Bild: Logo Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur
Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie
Referat S12
Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 78
20359 Hamburg


Weitere Kontaktmöglichkeiten

Phone: +49 40 31 90-71 25
Fax: +49 40 31 90-50 10
Mail: zeugnisse@bsh.de

Extension of validity

Currently longer processing time

Due to an increased volume of applications, more complex reviews, and staffing shortages, there are currently longer processing times for the issuance of competency documents for seafarers. At present, the processing time is at least 12 weeks. We kindly ask for your understanding.

How can you helphelp ensure your application is processed quickly?

  • Completeness is crucial:
    To ensure prompt and efficient processing, it is essential that you submit complete applications and sign them personally. Incomplete applications regularly lead to delays and significantly increase the processing workload. Therefore, please ensure that all required documents are available and submitted in full when you apply.
    Please verify that all required copies are attached to your application, such as a valid ID card or passport, valid maritime medical fitness certificate, certificates of proficiency for ship safety (including, if applicable, proof of completion of refresher courses), a sufficient number of passport photos, and proof of required seagoing service.
  • Submitting your application in time and in full:
    The current processing time is at least three months. Therefore, if possible, please submit your application at least three months before your planned service and ensure it is complete. This is the only way we can include your application in our processing schedule.
  • What to do if some documents are not yet available:
    If you are unable to submit all required documents three months before your scheduled service (e.g. due to pending refresher courses), we will try to process your complete application in time if we receive it up to two weeks before the date you go on board. In this case, please be sure to explain the urgency and note the date you go on board in the comments section.
    If it is not possible to submit a complete application even two weeks in advance (e.g. because booked refresher courses are scheduled very close to the date you go on board), please submit your incomplete application with a note indicating when which documents will be submitted later. In this case, we ask that you submit the missing documents via email to zeugnisse@bsh.de as soon as possible and without being asked.
    Please note that if documents are submitted even shortly after they should have, it may not always be possible to process them in due time.
    Please attend refresher courses well in advance of submitting your application. We recognize refresher courses and radio certificates for 6 months following participation without limitation. We will only limit the validity duration of the certificate of competency after the 6-month period has expired.

Additional important information regarding the application

  • Selecting the correct competency documents:
    Please apply only for certificates for which you meet all the requirements for issuance (see the last pages of the application and in the list of attachments, which appears as soon as a certificate is selected).
  • Correctly completing and submitting the application:
    First, complete the application online and then use the PDF icon to generate a PDF file. Only after that, print it out.
  • Signatures:
    You must personally sign the application by hand. The signature must be in the original and match the signature on the copy of your ID card or passport. If fees are covered by a third party (e.g. by your employer), a corresponding signature from that third party is also required.
  • Proof of seagoing service:
    If you have personally confirmed your seagoing service as a master, a signed and stamped confirmation from your employer is also required (e.g. a tabular overview listing the ship’s name, IMO numbers, GT, service rank on board, start and end dates of each voyage, and the ship’s radio equipment, etc.).
  • Contact:
    Please direct inquiries preferably by e-mail to zeugnisse@bsh.de and include a phone number if possible.We kindly ask that you avoid making inquiries by phone to help reduce the processing workload.

We are working hard to clear the backlog.

If you need a certificate of competency very quickly due to a short-term assignment on board, please let us know. We will then do everything we can to ensure that you receive your certificate of competency from us on time.

The extended processing times apply to the issuance of German certificates of competency, but do not affect endorsements of foreign certificates of competency, for which we generally require a maximum of 3 business days.

By following the points mentioned above, you will significantly help to reduce the overall processing time.

Thank you for your assistance!

Validity extension of certificates for seafarers

For certificates of competency and certificates of proficiency with a limited period of validity, you must apply for an extension of validity to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). This also applies to certificates of competency issued by the "Hafen- und Seemannsamt Rostock" for graduates of maritime training facilities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

You do not have to apply for an extension of validity for:

  • the following certificates of proficiency:
    • Certificate of proficiency for service on passenger ships 
    • Basic safety training
    • Proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats (as well as fast rescue boats)
    • Advanced fire-fighting

The BSH does not issue new documents after participation in the respective refresher courses for these certificates of proficiency. For service on passenger ships only a kind of certificate of qualification from the course provider that is simimlar to a certificate of proficiency is accepted.
For the three other courses, the certificate of proficiency together with the current refresher course certificate of the provider are valid as proof.

  • Seafarer's Card
    It is issued with a validity of ten years and must then be re-applied for. Further information and the application form can be found on this website under Seafarer's Card.

(back to top)

bild gültigkeitsverlängerung

Prerequisite: Continued competency

Seagoing service

To extend the validity of a certificate of competency or certificate of proficiency, you must provide evidence of continued competency, which is achieved in particular with seagoing service.
For details, please refer to the relevant application forms and information on seagoing service and ships.

If you are applying for an extension of validity for a certificate of competency, but for the last five years you have mostly worked on ships that do not meet the requirements for an extension of validity or you have worked onshore, you may also demonstrate your competency with

  • seagoing service of 1 ½ months within the last five years with activities equivalent to those certified with the certificate of competency to be extended in validity and
  • approved types of work(in German only) of at least 12 months within the last five years.

Seagoing service for re-entering professionally

If the validity of your certificate of competency has expired and you have not completed any corresponding seagoing service (re-entering professionally), upon application, the BSH can issue a certificate of competency in a correspondingly lower rank so that you can complete seagoing service again. In this case, the other requirements (valid proof of identity, valid certificate of fitness for sea service, current qualifications in ship safety and security) must be met. If, however, you fail to provide proof of continued competency with this certificate, your competency will not be downgraded again at the next extension of validity.

Seagoing service on authority vessels

On merchant ships, the ISM Code (International Safety Management Code), among others, is applicable and the crew is regularly trained accordingly; authority vessels, on the other hand, are not subject to the ISM Code. If a master (NK and NK 500), chief mate, chief engineer officer or second engineer officer wish to demonstrate continued competency with seagoing service on authority vessels, they must also complete a course as defined in the ISM Code . This course serves as proof of equivalency of seagoing service on authority vessels with seagoing service on merchant ships and must meet the following criteria:

  • Participation in the course is intended to promote ship safety and marine environment protection.
  • The authority responsible for the operation of the ship has decided which course the master or ship's officer will attend.
  • In principle, the course must not be approved by the Ship Safety Division (Dienststelle Schiffssicherheit), the Maritime Medical Service (Seeärztlicher Dienst) or the BSH, as these courses are already required by legal instruments other than the ISM Code. 

(back to top)

Continued competency (nautical / maritime radio)

The continued competency (nautical) can alternatively be proven by participation in a BSH-approved course.

You can alternatively prove the continued competency as radio operator by attending an approved refresher course or by successfully passing an examination as radio operator at the BSH.

The simplified exam for maritime radio at the BSH will be held on every second and fourth Wednesday of the month, in the morning from 11:00 to 12:00. In principle, you must register ten working days before the date of the exam. You can only register for this exam in conjunction with a complete application for an extension of validity for the respective radio operator's certificate. You will be accepted for the exam if you can credibly demonstrate all other certification required for the extension of validity.

(back to top)

Application forms

Please note the following:

  • You can process only one form at a time (not several).
  • You must send your applications to the BSH by post or fax (applications by e-mail are not possible).
  • For the sake of environment: Please send your applications to BSH without plastic envelopes or folders.

Data protection declaration

If more than one certificate is issued for a seafarer at the same time, the fees may be reduced. Click here for more information on fees.

(back to top)