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If you have any questions regarding Marine Radio Licences, MMSI numbers or about Coastal Navigation please feel free to call us – 8.00am to 8.00pm – 7 days – Ph: 0434 803 687

Are you part of a yacht crew. Planning on doing some serious sailing or maybe entering the next Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race! Make sure you have your yacht crew marine radio licence. Internationally recognised Marine Radio Licences are issued by the Office of Maritime Communications.  All Marine Radio Licences can now be obtained 100% online. This includes obtaining a Marine Radio Licence to obtain a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number for DSC Marine Radios, or for a marine qualification. If you are residing overseas, or a foreign national, you are permitted to obtain a Marine Radio Licence. Please email us for details.

Please select SROCP or LROCP links on the right to enrol.

For marine radio licence inquiries please call 0434803687 or email at truenorthmarine.com@gmail.com 

Thank You – True North Marine 

Are you unsure how to get a Marine Radio Licence or an MMSI number?

Our short 3 minute video above will show you how easy it is and what to do!

True North Marine Training  introduced the Online Yacht Crew Marine Radio Licence Course in response to many requests from people all around the country for assistance in obtaining their Marine Radio Licence and who wanted to be able to study online before sitting the final written examination.

The online course has proven to be hugely successful and is one of our most popular courses where we are very proud to have assisted over 8500 candidates to quickly and easily obtain their Marine Radio Licence. At any given time we would have in excess of 200 people around the country and internationally,, from Karratha WA to Sale VIC, from Albany WA to Thursday Island QLD, enrolled in the Marine Radio Licence course. We have also assisted many Australians who are living overseas obtain their Marine Radio Licence. In addition many foreign nationals have received their Marine Radio Licence and which was accepted as documentary proof when entering international yachts races or hiring vessels overseas.

The process to obtain your Marine Radio Licence is extremely simple. The majority of people spend just a few hours studying and others a couple of days. However to put it simply if you just follow what we have put in place to obtain your Marine Radio Licence we guarantee you will obtain the licence.

The Online Marine Radio Course allows candidates the opportunity of unlimited study online for the Marine Radio exam regardless of where you live in Australia (and also overseas as we have had people in the US, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, Spain, Singapore, Uruguay, The Netherlands Dubai and even mid Atlantic on a Super Yacht, who have obtained their licence with our process) with the added advantage of phone or email access to our Invigilator. 

 

Who needs a Marine Radio Licence?

Basically anyone operating marine radios is required to have a Marine Radio Licence. Types of common marine radios are VHF and MFHF marine radios.  VHF is essentially a line of sight short range radio where the range is dictated by the height of the transmitting and receiving antennas. As a guide this is generally between 10 and 35 nautical miles. MFHF marine radios allow for transmission over hundreds and sometimes thounds of miles depending on the frequency used. So if you are applying for a marine radio licence you just need to decide on which licence you require.

For VHF marine radios you will find the Short Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency (SROCP) to be sufficient. 

For both VHF and MFHF marine radios you will find the Long Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency (LROCP) will be required. 

Thanks Peter for your help. I was studying at TAFE and failed the Radio exam twice. I really needed to get it finished to sit my Coxswain’s ticket and this really helped me a lot. Thanks heaps!
Christine - Perth

VHF Marine Radio Licence

Do I need a Marine Radio Licence to obtain a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number?

The short answer is YES. A Marine Radio Licence is required if you are operating Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radios. The licence does not have anything to do with whether the vessel is recreational or commercial. If you intend obtaining a commercial qualification such as a Coxswain or Master you need to have the licence anyway however it is simply about having the knowledge to correctly operate Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radios.

If you currently have a Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radio on board your vessel and you do not have a Marine Radio Licence you will find that it will be necessary to obtain a licence if you intend to up grade your radio to the popular and much preferred Digital Selective Call (DSC) type of radio. To access the full features of these radios requires the radio to be registered and the issue of a Maritime Mobile Service Identity number (MMSI). To obtain a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number you need to provide your Marine Radio Licence number.

You can enroll in this course at any time from the enrollment link on this page and on completion of enrollment you will receive:

  1. A FREE downloaded version of the Marine Radio Handbook and/or the VHF Radio Handbook,
  2. Access to additional training material and resources related to Marine Radio knowledge and operation,
  3. Unlimited access to over 350 questions of a similar nature to the final exam and
  4. Access to our Free App for Tablet and Phone mobile studying
  5. Access to our Senior Trainer/Exam Supervisor via phone and email.
  6. Access to our Free Simulated Marine Radio App for demonstration of competency in using marine radios
  7. Final online exam process for the total cost of $279.00. (includes the government exam paper cost of $89.00)

Types of Marine Radio Licences

There are essentially 2 types of marine radio licences:

  1. The Long Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency (LROCP) which is for operating both VHF radios (short range radios) and Medium Frequency/High Frequency (MF/HF) Radios (which are designed for long range transmission) and
  2. The Short Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency for VHF Only (SROCP) is designed for those who are only carrying and/or operating a Very High Frequency (VHF) (Short Range) radio.

Basically if you intend travelling on offshore coastal voyages, are part of a yacht race crew, or applying for commercial qualifications such as a Coxswain’s or a Master qualification, you should obtain an LROCP Certificate. THIS IS THE PREFERRED CERTIFICATE TO OBTAIN.

If you are operating small recreational vessels in harbours and bays or staying near the coast then an SROCP (VHF Only) Certificate will be sufficient.

NOTE: We do not receive many applications for the SROCP (VHF Only) and we do not generally recommend that applicants obtain this licence. The simple reason is the cost to obtain the 2 licences is the same.

However the problem occurs if you wish to upgrade the licence. In the past we have had applicants with VHF only radio licences who have sought to upgrade to the LROCP due to a number of reasons (required on a yacht in an official yacht race, to obtain a commercial qualification or even joining a Marine Rescue organisation as a volunteer etc). Unfortunately the OMC do not have an upgrade process. You simply have to do it all again with all the time and costs involved.

Regardless of which licence you wish to apply for if you are a Boat Owner and you wish to upgrade your MF/HF or VHF Radio to a Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Radio, which is now the preferred type of radio to have on board, you will NOT be able to complete the radio registration process with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and obtain a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number for the radio unless you obtain your Marine Radio Licence first.

How long does a Marine Radio Licence last?

The Marine Radio Operators Licence is one of those very rare certificates that, when obtained, it never expires and there are no renewal fees!

Knowledge Required for a Marine Radio Licence

It is important to understand that the knowledge required to obtain a Marine Radio Licence is not extensive and it is not difficult to obtain a Marine Radio Licence. The level of knowledge required to pass the final exam (70% pass required) includes the following subjects:

  • Knowledge of MF/HF and VHF marine radios
  • Identify the difference between Ship Stations, Coast Radio Stations and Limited Coast Stations
  • Understand and use the ‘Phonetic Alphabet’
  • Use correct operating procedures and channels when operating a marine radio
  • Understand Distress, Urgency and Safety Communications
  • Understand Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Communications
  • Understand the use of 406 MHz EPIRBS
  • Understand the use of SART’s
  • Understand Search and Rescue in Australia
  • Identify the different types of radio equipment, their application and limitations
  • Identify the components of a marine radio and the care and maintenance required with radio equipment and power sources

How long will it take to obtain a Marine Radio Licence?

We estimate that to complete the online component will take approximately 4-5 hours of self study. The online assignments are open book and take between 4 to 10 minutes each to complete.

When the assignments are completed an email response is sent to your inbox advising you of your results and sections that need to be reviewed. When candidates are consistently achieving 80-85% in the online components then we recommend sitting the final ‘closed book’ examination which is conducted via Zoom and takes about 30 minutes .

When the final 50 question multiple choice examination has been completed your exam results are automatically returned to the OMC who will finalise the licence. This is the longest part of the process where it can take up to 15 day to receive your credit type licence with your photo on it in the mail.

Hey Peter, just wanted to tell you I passed my radio exam first time. Working on a boat out of Darwin I don’t have time to go to TAFE at night so I was really glad I found your webpage to help me get my Radio Licence.
Joshua - Darwin

Peter, I just want to say one word ‘Brilliant’. I needed to obtain my marine radio licence quickly to be part of the crew in a yacht race. With your help I completed the whole process in 1 week and achieved 96% pass.
John - Sydney

Savvy Navvy App
Testimonial – More testimonials at the bottom of the page.

Hi Peter, Thank you so much for this online process and for helping me obtain my Marine Radio Licence. I booked a sailing holiday in Croatia and didn’t realise I needed the licence until they asked for it after I had paid the booking fee. I was in a bit of a panic fearing I would loose my deposit. Fortunately I found your website and obtained the licence in 1 week. Brilliant!!!!

Blake - Portsea, Vic

Thanks so much for having this online. It was much easier than I thought and it didn’t take that long either, just a couple of hours of study and good value as well.
John - Cairns

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