MCA short course approvals
Information on how to become an MCA approved training provider, common queries, how to find MCA approved courses and the types of complaints we can investigate.
Introduction
The MCA approves and monitors training providers (such as nautical colleges and small private enterprises) to run STCW short courses.
Short courses are an essential element of safety training required for the issuance of a UK seafarer Certificate of Competency (CoC) or for a seafarer to take up employment onboard a ship.
On successful completion of the course, a seafarer is issued with a certificate that demonstrates they have met the required standard.
How to become an MCA approved training provider
Overview
The basic steps towards gaining MCA approval involves:
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Submit a request for approval
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Prepare your course and supporting documentation
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MCA review of your submission (desktop review)
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Onsite MCA audit
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Approval decision
Detailed guidance
Full details of the approval and monitoring process can be found in Annex F of MSN 1865, as amended.
You must ensure that you’re able to meet the quality management system (QMS) conditions as detailed in sections A-J of the MSN.
Further information is available in MIN 643.
Course criteria
Training centres must meet the course criteria requirements developed by the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) in conjunction with the MCA. These are contained in a series of booklets, relevant copies of which must be purchased from the MNTB prior to application: https://shop.witherbys.com/shipping-bodies/mntb/
A few syllabuses are published by the MCA (on gov.uk) which can be found on our syllabus page.
Boatmasters’ Licence (BML) syllabuses can be found at Annex 7 of MSN 1853, as amended.
Cyber security syllabus is available on request, please email stc.courses@mcga.gov.uk
Audit fees
In line with HM Treasury’s ‘Managing Public Money’ guidelines, we operate on a cost recovery basis. The audit fee is currently £147 per hour and is set by legislation.
For overseas audits, the hourly rate also applies to the time spent travelling and there are other costs such as flights, hotels and daily subsistence to factor in.
Additionally, there are ongoing costs in maintaining approvals, for example, being reaudited every 5 years (‘reapproval’) and for overseas providers, we also carry out a ‘midterm’ (halfway) audit. These subsequent audits are not as extensive as the initial approval audit.
We do not charge for Boatmasters’ Licence (BML) course approvals, however, we must be able to justify an audit.
How to request MCA short course approval(s)
As a general rule, local Marine Offices oversee mandatory STCW courses delivered in person within UK training centres, while MCA Headquarters (Seafarer Technical Delivery Team) oversee courses delivered online, peripatetically, or overseas, as well as voluntary approvals and certain specialist courses such as NAEST.
Requests overseen by MCA Headquarters
Due to the volume of new course approval requests, alongside the need to regularly audit a large number of existing overseas training providers to maintain quality standards, we operate a prioritisation framework. This approach ensures that new approval requests are handled in a fair and quality-focused manner, with priority given based on strategic and operational needs.
Requests are assigned one of the following priority levels:
| High priority | Requests linked to urgent safety, regulatory or UK Government needs. These are progressed subject to Examiner availability. |
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| Medium priority | Requests that support the UK’s strategic interests. These are typically planned for the next financial year (April to March). |
| Low priority | Requests that align less strongly with operational priorities but may be progressed if they can be tied-in with another planned audit. |
| Not a current priority | Requests that do not currently align with operational priorities. These are kept under review should circumstances or priorities change. |
| Rejected | Some requests cannot be taken forward due to external or policy constraints. Where this applies, we will explain the reason. |
To support fair and consistent decision‑making, a panel meets monthly to consider requests, which are assessed having regard to current operational priorities and resource availability.
Please do not incur any costs such as buying equipment or hiring premises unless we give the go-ahead.
Online request form
If you do not hold any MCA course approvals, please complete our online request form:
Common approval queries
‘One day firefighting’
This normally refers to BML Fire Safety. The syllabus for this can be found in Annex 7 of MSN 1853, as amended.
Crowd Management or Passenger Spaces
The MCA does not approve these as they must be ship specific (as per section 17 of MSN 1866, as amended).
Entry into Enclosed Spaces
This does not need to be MCA approved. Please refer to MGN 659, as amended.
Shipboard Safety Officer
This does not need to be MCA approved, however, training that is MCA approved may be more relevant for those working on board UK‑flagged vessels, as it covers UK health and safety legislation.
How to find MCA approved courses
Please check our online listings. Our lists are updated every month.
Raising a complaint about an MCA training provider
Our role
Training providers must have a complaints process in place as part of their quality management system (which we check). Training providers must also keep records of complaints which we check during an audit.
Additionally, we consider complaints which allege:
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poor standards of training
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serious health & safety issues
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course(s) being delivered at location(s) or by person(s) not approved by us
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fraud or illegal activity
If your complaint falls within our remit, please outline your complaint by email to stc.courses@mcga.gov.uk and attach any supporting evidence.
Complaints about other matters should be raised with the training provider directly. We are also not responsible for pricing; our role is to oversee the standards of training.
Updates to this page
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Added information about how MCA Headquarters prioritises new requests for short course approvals.
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First published.