At a glance
To revalidate your Marine Cook certificate, you need to:
- Hold a valid AMSA Certificate of Medical Fitness
- Hold a valid AMSA Certificate of Safety Training (or other STCW certificate)
- Demonstrate continued competence
- Prepare your supporting documents
- Apply to AMSA
On this page:
- How to revalidate
- Choose your revalidation pathway
- Pathway 1 - with qualifying sea service
- Pathway 2 - with other industry experience
- Apply to revalidate
How to revalidate
You need to revalidate your certificate every 5 years to keep it current.
Apply early to avoid delays
You should apply within the 6 months before your certificate expires to avoid a gap in validity.
Learn more about when to revalidate and how expiry dates are calculated.
To revalidate your certificate, you will need:
- a valid AMSA Certificate of Medical Fitness (303)
- a valid AMSA Certificate of Safety Training or another AMSA-issued certificate of proficiency
- to demonstrate continued competence.
Choose your revalidation pathway
What you need to do depends on whether you have recent qualifying sea service.
Select the pathway that applies to you.
- With qualifying sea service
What you need
1) Recent qualifying sea service
2) Evidence of your sea service and participation in required drills1) Check your recent qualifying sea service
You need either:
- at least 360 days in the 5 years before you apply
- at least 90 days in the 6 months before you apply.
Your sea service must:
- be performing duties as a cook or in a food preparation role on board a vessel
- be completed while your Marine Cook certificate is valid.
We calculate sea service from the date we receive your application. For example, your 90 days must be within the 6 months before you apply.
2) Provide evidence of sea service
You will need to provide evidence of your sea service when you apply.
You should provide your evidence using the STCW sea service template.
- With other industry experience
You may be able to revalidate without qualifying sea service if you have performed duties or functions that AMSA considers equivalent to sea service.
You must provide a letter from your employer explaining:
- your position
- the duties and functions you performed
- when and for how long you performed them
- how the work maintained your professional competence.
AMSA will assess whether your duties or functions are equivalent to qualifying sea service.
Apply to revalidate
Once you have completed the requirements for your pathway, you can apply to revalidate your certificate.
Before you apply, read our guide on how to revalidate an STCW certificate.
The step-by-step guide explains:
- which supporting documents you need
- how to prepare and submit your documents
- application fees and processing times
- what happens after you apply.
Regulations and standards
- Marine Order 70 (Seafarer certification)
- Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), Standard A3.2 (Food and catering)