Title 46, ShippingRelease 119-110

§7508 Authority to Extend the Duration of Medical Certificates

Title 46 › Subtitle II — Vessels and Seamen › Part E — Merchant Seamen Licenses, Certificates, and Documents › CHAPTER 75 — GENERAL PROCEDURES FOR LICENSING, CERTIFICATION, AND DOCUMENTATION › § 7508

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary can extend a mariner’s medical certificate for up to one year for a person who holds a license, merchant mariner’s document, or certificate of registry under chapters 71 or 73. Extensions are allowed to help clear a backlog of medical certificate applications or because of a national emergency or natural disaster. An extension can be given to a single person or to a specifically named group of people.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §7508

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(a)Granting of Extensions.—

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may extend for not more than one year a medical certificate issued to an individual holding a license, merchant mariner’s document, or certificate of registry issued under chapter 71 or 73 if the Secretary determines that the extension is required to enable the Coast Guard to eliminate a backlog in processing applications for medical certificates or is in response to a national emergency or natural disaster.

(b)Manner of Extension.—

An extension under this section may be granted to an individual or a specifically identified group of individuals.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “an individual or a specifically identified group of individuals” for “individual seamen or a specifically identified group of seamen”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 7508

Title 46, Shipping

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110