---
kind: "section"
citation: "46 U.S.C. § 7512"
title: "46"
title_heading: "Shipping"
number: "7512"
heading: "Requirements of electronic merchant mariner credentialing system"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/46/7512"
units:
  - "Subtitle II — Vessels and Seamen"
  - "Part E — Merchant Seamen Licenses, Certificates, and Documents"
  - "Chapter 75 — General Procedures for Licensing, Certification, and Documentation"
---

# §7512. Requirements of electronic merchant mariner credentialing system

- (a) **Definition of Merchant Mariner Credential.—** In this section, the term “[merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20)” means a merchant mariner [license](/usc/46/12101.md?p=b-2), certificate, or document that the [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) is authorized to issue pursuant to this title.
- (b) **Necessary Considerations.—** In implementing any electronic merchant mariner credentialing system for purposes of this chapter, the [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) shall consider how to allow, to the maximum extent practicable—
  - (1) the electronic submission of the components of [merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20) applications (such as sea service documentation, professional qualifications, course completion certificates, safety and suitability documents, and medical records) and course approval requests;
  - (2) the direct electronic and secure submission of—
    - (A) sea service verification documentation from employers;
    - (B) course completion certificates from training providers; and
    - (C) necessary documentation from other stakeholders; and
  - (3) the electronic processing and evaluation of information for the issuance of [merchant mariner credentials](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20) and course approvals, including the capability for the [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) to complete remote evaluation of information submitted through the system.
- (c) **Access to Data.—** The [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) shall ensure that the Maritime Administration and other Federal agencies, as authorized by the [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46), have access to anonymized and aggregated data from the electronic system described in [subsection (b)](#b) and that such data include, at a minimum—
  - (1) the total amount of sea service for individuals with a valid [merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20);
  - (2) the number of mariners with valid [merchant mariner credentials](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20) for each rating, including the capability to filter data based on credential endorsements;
  - (3) demographic information including age, gender, and region or address;
  - (4) the estimated times for the [Coast Guard](/usc/46/2101.md?p=2) to process [merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20) applications, mariner medical certificates, and course approvals;
  - (5) the number of providers approved to provide training for purposes of this part and, for each such training provider, the number of classes taken by individuals with, or applying for, a [merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20); and
  - (6) if applicable, the branch of the uniformed services (as defined in [section 101(a) of title 10](/usc/10/101.md?p=a)) and duty status of applicants for a [merchant mariner credential](/usc/46/2101.md?p=20).
- (d) **Privacy Requirements.—** The [Secretary](/usc/46/2101.md?p=46) shall collect the information required under [subsection (b)](#b) in a manner that protects the privacy rights of individuals who are the subjects of such information.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 119–60, div. G, title LXXIII, § 7301(g)(4), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1757.)