India's Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) has changed how marine engineers book written exams. The change is for the MEO Class IV and MEO Class II exams. MEO means Marine Engineer Officer.
Until now, candidates booked their seats at their parent MMD. The MMD (Mercantile Marine Department) is the government shipping office where you sent your exam application. The DGMA says some centres are full, while other centres still have free seats for the same exam.
Now, if your own centre has no seats left for a paper, you can book that paper at another MMD. The DGMA notice with these rules is dated 2 November 2026.
MEO Class IV is the first certificate of competency (CoC) for engineer officers who keep a watch. MEO Class II is the certificate for second engineers. The DGMA says the seat problem is worst for these two grades.
How the booking works now
First six days of the booking period: you can book written and oral exam seats only at your parent MMD. Other centres are locked.
Last two days of the booking period: your parent MMD may have zero seats left for a written paper. Then the system lets you book that paper at another MMD with free seats.
Seats are given on a first-come, first-served basis. The system checks live seat numbers.
Important rules
The new option is only for written exams. Oral exams are not included.
All written papers you take in one month must be at one centre. The portal does not allow a split booking across two centres.
If you try to split papers across centres, the fee you paid for that booking is lost.
If you booked some written papers but could not get others, you cannot use the other-centre option that month.
If you booked your oral exam but got no written seat, you can take the written exam at the other centre. You do not need to move your application there.
If you got a written seat at your parent MMD in the first six days, you cannot switch to another centre later.
Do not pay more than once for the same subject.
The notice does not say from which month the option starts. Check the booking page and the DGMA exam notices page before your next booking.
Indian engineers on dredgers also had an exam change recently. Read the new rules for dredge engineer exams.
What to do now
Book on the first day the booking opens. Seats go fast at busy centres.
Check that you can travel to the other centre before you book there. Think about the cost of travel and a hotel.
Book all your written papers for that month at the same centre.
Keep your payment receipts and screenshots of each booking.
Money taken from your account but no receipt? An older DGMA FAQ on exam payments says wait three working days before you pay again.
If it is still not fixed after three working days, the FAQ says to email egovernance-dgs@nic.in with a copy to engexam-dgs@nic.in.
Planning your next step at sea? See 2nd Engineer salaries and 4th Engineer vacancies on Crewboard.
Cover photo: The engine control room of the ship Monte Alegre, September 2017. Illustrative photo. Photo: NAC/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
Sources: DGMA: Notice to candidates appearing for MEO Class II and Class IV written examinations, 2 November 2026 (PDF), DGMA: Latest news (notice listed on 3 November 2026), DGMA: Frequently asked questions on engineering exams, e-governance and e-Pariksha (PDF).
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