A seafarer medical fitness test is an examination, valid for a maximum of two years (one year if you are under 18), that certifies you meet the vision, hearing and general fitness standards flag states require before they issue or renew a seaman’s book, CDC or SIRB. It is set by MLC 2006 Standard A1.2 and STCW Regulation I/9, must be carried out by a doctor your flag recognises, and the most common reasons candidates fail it are uncorrected vision or hearing loss, poorly controlled diabetes or epilepsy, and cardiovascular conditions that limit exercise tolerance — not a single fixed pass/fail checklist.
At a glance
| What it is | A fitness-to-work medical examination under STCW/MLC standards, not a general health check |
| Governing instruments | MLC 2006 Standard A1.2; STCW Regulation I/9 and Section A-I/9 |
| Validity | Up to 2 years (over 18); 1 year (under 18); colour vision reassessed every 6 years |
| Who can issue it | Only a doctor your flag state recognises — not any general practitioner |
| What it is not | Not the OGUK/OEUK offshore medical, not a training certificate, not issued by Seaman Books |
| Most common failure points | Uncorrected vision or hearing below the standard; poorly controlled diabetes or epilepsy; cardiovascular conditions limiting exercise tolerance; BMI where safety-critical duties cannot be performed |
| If you fail | Most flag administrations run an appeal or second-opinion route — ask your examiner before you leave the room |
Why “one test” means several different standards in practice
Every IMO/ILO-ratified flag state requires a seafarer medical certificate, and all of them build on the same two instruments: MLC 2006 Standard A1.2 and STCW Regulation I/9, restated in Section A-I/9 of the STCW Code. But the certificate is issued by the flag, not by IMO or ILO directly, so the paperwork, the examining-doctor requirement and the appeal route differ by administration even though the underlying medical standard is shared.
| Flag | What the administration requires of the examiner |
|---|---|
| Panama | A certificate “acorde a la Sección A-I/9” of the STCW Code — AMP form F-76 TIT V.03 |
| Bahamas | Examination on the Bahamas medical form, by a practitioner approved by the Bahamas Medical Council or by an administration party to STCW/MLC 2006 — BMA MN028 v1.0, §3.1 |
| Liberia | An exam “completed within the 24 months immediately preceding application” with a “Fit For Duty” physician form — LISCR RLM-118 §4.2 |
The practical point: the medical you sit is not “a Seaman Books medical” or “a Panama medical” — it is one internationally-set standard, examined by a doctor your specific flag recognises. Using the wrong doctor is as common a cause of a rejected file as failing the exam itself.
Palau, Belize, Honduras and St Kitts & Nevis: No independently retrievable examiner requirement was identified in the administrations’ publicly accessible materials. Accordingly, no specific examiner requirement is published for these four flags. The flag administration should be contacted directly to confirm the examiner requirement at the time of application.
What the test actually checks
The governing reference for the clinical content of the exam is the ILO/WHO Guidelines for Conducting Pre-sea and Periodic Medical Fitness Examinations for Seafarers, which implement STCW Table A-I/9.
Note: The figures below were taken from the official ILO/IMO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers. They have not yet been independently cross-checked against a second primary source in this review. Because this is a load-bearing numeric table, the figures should receive a manual page-by-page check against the source PDF before publication.
| Area | Standard | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Distant visual acuity | Minimum acuity thresholds set by role — navigation/lookout duties are held to a higher standard than non-watchkeeping roles; a baseline of unaided vision is required of every seafarer regardless of role | ILO/WHO Guidelines, applying STCW Table A-I/9 |
| Colour vision | Tested with colour confusion plates (Ishihara or equivalent), with a lantern test where the plate result is borderline | ILO/WHO Guidelines |
| Hearing | An average threshold across the mid-range frequencies in the better ear, with a lower threshold permitted in the worse ear; deck personnel must be able to hear whispered speech at short range | ILO/WHO Guidelines |
| General fitness | “No disease or defect… which could either be aggravated by working at sea or represent an unacceptable health risk” | BMA MN028 §3.5, restating the MLC/STCW standard |
What this is not: a pass/fail eye chart alone. The examiner is assessing whether a condition is compatible with living and working at sea — often weeks from a hospital, with a limited onboard medicine chest and no easy way to evacuate — which is a different question from whether you are fit to walk into the exam room.
How long your Medical Fitness certificate stays valid — and the mistake that stalls a file
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| How long is a seafarer medical certificate valid? | Maximum two years | MLC 2006 Standard A1.2; BMA MN028 — “shall remain valid for a period of two (2) years” |
| And if I am under 18? | One year | MLC 2006 Standard A1.2; BMA MN028 — “one (1) year for seafarers aged under 18 years” |
| How often is colour vision retested? | Every six years, not at every renewal | MLC 2006 Standard A1.2; BMA MN028 |
| Does an STCW medical satisfy MLC as well? | Yes — one exam, one certificate, both conventions | MLC 2006 Standard A1.2(3) — “A medical certificate issued in accordance with the requirements of STCW shall be accepted” |
| Can I keep working if it expires mid-voyage? | In some cases, yes, for a limited window | BMA MN028 §6.1 — a certificate expiring during a voyage may remain usable “until the next port of call… or for up to three months from the date of expiry”, flag-specific — confirm with your own administration before relying on this |
The mistake that stalls a file is not the exam — it is the calendar. A medical must be valid on the day the flag issues your document, not on the day you apply. If your certificate is close to expiry when you file, renew it before you file rather than after a rejection.
The “renew if expiring within 60 days of filing” rule is an internal operational guideline used by this project, not a universally applicable or independently verified flag requirement. Where reused, treat the 60-day window as an operations rule of thumb and confirm the applicable working window with Operations rather than presenting it as a regulatory requirement.
The conditions that most often fail a seafarer
No single published checklist exists across all seven flags Seaman Books files with — each administration’s doctor makes an individual determination. But the ILO/WHO Guidelines set the clinical categories every STCW-based exam works from, and the same handful of conditions account for most “unfit” or “restricted” outcomes in practice:
| Condition | Typical outcome | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Insulin-dependent diabetes, poorly controlled | Unfit, or restricted, if not compliant with treatment or with a history of hypoglycaemic episodes | Risk of incapacitation with no onboard specialist care |
| Epilepsy, uncontrolled | Unfit while seizures recur despite medication | Same — incapacitation risk in a safety-critical environment |
| Cardiovascular disease with limited exercise tolerance | Unfit, or restricted to specific duties | Emergency response and evacuation both demand physical exertion |
| BMI/obesity where safety-critical duties cannot be performed, or exercise-capability testing is failed | Restricted or temporarily unfit, pending improvement | Fitness for emergency duties, not appearance, is what is assessed |
| Uncorrected vision or hearing below the applicable standard | Restricted to non-watchkeeping duties, or unfit for the rank applied for | Lookout and communication duties are safety-critical |
| Psychiatric conditions with a persistent likelihood of recurrence | Unfit, case-by-case | Same incapacitation-risk framework |
These outcome descriptions are drawn from the ILO/IMO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers. You should be checked directly against the primary source PDF
None of these is automatically disqualifying for life. A condition that is well-controlled, stable and supported by your treating doctor’s own documentation is assessed differently from the same condition unmanaged. This is the single most useful thing to bring to the exam: not just the diagnosis, but the evidence that it is controlled.
Seafarer medical vs offshore medical — don’t confuse the two
This is the most common mix-up searchers bring to this topic, and it costs people money when they book the wrong exam.
| Seafarer medical (this page) | Offshore medical (OGUK/OEUK) | |
|---|---|---|
| Governs | Merchant shipping, under STCW/MLC | UK Continental Shelf offshore energy work |
| Standard-setter | Flag-state administration, applying STCW/MLC | Offshore Energies UK |
| Typical validity | 2 years (1 year under 18) | Up to 2 years, shorter for some workers |
| Needed for | A seaman’s book, CDC or SIRB | Working offshore in the UK sector, and usually before BOSIET/HUET |
A seafarer medical and an offshore medical are not interchangeable. If your contract calls for one and you hold the other, you do not hold what was asked for. See our OGUK/OEUK offshore medical certificate guide if it is the offshore medical you actually need.
If you fail — what actually happens next
Outcomes and appeal routes are set by the flag, not by the examining doctor alone, and they vary. The Bahamas Maritime Authority publishes one of the clearer examples:
- A seafarer whose certificate is cancelled or suspended for more than three months has the right to a review or appeal by an independent Medical Referee appointed by the Bahamas Medical Council (BMA MN028 §8.1).
- The application for that review must be made within one month of being given notice (§8.2).
- A further application for review is not permitted within five years of a prior one (§8.5).
Medical-certificate review/appeal processes are flag-specific. The Bahamas procedure described here is an example of the Bahamas Maritime Authority’s process and should not be presented as a universal flag-state requirement. Equivalent procedures for Panama, Liberia, Palau, Belize, Honduras and St Kitts & Nevis should be added only after they have been verified against the respective administrations’ current primary-source requirements.
No employer, agent or consultancy — including Seaman Books — can change a medical outcome. What can help is understanding, before the exam, which conditions are assessed and bringing the documentation that shows a condition is controlled rather than letting the examiner discover it cold.
How to prepare, so the medical doesn’t stall your file
- Confirm your flag’s examiner requirement before you book. A medical from a doctor your flag does not recognise is not usable — see the flag table above.
- Check the calendar, not just the certificate. If your existing medical will expire before your flag issues the document, renew it before you file.
- Bring evidence a condition is controlled, not just that you have it. Recent test results, medication compliance records and your treating doctor’s own assessment change how a borderline case is read.
- Correct what can be corrected in advance. Glasses, hearing aids and dental work that affects fitness assessments are worth sorting before the appointment, not after a restricted result.
- Ask about the appeal route before you need it. If a result comes back restricted rather than clear-cut fit, ask the examiner directly what review process applies — do not assume none exists.
What Seaman Books does — and does not do
Stated plainly, because in this category the boundary is the trust signal.
We do not conduct, administer or influence the outcome of your medical examination. That is your flag-recognised doctor’s decision, and no agency can change it.
What we do is prepare and verify the documentation your medical certificate sits alongside, and coordinate it with the IMO- and ILO-ratified flag-state administrations that issue your seaman’s book, CDC or SIRB:
- Flag-state seaman book / CDC — new application, renewal, transfer and replacement across Panama, Palau, Liberia, Bahamas, Belize, Honduras and St. Kitts & Nevis. Apply now
- Eligibility and file check — confirm what your file needs, including whether your existing medical is still valid for the flag and rank you are applying under. Check your eligibility
- STCW and offshore training — arranged with accredited centres. STCW certifications
WhatsApp: +971 55 458 3416 · #903 Regal Tower, Business Bay, Dubai
Frequently asked questions
What is a seafarer medical fitness test?
An examination, required under MLC 2006 and STCW, that certifies you meet the vision, hearing and general fitness standards to work at sea. It is valid for up to two years and must be carried out by a doctor your flag state recognises.
What does a seafarer medical exam check?
Distant vision, colour vision, hearing, and a general assessment of whether any condition present could be aggravated by working at sea or represents an unacceptable health risk. It is a fitness-to-work assessment, not a general checkup.
Can you fail a seafarer medical for poor eyesight?
Yes, if uncorrected vision falls below the standard required for your rank — deck and watchkeeping roles are held to a higher standard than some other positions. Corrective lenses that bring vision to standard are usually acceptable; ask your examiner before the appointment.
Does colour blindness disqualify you from being a seafarer?
Not automatically. Colour vision is tested with confusion plates and, where borderline, a lantern test, and is reassessed only every six years rather than at every renewal. The outcome depends on the specific role and the degree of deficiency.
Can a seafarer with diabetes pass the medical?
Often, yes, if the condition is well-controlled with no history of hypoglycaemic episodes and the treating doctor’s records support that. Poorly controlled, insulin-dependent diabetes with a history of hypoglycaemic unawareness is the pattern most likely to result in an unfit finding.
What happens if I fail my seafarer medical?
It depends on your flag. The Bahamas Maritime Authority, for example, allows an appeal to an independent Medical Referee within one month of notice for a certificate cancelled or suspended for more than three months. No agency, including Seaman Books, can change a medical outcome directly.
Is the seafarer medical the same as the OGUK offshore medical?
No. The seafarer medical governs merchant shipping under STCW/MLC; the OGUK/OEUK medical is a separate standard for offshore energy work on the UK Continental Shelf. Holding one does not satisfy a requirement for the other.
Who can carry out my seafarer medical examination?
Only a doctor recognised by the flag state you are applying to or renewing with — not any general practitioner. Panama, Bahamas and Liberia each publish their own examiner-recognition requirement; confirm yours before booking.
