FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common MCA maritime certification & training questions.
sailing Choosing a Course
-
It depends on the oral you're sitting.
OOW Oral Prep is for the MCA OOW (Yachts) <3000gt oral. It also works for OOW Unlimited.
Master 500/3000 Oral Prep covers the Master (Yachts) <500gt and <3000gt orals, and also suits Chief Mate Unlimited and the Master 500 Workboat.
Master 200 Oral Prep is for the MCA Master 200 / OOW 500gt oral.
If you want to work on superyachts, the OOW is the route to take, because the Master 200 doesn't lead on to the Master 500 or 3000.
-
Each course is a one-off payment for one, two or three months' access, not a subscription:
OOW: £400 / £600 / £800
Master 500/3000: £550 / £850 / £1,000
Master 200: £350 / £550 / £750
The crossed-out price on the two- and three-month plans is what the same time would cost bought one month at a time.
You get every module of the MCA syllabus on video, printable notes, quizzes, flashcards, the past exam papers, the live Sunday webinar and help finding a study buddy.
-
In 2025, 94% of the MCA oral exams sat by Fred's Oral Prep students were passes, and it's 93% so far in 2026. Across all 2,885 exams in our student records, it's 92.9%.
For comparison, the MCA's own 2025 pass rates for all candidates were 85% for OOW 3000 (Yachts), 83% for Master 3000 (Yachts) and 71% for Master 200 (Yachts). We count every exam, re-sits included, the same way the MCA does.
See the full figures and sources on our pass rates page.
-
If you want to work on superyachts, do the OOW (Yachts <3000gt). The Master 200 doesn't lead on to the Master 500 or 3000, so for that route you'd need the OOW anyway. Expect that to take two years or more, mostly because the EDH certificate needs 18 months to mature.
The Master 200 is the right choice if your job depends on it, for example on workboats, tugs or windfarm vessels.
-
Most OOW holders should aim straight for the Master 3000 rather than the Master 500. For the Master 3000 you need 24 months as a deck officer, including 240 days' watchkeeping, on vessels of 15 m or more, with either 12 months on vessels of 24 m or more or 6 months on vessels of 500 GT or more (MSN 1858 Annex 2).
The Masters course covers both exams.
-
Yes. The OOW Unlimited and OOW Yachts syllabuses are about 95% the same, and the course covers all of the common ground. The one real gap is cargo, which the course doesn't cover, and stability is slightly lighter. Cargo Notes (Witherby, second edition) closes the cargo gap, and there's usually only one cargo question.
Roughly 10 to 15 OOW Unlimited candidates passed using the course in the last year, and the Part A past papers and a Part A practice quiz are included.
-
Yes, the Master 500/3000 course covers it. Very few people have sat the Master 500 Workboat (around 20), and it tends to be only lightly workboat-specific: maybe one or two questions on things like the Workboat Code or the IMDG Code. If you're not comfortable with those, ask Fred about the extra workboat material.
-
Yes. Fred has helped lots of crew pass the Transport Malta OOW, Master 500 and Master 3000 exams. The examiner is generally British, so the syllabus is the same as the MCA's, and the pass rate is generally very high. If you're worried about your English, come along to a Sunday webinar first.
-
Fred doesn't give private one-to-one lessons. You won't know your examiner in advance, so the full-syllabus course plus the Sunday webinars is what prepares you.
For a mock oral, use an independent provider, and book two mocks with two different examiners rather than the same one twice.
school Your Course
-
Your access is for the months you bought, and it starts when you open your first video. When it ends, the videos stop, but your past papers stay open for 31 days (14 days if you've passed, so you can keep working with your study buddies) and the Sunday webinars stay free.
Need more time? An extra month costs the same as if you'd bought it up front: for example, going from two to three months on the OOW course costs £200.
-
Go to crew.mcaonlinecourses.com and enter the email address you bought the course with. You'll get a one-click sign-in link, so no password is needed. The link works once, for 15 minutes, so check your junk folder if it doesn't arrive within a minute or two.
-
Every Sunday at 9am UK time (GMT in winter, BST in summer), and it usually runs three to four hours. Register for each session on the Webinars page.
You can just watch at first, and your first webinar isn't an assessment. Fred tends to put questions to crew within four weeks of their exam who ticked the box when registering. There are no webinars over Christmas and New Year.
fact_check Exams, NOE & CoC
-
The NOE usually takes about a month. Orals are booking up two to three months ahead, so be flexible on dates rather than set on one. Spots come up through cancellations, and Fred helps students find one once their NOE arrives.
You book the oral yourself on the MCA's online booking system. Here's how to use it, including the known bugs.
-
Yes, up to 21 days before the exam. You move it yourself on the MCA's online booking system. Inside 21 days, it won't move without a doctor's letter.
-
MCA exam times are UK clock time, GMT or BST depending on the time of year, whatever label the email carries (MIN 690 §6.2). Work out your local time, then email onlineoralexams@mcga.gov.uk to confirm.
-
Yes. Since 13 November 2024 the MCA has accepted scans of all NOE and CoC documents, passport photos included, emailed to deck@mcga.gov.uk. The exception is your original TRB, which still has to be posted or couriered to the MCA at Spring Place, Southampton.
-
For the Master 500, you can apply for the NOE before the written modules (including Business and Law) once your sea time is met. For the Master 3000, every written exam must be passed except Celestial Navigation. Exams book up to about six months ahead, so apply early.
-
Usually about two weeks to print and post, once the MCA has your pass email and any outstanding documents. If nothing has arrived after two weeks, email deck@mcga.gov.uk for an update. Here's how to apply for your CoC after you pass.
-
It's possible, but very few pass Part A under their own steam. On the Master 200 course, use roughly the first month for Part A and sit it once you're scoring 98% or more on the Part A practice test every time. Fred then pauses your course and switches it back on when your Part B oral is booked, so the rest of your time runs up to the oral.
-
Get Part A squared away first: radar plotting, secondary ports and chart work. That's where most crew fail now, and the college course has little time for it. You don't need to buy any books. The OOW Nav & Radar Part A course covers it.
manage_accounts General
-
Yes. The courses run in a web browser on any device with an internet connection: laptop, tablet or phone, Apple or not. The only Apple-only part is the old free Quiz App, and everything in it is included in the paid course.
-
No. For a decade, the two-week course in Cowes had a 98% pass rate with a maximum of four students. After Covid and the MCA's move to online exams, Fred went fully online. The online course had a 94% pass rate in 2025, with no flights or hotels and no need to leave your boat.
Read why in The Evolution of Fred's Oral Prep, and see our pass rates.
-
Yes, Fred's Oral Prep is an approved Slater Fund provider. The fund, run by the Marine Society, helps UK-resident seafarers aged 21 or over pay for officer training. Apply to the fund first: it takes around 28 working days, you'll need your Maths@Sea and Writing@Sea certificates, and it won't pay for a course you've already started.
Once you're accepted, email Fred your Slater Fund reference number and how many months you want. He sends it to the fund for approval and opens your course. Slater-funded students get 10% off.
More in The Slater Fund, what is it?
-
Yes for the Master 200 and OOW Unlimited; no for the OOW (Yachts) and Master 500/3000.
Part A is a 40-minute online, proctored test of 15 questions. Once you pass it, you can book Part B, the oral, which you must sit within 12 months. A Part A resit costs £159 for the second attempt and £84 after that.
More in Understanding the new M200 and OOW Unlimited exam structure.
-
Fred is waiting for the MCA to publish the updated OOW written syllabus, which was due for review in 2022. He'll build Part B as soon as the new syllabus is confirmed, so it matches what you'll be examined on.
Part A (chart work, radar plotting and secondary ports) is available now, and that's where most candidates fail. The Part B theory past papers are already included with Part A.
-
It happens to plenty of good candidates. Email your result to deck@mcga.gov.uk and pay the £159 resit fee to get a new NOE. Write a debrief of what the examiner asked while it's fresh, and book the next exam as soon as you can (at least two weeks later). If you were on the course and came to the Sunday webinars, Fred gives you a free month for the resit.
-
Yes. Fred's free "What to study" lists for the OOW, Master 500/3000 and Master 200 tell you what to read before you start the course. Download the one for your exam from the pre-study blog post. Fred suggests starting about three months before your oral.
-
In the Freds Oral Prep Club, a private Facebook group for Fred-trained crew. You're invited once you've passed your OOW or Master's oral with Fred. Boats ask for Fred-trained crew, and applying costs nothing. If a boat wants to stay anonymous, you apply through Emma at emma@fredsoralprep.com.
-
Yes. Come to one or two before you sign up; it's the best way to see how Fred teaches and the level you'll need. You can just watch. Register for each session on the Webinars page. They're every Sunday at 9am UK time and usually last three to four hours. Recordings are for students with active access.
More in Fred's Webinar: get exam ready!
-
It varies, but for full-time study off the boat:
OOW: 4–6 weeks
Master 200: 6–8 weeks
Master 500/3000: 6–8 weeks, because the syllabus goes twice as deep
Full time means roughly 8am to 5pm: five days a week if you have six weeks or more before your exam, six days a week if you have less. Studying around work takes longer, so protect a fixed slot every day. Start the Sunday webinars at least four to five weeks before your exam.
-
Yes, every topic. Examiners can ask about any part of the MCA syllabus, and you won't know your examiner in advance, so there's no safe way to cherry-pick.
More in Why I teach the whole syllabus.
-
It's the order Fred recommends for preparing, built from years of seeing what works:
Pre-study from the "What to study" list about three months out.
Take time off work to study.
Work through the course in order, printing the notes, writing flashcards and doing the quizzes.
In the final weeks, use the past papers, a study buddy and the Sunday webinars.
Allow at least four weeks of full-time study; Fred prefers six.
More in Fred's system: how to avoid failure.
-
Yes. The MCA's code of conduct for online exams says business formal attire is the dress code, Teams or not.
-
Email Fred at fred@fredsoralprep.com or use the contact page. Replies usually come within 24 hours.
live_help How-Tos
-
Fill it in as you go and get each section signed off on board. Don't fill in page 17, an old 2004 deck-officer testimonial template: print your digital service record book (PYA or Nautilus) and put it in at page 17 instead.
You can still complete the TRB for work you've already done, as long as the owner or management company confirms it in a letter. With 36 months (1,080 days) of actual sea service on vessels over 24 m, you're exempt.
-
Use form MSF 4343. Email scans of everything (ENG1, passport copy, service record book, passport photos and the rest) to deck@mcga.gov.uk, and post the original TRB to the MCA at Spring Place, Southampton. Pay the fee online. It usually takes about a month.
Checklists: OOW, Master 500/3000 and Master 200.
-
Since 9 March 2026 you book, view and manage your oral yourself on the MCA's online booking system, and you can see the available dates. You'll need your SDS number, date of birth and booking form reference.
Two known quirks: enter your SDS number as 10 digits by adding four zeros in front, and enter your date of birth without leading zeros (6/6/1994, not 06/06/1994). For the Master 200 and OOW Unlimited, you book Part B after you pass Part A. If you get stuck, email onlineoralexams@mcga.gov.uk.
Step by step: The MCA's new online oral exam booking system.
-
Go to the Webinars page, pick the date, press Register and enter your details. Register for each session. It's every Sunday at 9am UK time.
-
Once you're on the course, you can find a study buddy in the crew portal, and Fred also puts people together through the Sunday webinars. Start four to six weeks before your exam and aim for about two hours a day together, saying the answers out loud using Fred's slides, lights, situations and past-paper breakdowns.
More in My new Crew Portal and Study buddies: why you need them.
-
Write your own, by hand or in an app like Anki or Brainscape; writing them is half the learning. Keep each card to keywords, five points at most. In the last two weeks, practise answering past-paper questions out loud from your cards, and sort them into Critical, Likely and "Meh" piles. Critical must be perfect.
More in How to create effective flashcards.
-
They're in the crew portal under Past Papers, and they open as you work through the course: at the LSA video on the OOW course and the departure checks video on the Masters course. They're built from the debriefs of students who've just sat their orals and are updated monthly. Fred only shares them with his students through the portal, never by email.
More in Why my past exam papers are GOLD.
-
Use the Teams app, not the web version, on an up-to-date device. Test your internet speed (the MCA suggests at least 10 Mbps) and practise screen-sharing with a study buddy. Join ten minutes early and double-check the time is UK time.
If you're not connected within five minutes of the start time, screenshot everything and report it to onlineoralexams@mcga.gov.uk straight away.
More in Microsoft Teams: troubleshooting guide and What to do if your examiner doesn't show up.
-
The MCA's "PASSED" email arrives almost straight away and lists what to send. Email the pass email and scans of your supporting documents (ENG1, training certificates, HELM and so on) to deck@mcga.gov.uk. The CoC usually takes about two weeks to print and post.
book_ribbon Course Requirements
-
You need to:
be 19 or over;
hold the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore with the shorebased certificate (or IYT Master of Yachts Limited);
have 36 months' yacht service since age 16, including 365 days' sea service on vessels of 15 m or more;
hold an EDH certificate issued at least 18 months earlier;
pass the Navigation & Radar and General Ship Knowledge modules and exams;
have a completed TRB, a valid ENG1 and your ancillary certificates;
pass the OOW oral.
More in OOW CoC requirements.
-
Master 500:
an OOW (Yachts <3000gt) CoC;
12 months as a yacht deck officer, including 120 days' watchkeeping, on vessels of 15 m or more;
the Seamanship & Meteorology, Stability, Business & Law and Navigation, Radar & ARPA Simulator modules, each with its exam;
the Celestial Navigation exam;
ENG1 and your ancillary certificates;
the oral.
Master 3000:
24 months as a deck officer, including 240 days' watchkeeping, with 12 months on vessels of 24 m or more or 6 months on vessels of 500 GT or more;
either a Master 500 CoC plus Celestial, or all the module and exam passes;
the oral.
More in Master 500/3000 CoC requirements.
-
You need to:
be 18 or over;
have 6 months' seagoing service while holding the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore with its shorebased certificate (or IYT Master of Yachts Limited), or the Ocean equivalents for an unlimited-area CoC. The Yachtmaster must be validly endorsed, and it doesn't matter whether it's sail or power;
hold your ancillary certificates and a valid ENG1;
pass the Master 200 Part A test and Part B oral.
HELM and GMDSS are needed for the CoC, not for the NOE, so they can wait until after the exam.
More in Master 200 CoC requirements.
-
OOW: 36 months' yacht service since age 16, including 365 days on vessels of 15 m or more (at least 250 actual days at sea; the other 115 can include standby or up to 90 days' yard service).
Master 500: 12 months as a deck officer, including 120 days' watchkeeping.
Master 3000: 24 months, including 240 days' watchkeeping.
Master 200: 6 months' seagoing service holding a Yachtmaster Offshore.
More in Sea service & days at sea.