Our team at the PYA office in Antibes works continuously to verify sea service testimonials for our members around the world (in peak times, up to 400 per month!). Due to the large number of crew and testimonials that we verify, it’s important that to understand and follow the correct process below when submitting your testimonials to us. We have also included some guidelines for submitting your applications to the MCA online. 

A step-by-step guide to verifying your sea time:

 1. Upload your testimonial documents to your member profile on the PYA website, making sure all details are correct, the responsible's person email address is valid and filled-in following our guidelines.

2. When you upload your documents, your file goes into a queue for verification with our Sea Service team.

3. When your file gets to the team, your testimonials are checked for possible issues, including inconsistencies, missing info, errors. To improve the efficiency and speed at which we process your testimonials, make sure all details are correct before uploading your documents to your profile.

4. If errors are found in your testimonials, we contact you for clarification/correction. If not, we contact your signatories by email for verification. This includes summing up the information you’ve submitted and asking them to confirm it.

NB: you will receive a notification email when your signatories have been contacted, and one for each reply we receive.

5. Only when we receive all replies for all testimonials in your file do we submit it to an SRB Officer who will review it. If there are any queries from the SRB Officer, your file is flagged up and we will contact you or the signatory to clarify the issue. Once clarified, we have to re-submit your file to the SRB Officer for review and approval.

6. Once all details have been approved by the SRB officer, they appear as VERIFIED on your online profile.

7. Your Digital Service Record Book (D-SRB) will be updated, made available on your profile and you'll get an email to inform you that it's ready for download.

(If you are a non-member, you will receive digitally signed copies of your testimonials, that will be available for download as soon as you are notified).

NB: From this point on you can apply for an NOE/Revalidation if you fulfil the rest of the requirements. 

Please note, you will need to have full membership or pay the non-member fee.

How long does it take to verify your sea time?

Turnaround time varies with our workload and the quality of the testimonials submitted. Generally, it takes less than 2 weeks but the process can take up to 25 working days if there are issues with your documents. 

Applying for your NOEs/Revalidations with the MCA

The MCA accepts online applications (except for first time applicants), so you can apply for NOEs/Revalidations as long as you fulfil all the requirements and you have a copy of your D-SRB (or digitally signed testimonials for non-members). Please read MCA MIN 655 for the latest updates.

For NOEs, you'll need to send everything to deck@mcga.gov.uk

For Revalidations, you'll need to send everything to revalidation@mcga.gov.uk

For further assistance, you can contact us srb@pya.org.

Further information

More information about PYA membership and sea service verification can be found below:

• Sea Service Verification process

• Membership fees and benefits

Updated 22/02/2023