The mariner’s journey has always required patience, precision, and perseverance—not only at sea, but also when navigating the credentialing process. Mariners have told us repeatedly over the years that applying for credentials, finding key information, and receiving documents often felt harder than it should be. We listened. The U.S. Coast Guard has worked closely with industry stakeholders and mariners across the country to better understand the challenges—and more importantly, to create solutions. The Coast Guard Mariner Credentialing Program (MCP) has planned a set of improvements to transform the mariner’s experience.
The enhancements are built around a single theme: Make the process faster, clearer, and more convenient. The new offerings will take center stage—each addressing longstanding challenges while charting a course for a digital future.
A Website Built For Mariners
For years, mariners have sifted through the numerous complex layers of the National Maritime Center (NMC) website to find the answers they needed. The NMC recognized its website should do more than host information—it should be a tool empowering mariners to get what they need without frustration.
The redesigned website uses plain language to make requirements easy to understand and centers around major products and services: merchant mariner credentials, medical certificates, courses, and examinations. Information will be just one or two clicks away, supported by a new navigation menu and search tools.
Most importantly, the new website features a clear “How to Apply” pathway. Instead of piecing together steps from multiple pages, mariners are guided through the process step by step. For someone applying for the first time, or for a seasoned mariner renewing or upgrading credentials, this change means greater confidence in the application process.
The website redesign is more than a visual update—it’s a signal of a new direction and MCP transformation. The future holds a digital front door that is customer-first, intuitive, streamlined, and centered on the mariner to ensure they always have a resource reflective of their needs.
The website redesign is more than a visual update—it’s a signal of a new direction and MCP transformation. The future holds a digital front door that is customer-first, intuitive, streamlined, and centered on the mariner to ensure they always have a resource reflective of their needs.
E-Mailed Medical Certificate: Eliminating Delays
The final step of the medical certificate credentialing process has often been the most frustrating—waiting for a certificate in the mail. For many mariners, this meant days of uncertainty, and if a certificate was lost or damaged, additional time waiting for a duplicate.
The e-mailed medical certificate removes this barrier. Once issued, the certificate is delivered electronically by e-mail. Mariners can save the certificate directly onto a mobile device, print at their convenience, and access it whenever needed.
The implications are clear:
- No more mailing delays
- No more duplicate requests
- Immediate, secure access to credentials
And like the other improvements, the e-mailed medical certificate points to the future. As electronic delivery expands, merchant mariner credentials may move into digital formats, allowing mariners to carry their documents wherever they go, instantly.
Asap: One-Stop Submissions
If the website is the guide, the Application Submission and Additional Information Portal (ASAP) is the gateway. Until now, mariners attached applications to e-mails and hoped every form reached the right inbox. The process worked, but it was cumbersome, error-prone, and often caused delays.
ASAP changes the process. This new portal allows mariners to submit merchant mariner credential applications, medical certificate applications, and additional documents for existing applications in one secure location by performing three simple steps—complete a simple submission form, upload the documents, and click submit. The submission form and upload process replace the uncertainty of e-mail attachments.
The benefits are immediate:
- No more lost or bounced attachments
- Faster routing directly to the NMC
- A single, convenient destination for all submissions
Looking further ahead, ASAP is the foundation for even greater digital integration—the Navita™ system. The vision includes future features like submission tracking and real-time updates. For mariners, this means not just fewer delays today, but a promise of even more transparency tomorrow.
By issuing credentials to qualified mariners and leveraging technology to improve efficiency, the MCP supports the growth of the U.S. fleet and strengthens the maritime industry’s competitiveness.
U.S. Coast Guard Navita™
Modernizing customer service and technology is vital to mariners and the maritime industry to efficiently conduct business. For the Coast Guard to provide improved service to the mariner and industry, and increase overall quality, mariner credentialing requires a transformative world-class, data-driven, business-intelligent, system eliminating the dependence on paper-based processes.
The new MCP information technology system called Navita™ (pronounced nā·vï·ta, translated as sailor or mariner in Latin) is a comprehensive solution to enable capabilities such as online mariner profiles, electronic applications, verification of mariner related data, electronic record keeping, and efficient interaction with mariners, industry, interagency partners, and the public through an interactive web-based platform.
Building on the transitional processes already mentioned, a contract for the development of Navita™ was issued by the Coast Guard in September 2025. As development begins, the Coast Guard looks forward to working with our maritime industry partners in this endeavor. The first release of Navita™ is currently scheduled for later in 2026.
By issuing credentials to qualified mariners and leveraging technology to improve efficiency, the MCP supports the growth of the U.S. fleet and strengthens the maritime industry’s competitiveness.
Charting The Future
These improvements—the redesigned website, the ASAP portal, the e-mailed medical certificate, and Navita™—are more than technical updates. They are part of a broader shift toward a modernized, customer-first MCP.
The future is one where mariners will be able to track their applications and profiles, easily find the right information, and receive their information and certificates quickly. They will move through modern and streamlined information systems reflecting the critical importance and professionalism of their work.
Fall 2025 marked the beginning of this transformation, but it was only the start. The Coast Guard is committed to continuous improvement, guided by mariner feedback and a vision of a reliable and efficient merchant mariner credentialing process.
The maritime industry demands readiness, and so should the systems supporting those who work and serve in it. These improvements bring us closer to a future where every mariner has the tools they need—quickly, clearly, and securely.
Disclaimer: This is an official United States Coast Guard posting for the public’s information. Our posting does not endorse this site or anything on it, including links to other sites, and we disclaim responsibility and liability for the site and its content.
Chief, Customer Service Branch U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center
Britney Morris serves as the chief of the Customer Service Branch at the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center, where she leads national initiatives to modernize mariner credentialing and transform the customer experience. With more than 15 years of federal service, she is recognized for driving quality, innovation, and process improvement—bridging policy and people to deliver maritime services that are efficient, transparent, and responsive to those who sail.