Ukrainian seafarer certificates are verified on the State Service of Maritime and Inland Water Transport and Shipping’s portal, vrf.marad.gov.ua. Russian certificates are verified through the Crew Certification System at diplom.marinet.ru, run by Rosmorrechflot’s information centre. Both are free to search, but each needs registration. Foreign flags such as Liberia verify the authenticity of national certificates before they issue any endorsement.
Seaman Books is a documentation consultancy in Business Bay, Dubai. We prepare and file flag-state endorsements for Ukrainian and Russian officers. We don’t issue or verify certificates on any government’s behalf, and the flag administration makes every decision.
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Verification at a glance
| Ukraine | Russia | |
|---|---|---|
| Official portal | vrf.marad.gov.ua | diplom.marinet.ru |
| Operator | State Service of Maritime and Inland Water Transport and Shipping of Ukraine | FGBU Information Analytical and Statistical Centre of Rosmorrechflot |
| What it covers | Diplomas, diploma endorsements, GMDSS, certificates of proficiency, training-centre certificates | Qualification documents issued by Russian seaports |
| Who can check | Registered users, one request per document | Holders via personal account. Crewing agencies and flag administrations by access request |
| How to get access | Create an account on the portal | Seafarer: Gosuslugi (ESIA) or a seaport certification department. Company: email diplom@marinet.ru |
| Result | Valid / Not valid; confirmation downloadable in Ukrainian and English | Confirmation of validity through the system |
| Seafarer ID document |
Посвідчення особи моряка Seafarer’s Identity Document (SID) |
Удостоверение личности моряка Seafarer’s Identity Document (SID) |
How to verify a Ukrainian seafarer certificates
- Go to vrf.marad.gov.ua. Type the address yourself rather than clicking a search result.
- Create an account, or sign in.
- Choose the document type: diploma, diploma endorsement, GMDSS diploma or endorsement, certificate of proficiency, or training-centre certificate.
- Enter the document number, the training institution, the issue date, the document name, the holder’s surname and first name in English, and the date of birth.
- Submit one request per document and attach a scan.
- Track the status: Approved, Rejected, Being processed, or Canceled. The document itself shows as Valid or Not valid.
Diploma vs endorsement. Ukrainian officers hold a diploma and a separate diploma endorsement, and the portal checks them as different document types. Check both. Under STCW Regulation I/11, a CoC must be revalidated at intervals not exceeding five years. A valid diploma with a lapsed endorsement won’t support a flag-state endorsement.
Older records. Documents issued before 2023 may not return an instant result and can need a fuller manual request. Spell the name exactly as it appears in the Latin-script fields of the document. A transliteration mismatch is the most common reason a search fails.
How to verify a Russian certificate
Russian certificates of competency are issued through the certification departments of Russian seaport administrations and recorded in the Crew Certification System.
- If you are the seafarer: sign in to the personal account at diplom.marinet.ru through Gosuslugi (ESIA), or register at a seaport certification department. You can check your own records and request confirmation of validity there.
- If you are a crewing agency or a flag administration: the system isn’t open to anonymous lookup. Send an access request to diplom@marinet.ru from your company domain.
There’s no anonymous public search. Any website offering an instant Russian CoC check “by licence code”, with no account, is not the official system.
Look-alike verification sites
While preparing this page on 23 October 2026, we found a look-alike domain in search results for each official portal. One copied the official wording but gave different contact addresses. One named no operator at all.
Protect yourself:
- Ukraine: the address ends in .gov.ua and reads exactly
vrf.marad.gov.ua. “morad” or “.org.ua” is not the State Service. - Russia: the address is exactly
diplom.marinet.ru, with a dot between “diplom” and “marinet”, not a hyphen. Requests go to@marinet.ru. - Never upload a passport or certificate scan to a site you reached from an ad or a message.
- Verification on both official portals is free. Paying a website for a “verification certificate” buys nothing a flag will accept.
See also how to spot fake maritime document services.
Do foreign flags accept Ukrainian and Russian CoCs?
A national CoC lets you serve on that country’s ships. For a foreign-flag vessel, you need that flag’s endorsement under STCW Regulation I/10. Each flag decides which countries’ certificates it recognises. Here is what the administrations publish:
| Flag | Ukrainian CoC | Russian CoC | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Accepted for UK FSE | Accepted for UK FSE | GOV.UK list, updated 22 Oct 2026, with no conditions noted |
| Palau | Yes — Ukrainian CoCs are listed for recognition and endorsement, subject to Palau requirements. | Recognised; Palau CoE issued | Marine Circular 210.1, Dec 2023. The bilateral undertaking was “initiated” at the time of issue |
| Liberia | Listed as recognized | Listed as recognized | RLM-118 (04/2026): documents issued only after their authenticity is verified. Liberia may refuse certificates based solely on white-list status |
| Panama | Recognition appears possible; confirm against current list | Recognition appears possible; confirm against current list | MMC-331: CoCs electronic-only from 1 April 2026 |
| Bahamas, Belize, Honduras, St Kitts & Nevis | Not yet verified against a current official recognition list Expect Bahamas | Not yet verified against a current official recognition list except Bahamas | Not yet checked |
Recognition lists change. We check the administration’s current position before we file, and we tell you if your certificate’s country isn’t accepted.
What Panama’s April 2026 change means for you
Since 1 April 2026, the Panama Maritime Authority has issued Certificates of Competency in electronic form only. Paper Panama certificates issued up to 31 March 2026 stay valid until they expire. Electronic certificates carry an “E” prefix, Panama’s coat of arms and a QR code, and you can verify them by QR scan, online, or at verification@amp.gob.pa. Step-by-step: how to verify a Panama seaman book online.
For crewing managers: a verification order
- Verify the national document on the official portal (or request access for Russia).
- Check that the endorsement or revalidation date is current, not only the diploma.
- Verify the flag endorsement with the flag administration.
- Match name spelling, date of birth and document numbers across all three.
- Keep the confirmation PDF on file.
Applying for a flag-state endorsement
- Free document check. Send your national CoC, endorsement, STCW certificates and passport by WhatsApp or the form.
- We confirm the flag accepts your certificates and list anything missing.
- Itemised quote. Flag charges and our service fee are shown separately. Service fees are quoted per application and itemized based on the country, endorsement type, and training requirements.
- Filing. The administration issues the endorsement. We can’t guarantee its decision.
Turnaround depends on the flag and on the administration’s own authenticity check. We quote it after the document check.
أسئلة متكررة
How do I verify a Ukrainian seafarer certificate online?
Use vrf.marad.gov.ua, the State Service of Maritime and Inland Water Transport and Shipping’s portal. Register, choose the document type, enter the number, issuing institution, issue date, name in English and date of birth, and attach a scan. Results show as Valid or Not valid, with a downloadable confirmation in Ukrainian and English.
How do I verify a Russian certificate of competency?
Through the Crew Certification System at diplom.marinet.ru. Seafarers sign in with Gosuslugi or register at a Russian seaport certification department. Crewing agencies and flag administrations request access by emailing diplom@marinet.ru. There is no anonymous public lookup, so sites offering one are not the official system.
Is Ukrainian or Russian certificate verification free?
Both official portals let you search without paying, though each needs registration. A website charging for a “verification certificate” is selling something the official systems provide. A foreign flag relies on its own check with the issuing administration, not on a third-party printout.
Can I get a flag-state endorsement with a Russian CoC?
Some flags publish recognition. Palau’s Marine Circular 210.1 (December 2023) recognises CoCs issued by the Russian Maritime Administration, and the UK accepts Russian CoCs towards its FSE. Other flags decide case by case, so confirm the flag’s current position before applying.
Does Seaman Books verify certificates?
We check documents against the official portals while preparing a filing. We’re not an issuing or verifying authority, and our checks don’t replace the administration’s own. The flag administration decides every endorsement.
Free document check
Send your CoC, endorsement and passport. You’ll get a written answer on which flags accept them and an itemised quote before anything is filed.
WhatsApp: +971 55 458 3416 · dubai@seamanbooks.com Office: #903 Regal Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE · 09:30–18:00 Dubai time (UTC+4; Kyiv and Moscow are 1 hour behind)
