The D-SRB is released only after new documents are uploaded, reviewed, verified, and approved by our SRB Officers (please read here to learn about the process). If you haven't uploaded any new certificates or testimonials since we've gone digital, you won't receive any D-SRB. You are entitled to a D-SRB for all files uploaded since the start of the Pandemic in 2020 and that were not entered into the SRB already. The physical SRB has since been discontinued and cannot be updated. You are also entitled to a D-SRB for all files uploaded since 22 February 2021 (the official launch of the D-SRB). We have completed releasing the D-SRBs for files handled during the Pandemic. If for any reason you haven't received yours, please contact us.

On 22 February 2021, the PYA launched its Digital Service Record Book (D-SRB), which replaced the well-established physical SRB, which goes along with a completely new digital procedure and is available to all Full members who need their sea service to be verified. The MCA has agreed to a permanent switchover that resulted in a huge increase in the efficiency of recording documents and the MCA application process. Crew can upload key information into their online profile and visualise their verified sea-time and qualifications into the D-SRB – anywhere, at any time. Watch a short video on the D-SRB here.

You will see an orange button at the very top of your Member's area, that you can click to immediately download your D-SRB. It will also be the first document listed in the documents list, in the Documents tab, in your PYA profile. 

Yes, the MCA currently accepts only the Sea Service section of the D-SRB, so the certificates listed are for your personal use only. We are working on getting the MCA to accept the Certificates section as well to prevent our members from having to send certificates to them in the future.

Any certificates or testimonials that have NOT already been entered into the physical SRB and that have been verified and approved by an SRB Officer. Certificates and testimonials written in the old, physical SRB can be transferred to the D-SRB for a fee. Our fees are as follows: Transfer of records between 1 to 6 entries: 30 euros Transfer of records between 7 to 12 entries: 60 euros Transfer of ALL records: 100 euros If you are interested in this service, please contact datatransfer@pya.org specifying the number of records and which documents you would like to have transferred to your D-SRB. Please note that files will be handled following the queue order and in low priority in relation to new testimonials, certificates and YRC applications.

Most MCA applications (not the first MCA CoC) need to be sent by email. The D-SRB must be ready before you can apply so that you can download it and include it in your application email. Please do not copy PYA in the emails. If you are applying for your first MCA CoC, then you still need to send your original documents to the MCA by post, except for the D-SRB, which must always be sent by email. If all the required sea time (or part of it) is in a physical SRB, please contact us for a digitally stamped copy so you can send it by email instead.

The D-SRB is protected by a digital seal that safeguards the document from any changes and contains PYA information so that whoever receives the copy knows if it is authentic and valid.

You will need to send your physical SRB by post or obtain a digitally stamped copy to email together with your D-SRB to the MCA. You can contact Sea Service team at srb@pya.org to obtain the digitally stamped copy.

You will receive an email notification and you will see an orange button appear at the top of your Documents tab in your PYA profile.  You can download and save your D-SRB, on your device.

If you are in possession of your SRB, you can keep it and use it together with the Digital SRB when/if necessary. For those who stored their SRB in our office, we have contacted them to have it shipped out or picked up. If you haven't heard from us it might be because the contact details we had were no longer valid. You can contact certificates@pya.org for more information.

Yes, for the 5 years following the expiration date of your membership you can contact us to receive a copy of your D-SRB or any other documents. By GDPR regulation we are allowed to retain copies of your documents on our system for a maximum of 5 years since your membership has expired. If you will require a copy of your D-SRB during that period, we can send you one by email by contacting certificates@pya.org. After the deadline, all your records (the D-SRB as well) will be deleted. We advise you always download a copy of your most recent D-SRB.

No, you will not. For those members who have not recently applied for a new CoC or Revalidation, they might have entries both in the SRB and D-SRB that are relevant to their next application, but once they have been used, all future relevant entries will be in the D-SRB only.

The best would be to get a testimonial filled in and signed right before you leave a yacht. You can always ask for a testimonial afterwards but it may prove more complicated as people might move on to other jobs in the meantime and not necessarily have access to the required information later. Should you find yourself in a situation where you don't have a testimonial and need to get one, since we don't require originals, you can fill in a new testimonial and email it to the signatory to have it signed and emailed back to you. It's always best if you fill it in first with as much information as possible, so they only need to review it, put their own details and sign it, but if you don't have all the information, you can ask for assistance from them. You can ask the Captain, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer (if you were working in an engineering role and weren't the Chief Engineer onboard), yacht manager, owner or owner's representative to sign your testimonials and verify them. You can find our templates here.

Yes, it is the new SV MEOL CoC. You can learn more about it by reading the MCA's MSN 1904 or contacting srb@pya.org

Please read here.

TRB stands for Training Record Book. For deck, the OOW 3000 Yachts MCA Training Record Book is a requirement that must completed before you can apply for an OOW 3000 Yachts CoC. You can download this online on the MCA website or ask us for a free bound copy when you are a PYA member. For engineers going through the Small Vessel Route, the Engineering TRB can only be obtained after you've registered into the Program and from Training Providers or Colleges that offer SV courses. To register, you have to prove you satisfy all the entry requirements.

If you already have a Sea Service Testimonial, as long as Captain is still willing to verified it, this won't affect the verification process in any way. If you don't have a Sea Service Testimonial yet, you can still get one. As long as the Captain is willing to sign and verify your service, despite no longer being on board, you can get him/her to sign one.

This can happen for various reasons:  If there is no breakdown of service time (days at sea, standby, shipyard and watch keeping - where applicable), if the testimonial form has missing dates or dates overlapping with another testimonial submitted. If the definitions of sea service have been disregarded, i.e. standby time exceeds days at sea, sea service totals are higher than employment period, etc.  If the testimonial is not in English If the testimonial is self-signed If the testimonial for a Master is signed by another Master and does not fall in an exceptional situation. Please read our guidelines to avoid this. 

A Seaman's Book / Seaman's Discharge Book / Discharge Book is a physical booklet, issued by maritime authorities all around the world, which, traditionally, has two purposes: Identity document, and Record of your employment history Additionally, a Seaman's Book can be useful when passing through an airport or when taking shore leave. You can read more about SDBs here. A D-SRB (Digital Service Record Book) is a PYA-generated electronic document that replaced the PYA's physical Service Record Book (SRB). The PYA's SRB (now D-SRB) was introduced to make it easier for yacht crew to prove to the MCA their experience and that they held the relevant qualifications required to apply for a Certificate of Competency (CoC). It is recognized by the MCA and Transport Malta but not necessarily by the maritime authorities of other countries. We recommend that you have BOTH. As they serve different purposes. You can read more about the PYA D-SRB by going back to the FAQs here.

Log into your PYA profile and upload your testimonials/certificates to ‘your documents’. The documents will then go through our verification process. You can verify the status of your documents in your profile under ‘your documents’.

The certification of your documents for PYA use can be done by anyone holding a CoC, a management company, a training provider, or other professionals such as doctors, lawyers or teachers, who declare that the copies are true copies of the originals. Only certificates need to be certified as true copies, not testimonials. We cannot process your testimonials without confirming your identity so your file will remain pending until you upload a certified copy of your passport. Text sample: ----- "I certify that this/these is a/are true copy/ies of the original/s." Full name, COC number and issuing authority (if available), stamp (if available), signature. ----- Whoever is certifying your documents can: - write the declaration on each copy; - send an email to certificates@pya.org with the above text, mentioning each certificate, while you upload simple copies of your certificates to your profile; - write the declaration in a Word/PDF document and mention each certificate and upload it together with the simple copies of your documents to your profile. The MCA accepts certified copies of your documents in place of the originals. Please note that for us to issue certified copies that are accepted by the MCA we must see the originals first. We cannot make certified copies from certified copies unless they come from one of our Agents. If you are in the Antibes area, we can arrange an appointment for you to come with your certificates. Alternatively, you can go to one of our Agents listed in the Contacts section, or any notary public, or MCA-approved nautical colleges, or IYT, or Your Maritime Administration, or MCA Surveyors, or other MCA-approved organisations (you must contact the MCA directly for these).

A testimonial is documentary proof of your onboard yacht service and sea service. It contains the details of the yacht, your position, and your detailed sea service, with days at sea, standby, shipyard, and watchkeeping (whichever applicable). Most of the time, letters do not contain all the necessary information related to your sea service, so even if they can serve as a reference, they will not qualify as a testimonial as well. The same applies to Seaman Discharge Book (SDB) entries. They refer only to your dates and role on board but do not specify the sea service you acquired. Testimonials must be signed by the Master of the vessel on board which the qualifying service has been performed, or can also be signed by the Chief Officer or Chief Engineer (where engineers are concerned). In the case of service as Master, the testimonials must be signed by the owner or a responsible person from the Yacht Management Company such as a company director or yacht manager. Testimonials can be in different formats. We accept them all, not only PYA ones, as long as all the necessary information is provided. If not, the process may be delayed. You can find our testimonial templates here.

Please go back to the D-SRB FAQ here.

NOE stands for Notice of Eligibility. The MCA issues this document and it means you have met all the requirements to sit an oral examination with the MCA for a Certificate of Competence (CoC). Before you can book a date for an oral exam, you must have obtained an NOE. It will come with instructions on how to book an oral and details on how the oral exam works.

No, the Y route was closed at the end of December 2022. Now, the route has been completely replaced by the Small Vessel Program. To learn more about it you can read MCA's MSN 1904 or contact us at srb@pya.org.