Who signs your sea service form or letter
If you do not own the vessel, the owner, the operator or the master signs for your sea service, on the small vessel sea service form or on a letter with the same details. You cannot attest to your own service on a boat you do not own, even if you were its master. If you do own a vessel under 200 GRT, you may attest to your own service and attach proof of ownership (46 CFR 10.232(a)(4)).
Who can sign, case by case
| Your situation | Who signs |
|---|---|
| You own the boat, under 200 GRT | You, with proof of ownership attached |
| Friend's or family boat | The owner, or the credentialed operator or master |
| Charter, ferry or tour boat job | The owner, operator or master, usually on company letterhead |
| You were master on someone else's boat | The owner or operator; not you |
| Company owned boat you own through the company | You as owner, with proof you own the company |
What the signer is certifying
On the form, the person attesting certifies that you served on the vessel as stated, and gives their name, address and phone number. The form warns that a false statement can bring a fine or imprisonment. A careful signer will want to check your log against their own memory and records, which is why a dated, trip by trip log with notes of who was aboard makes the conversation easy.
A letter works instead of the form if it carries the same details: the vessel's name, number, type, propulsion and tonnage, the dates, the number of underway days, and, for an officer endorsement, how many of those days fell within 3 years of the letter's date. It must also say whether the days were 8 or 12 hour days.
Ask early. An owner who watched you run their boat last summer will sign a clear log in a few minutes; the same owner five years later, after selling the boat, may not remember or may be hard to find. Many boaters ask for a signature at the end of each season, one form or letter per boat, and keep the signed copies with their log.
Worked example: a week split across two boats
In the week on what counts as a sea day, 4 days count. Three are on the boater's own skiff, and the boater signs that form. Friday counts on a friend's trawler because more hours were spent aboard it, so that one day goes on a separate form for the trawler, signed by its owner. The skiff form must not claim Friday as well.
The progress page builds each vessel's grid separately and never puts a date on two grids, and its letter draft switches to a third party signature when you do not own the vessel.
Common mistakes
- Signing as both the applicant and the person attesting.
- Printing your name where the signature goes.
- Leaving off the signer's address and phone number.
- Asking a friend who was only a passenger to sign.
- Waiting years to ask for a signature from an owner who has since sold the boat.
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
Can a friend who holds a captain's license sign for time on my boat?
If you own the boat and it is under 200 GRT you sign yourself with proof of ownership. On a boat you do not own, a credentialed operator or master of that vessel may sign, as may its owner.
The owner has died or cannot be found. What now?
Contact the National Maritime Center before you apply and ask what other evidence they will consider. The rules require the Coast Guard to be satisfied that the evidence is authentic.
Does the signer need a credential themselves?
An owner does not. For non owners, the rule speaks of letters or other evidence from credentialed personnel or the owners of the vessels.
Sources
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 against:
- 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: Who may document sea service; owners and non owners, paragraph (a).
- 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: Section III signature rules, common errors, and what a service letter must contain.
- 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 attestation statement and the signer's details.
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.