The small vessel sea service form, box by box
The small vessel sea service form, CG-719S, is one form per vessel under 200 GRT covering at most five years.
Section I is you and the vessel: number, name, gross tons or measurements, propulsion, what you served as and the waters in words. Section II is a block per month where you write the year and the days served, then totals for all days, Great Lakes, shoreward and seaward of the boundary line, and your average hours per day. Section III is the signatures.
Fill in the form in eight steps
This follows the 12/25 revision of the form (OMB 1625-0040) and the NMC's instructions for it. Our own grid on the progress page lays out the same fields for each vessel.
- Download and save the current form. Get it from the National Maritime Center's forms page, save it, and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader. The form's page says not to complete it in a web browser.
- Use one form per vessel. A single form claiming several vessels is not accepted, and periods longer than five years need another form.
- Enter the vessel's number exactly. The official number or state registration number from the document. Never build a number from other markings.
- Give gross tons or all three measurements. Gross tons are needed for credit toward endorsements over 25 GRT. If you do not know them, give length, width and depth so tonnage can be worked out.
- Say what you served as and on which waters. Master, mate, operator or deckhand, never owner. Describe the waters in words; any description that is not Great Lakes or near coastal is treated as inland.
- Write each month's days in its block. For each month you served, write the year and the number of days. Write every block individually, with no lines or arrows, and never more days than the month has.
- Fill in the totals. Total days on the vessel, then Great Lakes, shoreward and seaward days, which must add up to the total, and your average hours underway per day, which cannot be under 4 for credit.
- Sign, and have the right person attest. Sign and date as the applicant. If you own the vessel attach proof of ownership; if not, the owner, operator or master signs the attestation with their address and phone.
The boxes this site never fills
The form asks for your name, a mariner reference number and a Social Security number. The form's privacy statement says providing them is voluntary, Social Security number included, but that not providing the information may mean the credential is not issued. This site never asks for or stores a Social Security number. Its form fill writes the vessel boxes, the grid and the totals into a copy of the form you downloaded yourself, and leaves the identity boxes, signatures and dates for you to complete in your PDF reader.
Worked example: one boat, one summer
An owner logs seven trips on an 8 GRT boat in 2025, computed by this site's engine:
| Box | Entry |
|---|---|
| May | 2025, 2 days |
| June | 2025, 4 days |
| July | 2025, 1 day |
| Total days on this vessel | 7 |
| Great Lakes | 0 |
| Shoreward of the boundary line | 3 |
| Seaward of the boundary line | 4 |
| Average hours underway per day | 6.2 |
The 1 short trip under 4 hours is not on the form at all, and the three waters boxes add up to the total, as the instructions require.
Common mistakes
- Leaving required boxes blank, or not giving all three measurements when tons are unknown.
- Claiming more days in a month than it has, or the same days on two vessels' forms.
- Covering more than five years on one form.
- Claiming near coastal or Great Lakes days without describing those waters.
- Filling the form in a web browser, where some fields do not save.
Count your own days
The log applies the day rule to every trip as you enter it, one day per calendar day, and the progress page shows your totals by waters against each credential's published numbers. Everything stays in this browser.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get the form?
From the National Maritime Center's forms page. This site does not host or bundle the form; its form fill works on a copy you downloaded yourself.
Can I send a letter instead of the form?
Yes, for vessels under 200 GRT a letter with the same information as the form is accepted.
Is the form changing?
The information collection behind it was renewed with changes in 2025 and 2026; the revision read for this guide is 12/25. Always download the current version before you fill it in.
Sources
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 against:
- Small Vessel Sea Service Form (optional CG-719S), OMB 1625-0040, Department of Homeland Security, revision 12/25, OMB expiry 30 September 2028, read 27 September 2026. Used for: The fields, sections and privacy statement of the 12/25 revision.
- Sea Service (crediting sea service, what counts as a day, completing the small vessel sea service form), National Maritime Center, dated 12 August 2024, read 27 September 2026. Used for: Instructions and common errors for Sections I, II and III.
- 46 CFR 10.232, Sea service, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, current text, up to date as of 24 September 2026, read 27 September 2026. Used for: Owner attestation and proof of ownership.
This guide is our own summary of the published documents, not legal advice and not a finding about your eligibility; the credentialing authority decides. If it disagrees with the current documents, the documents win. Sea Time Ledger is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the United States Coast Guard, the National Maritime Center or any other government body.