How to Fill Out CG-719S Form - Complete Instructions

The CG-719S is one of the most common forms you’ll submit to the Coast Guard if you have experience on small vessels. When you’re ready to apply for, upgrade, or renew your captain's license, you will need to submit a CG-719S (Small Vessel Sea Service Form) with your sea time.MM-SEAS software will guide you through creating perfect CG-719S forms. Right now you can create perfect a CG-719S for yourself if you own your own vessel, and you can create them for your crew if you are the ship’s master, owner, vessel manager or office staff for the company that owns the vessel.

What is the CG-719S used for?

The CG-719S is the Small Vessel Sea Service Form. This form is used by the Coast Guard to document and track your days and experience on the water.

The CG-719S is used for any boat that’s less than 200 gross tons. That includes most pleasure boats. You’ll need to fill this out when you’re out on your yacht, or sailboat.

Note: You must complete this form for each vessel you want to claim experience on.

One form is good for one vessel over a 5-year period. If you have experience on multiple vessels, you’ll need to complete multiple forms. Also, if you have time on one vessel over a 6 to 10-year span, you’ll need to fill out two CG-719s forms.

How to fill out your CG-719S with MM-SEAS Software (The Easy Way)

Step 1

1. Create an mmseas.com account 2. Select Create CG-719S on the left menu

Step 2

1. Enter your personal information such as full name and MMC Reference number if you already have a USCG license. If you don’t have a license and this is your first time applying, you’ll put the last four of your SSN instead.

2. Look up your vessel. If your vessel isn't in the USCG database you can add it in with your vessel name, registration number, dimensions, and propulsion method (aux sail, gas motor, steam motor, etc.).

3. Put the position that you served as: Master, Mate, Operator, Deckhand, etc.).

Note 1: If you’re not sure what position to put, check out this article: What should I write for my Served As position on my CG-719S form?

Note 2: If you served in multiple roles on the same vessel we recommend creating two separate CG-719S forms. You’ll want to submit two of these forms, one for every day you served as an Operator, and another one for every day you served as Master.

Step 3

You’ll add the days when you were serving on the boat. Use your logbook to fill out the days in the proper year and month boxes.

During your sea service, you’ll want to keep track of your days and hours. This can be done in a notebook, your phone, or a calendar. You don’t want to make it harder on yourself, when filling out this form, so make your service days easy to find.

One creditable sea day is counted as a 4-hour period away from the dock within 24 hours. This means if you take two, 2-hour trips in one day, that counts as one creditable day. If you took two 4-hour trips in one day, that would also count as one creditable day.

The Software automatically adds up all of the days you were serving on the vessel and makes the math for which routes you were on simple. If you were sailing in the Great Lakes, near coastal waters, or inland waters just select the corresponding box and the software will help you with the math.

Step 4

Enter the vessel owner information, verify the information on the CG-719S is correct, and then electronically sign the form inside of mmseas.comIf you are the owner of a vessel on which you are claiming service, the software will help you submit proof of ownership for that vessel. For acceptable proof of ownership include any one of the following:

• Title
• Registration (state registered vessels)
• Certificate of Documentation (USCG registered vessels)
• Proof of insurance (which clearly identifies the vessel)
• Bill(s) of sale.
  

Step 5

Keep tracking your sea days. This can be done in a notebook, your phone, or a calendar. You don’t want to make it harder on yourself, when remembering your information while filling out this form in the future. Your sea service days are extremely valuable, they never expire or disappear!

How to fill out your CG-719S with the Old Pen and Paper Way (Not recommended and prone to errors)

Section I

1. Start at the top by filling out your personal information.

If you have a USCG license, you’ll put your license number in the Reference Number box. If you don’t have a license and this is your first time applying, you’ll put the last 4 of your SSN instead, in the SSN box.

2. Enter your vessel information. You’ll write your vessel name, registration number, dimensions, and propulsion method (aux sail, gas motor, steam motor, etc.).

3. Put the position that you served as: Master, Mate, Operator, Deckhand, etc.).

Note 1: The USCG does not recognize the position "CREW" on its own, so do not write CREW as your position. That could mean you’re serving as engine crew, or deck crew. If you’re not sure what position to put, check out this article: What should I write for my Served As position on my CG-719S form?

Note 2: You can add two different positions here if you served in multiple roles. If you put two different positions, the total days you served will be divided by two. For example, if you put Master and Operator and served for 90 days, you’ll be credited 45 days as a Master and 45 as an Operator. You’ll want to submit two of these forms, one for every day you served as an Operator, and another one for every day you served as Master.

4. The last part of Section I is the body of water where the ship was underway.

Section II

In Section II, you’ll add the days when you were serving on the boat. Use your logbook to fill out the days in the proper year and month boxes.

During your time on the water, you’ll want to keep track of your days and hours. This can be done in a notebook, your phone, or a calendar. You don’t want to make it harder on yourself, when filling out this form, so make your service days easy to find.

One creditable sea day is counted as a 4-hour period away from the dock within 24 hours.

This means if you take two, 2-hour trips in one day, that counts as one creditable day. If you took two 4-hour trips in one day, that would also count as one creditable day.

Next, you’ll add up all of the days you were serving on the vessel, the average hours you were underway each day, and how far offshore you were. If you were in the Great Lakes, add those days to the proper section. If you were inside of the breakwaters the entire time, add the total days to “shoreward of the boundary line” box. If you went beyond the boundary line into near coastal waters, add those days to the “days served on waters seaward of the boundary line”.

Section III

The first part of Section III is where you sign and date confirming your service. Not signing the form yourself is the most common mistake we see.

The next section is signed, dated, and filled out by the ship’s master, owner, vessel manager or office staff for the company that owns the boat. If you are the owner of a vessel on which you are claiming service, you must also submit proof of ownership for that vessel. For acceptable proof of ownership include any one of the following:

• Title
• Registration (state registered vessels)
• Certificate of Documentation (USCG registered vessels)
• Proof of insurance (which clearly identifies the vessel)
• Bill(s) of sale.

Review and save

After everything is filled out, make sure to review and save the form. This form is extremely valuable for you because it’s tracking your sea service days. Those days never expire or disappear, so you don’t want to lose track of this form.

FAQs

Will the USCG contact me when I sign a CG-719S for my crew?

The USCG usually won’t contact you regarding a CG-719S form you signed for a member of your crew, unless there is an issue. If they find an issue they typically reach out to the mariner who submitted the application first.

Can someone working in the office sign my CG-719S form?

Yes. An office staff member (i.e. someone who is not the owner of the company but represents the company) can sign on behalf of the company to certify that the individual has served on the vessel as stated on the CG-719S form.

We hope this made your life a little easier and if you have other questions the MM-SEAS team is always here to help!

MM-SEAS is free to use on your own and if you need some more personalized help you can upgrade to MM-SEAS Pro inside of the site.

No matter what, when you are ready to submit your application, you can choose to have the MM-SEAS staff create a perfect application, handle the USCG application fees and work with the USCG on your behalf to resolve any issues for a flat fee of $349 or you can choose to submit on your own.

Pro MM-SEAS members get access to unlimited live 1 on 1 calls with one of our USCG Licensing Specialists. We've found that answering questions live with screen sharing in a video call makes both of our lives easier. Pro MM-SEAS members can access these features inside of MM-SEAS under License Guidance.