite or onboard. Then choose Revalidation, choose COC and the certificate, and click Submit.
Wait for the online evaluation. If MARINA needs more from you, it tells you by text message.
Book your final evaluation. Choose the date, time and MARINA office in MISMO.
Pay the fee at a MARINA authorised payment centre. Do this within seven days (see below).
Go to the MARINA office on your appointment date for the final evaluation.
Collect your new COC. Check all entries and sign it. You can also ask MARINA to send it by courier for an extra fee.
Pay within seven days, or your application is cancelled
MARINA tightened the payment rule in MARINA Advisory 2026-53, signed on 28 September 2026. When MISMO approves your application, its status becomes "For Payment Initiation". From the day of approval you have seven days to pay.
If you do not pay in time, MISMO cancels the application automatically. You can apply again, but you must then meet the requirements and pay the fees in force at that time. The rule applies to COCs, COPs and the MARINA ID.
Fees
The 2021 circulars set these fees, including documentary stamp tax:
Regular processing: 1,030 pesos.
Expedite or onboard processing: 1,530 pesos.
Late filing: 500 pesos extra, unless one of the exemptions above applies.
Check the amount shown in MISMO before you pay, because fees can change.
If you are on board when your COC expires
Your crewing agency or shipping company can ask for expedite processing through its MARINA-accredited liaison officer. The circulars allow this only in emergencies. One example is a seafarer on board with an extended contract whose certificate will expire. Another is a crew member who must replace someone because of injury, serious illness or death.
MARINA also gives automatic extensions in some crises. In 2026 it extended STCW certificates of seafarers on ships affected by the crises in the Middle East and the Black Sea. Read our report on the six-month STCW extension to see who is covered.
New rules are coming
MARINA has published a draft omnibus circular for public consultation. It would replace SC-2021-03 and SC-2021-06 with one set of rules for deck officers, engineer officers, ETOs and GMDSS radio operators. As of 2 November 2026 it is only a draft. According to the draft, it would start 15 days after it is published in a newspaper. Until then, the rules in this guide apply. We will update this guide when the new circular is in force.
Practical tips
Put the expiry date of your COC in your phone calendar. Set a reminder four months before it.
Before you sign off, ask your agency to enter your sea service in MISMO. Agencies must do this within three working days after you disembark.
Keep copies of your contracts, sea service certificates and SIRB pages. They help if a record is missing.
Apply yourself in MISMO. MARINA warns against fixers, people who offer to arrange papers for money. Dealing with fixers is treated as fraud and can be punished.
After you receive your new COC, check it in the MARINA online verification. Our guide explains how to check a seafarer certificate online.
Find official help lines and certificate checks on our useful links page.
Cover photo: container cranes at the Manila International Container Terminal, Tondo, Manila, January 2023. The photo is illustrative. Photo: Patrickroque01, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources: MARINA Memorandum Circular SC-2021-03: issuance and revalidation of COC for masters, deck officers and GMDSS radio operators (PDF), MARINA Memorandum Circular SC-2021-06: issuance and revalidation of COC for engineer officers and ETOs (PDF), MARINA Advisory 2026-53: payment and scheduling periods for approved applications in MISMO, MARINA Advisory 2026-53 (signed PDF), MARINA STCW Office: proposed circulars (draft omnibus circular on assessment of competence and certification), MARINA STCW Office: MARINA-STCW circulars, MARINA MISMO online system.
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