Revise with instant feedback: the moment you pick an answer you see whether it was right, with the explanation where available. Untimed — ideal before you sit a mock exam. Questions you miss keep coming back until you know them.
Exam-day conditions: no feedback until you submit, each module scored separately like the real test, with a full question-by-question review at the end.
The real exam is passed module by module: Rules of the Road requires 90%, most other modules 70%. Chart-plotting modules are taken on paper and not included.
The free sample gives you 20 to 30 questions per module. The full bank contains every available official question, with written explanations on the popular small-vessel credentials, one-off $29, lifetime access on up to 3 devices, all credentials included.
You must pass each module separately. Most modules require 70% to pass.
The exam covers 4 modules: Deck General, Deck Safety, Navigation General – Near Coastal, Navigation General – Oceans.
This page includes free sample questions drawn from the official USCG sample examinations, with a full bank of around 262 questions across all modules available with lifetime access.
Every question comes from the U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center's published sample examinations, which are U.S. government works in the public domain. Wheelhouse Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
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A selection of free questions from the official USCG sample examinations. Use the interactive modules above for timed, scored drills.
How long must a "Declaration of Inspection" be kept on board?
Which international body is responsible for drafting the MARPOL convention prohibiting marine pollution?
What best describes for how long a gas-free test is good?
What is NOT required as special safety equipment on a tankship carrying hazardous cargoes in bulk?
Which statement is TRUE concerning a motor lifeboat?
A vessel's bottom will be subjected to tension when weight is concentrated in which location(s)?
Which is TRUE of a distress signal?
A situation has occurred where it becomes necessary for you to be towed. What action should be taken to prevent your vessel from yawing?
Why: Shifting weight aft sets the stern deeper, increasing drag aft so the towed vessel trails straight behind the towline like a weathervane instead of sheering from side to side.
How should latitude 54°18.9'N be written when preparing an AMVER report?
The SS AMERICAN MARINER has drafts of: FWD 28'-00", AFT 30'-04". Use the white pages of the Stability Data Reference Book to determine the drafts if you ballast the forepeak with 110.8 tons of seawater.
How are chart legends which indicate a conspicuous landmark printed?
What is the purpose of the "reference hand" on an aneroid barometer?
You take a bearing of 176° of a lighthouse. Which bearing of another object would give the best fix?
Which is the reference datum used in determining the heights of land features on most charts?
Which term is given to the mechanical lifting of air by the upslope slant of the terrain?
At 0000 you fix your position and plot a new DR track line. At 0200 you again fix your position, and it is 0.5 mile east of your DR. Which statement is TRUE?
Your vessel is on course 150°T, speed 17 knots. The apparent wind is from 40° off the starboard bow, speed 15 knots. What is the speed of the true wind?
When trying to sight a lighthouse you notice a glare from a town in the background. How does this affect the range at which the light may be sighted?
The new Moon cannot be seen because the Moon is __________.
You are plotting a running fix. The LOP to be run forward is an arc from a radar range, what technique should be used?
What must the owner or Master do if any of the towing vessel's required navigational safety equipment fails during a voyage?
At about GMT 1436, on 3 December, the lower limb of the Moon is observed with a sextant having an index error of 2.5' on the arc. The height of eye is 32 feet. The sextant altitude (hs) is 3°38.8'. What is the observed altitude?
Under the IALA-A Buoyage System, a buoy indicating the preferred channel is to port would have __________.
Which theoretical minimum number of measurements from satellites does a GPS receiver need in order to provide an exact three-dimensional position?
You are underway in heavy weather and your bow is into the seas. Which action should you take to prevent pounding?
If your propeller is racing in rough weather, which action should you take?
Why: Racing happens when pitching lifts the propeller near or out of the water, letting it overspeed and shock-load the shaft and engine. Reducing engine speed limits the overspeeding while keeping steerageway, unlike stopping entirely.
When the period of beam seas equals the natural rolling period of a vessel, what will most likely occur?
Which term describes the distance a vessel moves in the direction of the original course from the point where the rudder is put over to any point on the turning circle?
Why is a VLCC (100,000 DWT+) with a 30,000 Shaft Horsepower Steam Turbine slow to respond to engine movements, and has less stopping power than normal ships?
Why: A loaded VLCC has enormous displacement but comparatively modest horsepower, a small power-to-weight ratio, so the engine has little leverage over the ship's huge momentum, making her slow to respond and hard to stop.
Which states the requirements for the access to a cargo pumproom in a tank vessel carrying grades C or D liquid cargo?
Why: Regulations require pumproom access on these tankships to be from the open deck, so personnel never pass through enclosed spaces where cargo vapors could accumulate and escape or rescue is direct.
Great Lakes vessels, using liferafts, must have sufficient liferaft capacity on each side of the vessel to accommodate how many persons onboard?
According to the Lifesaving regulations in Subchapter W, fire and abandon ship drills must be held within 24 hours of leaving port if the percentage of the crew that has not participated in drills aboard that particular vessel in the prior month exceeds which percentage?
Why: Subchapter W requires fire and abandon-ship drills within 24 hours of leaving port whenever more than 25 percent of the crew did not participate in drills aboard that vessel during the previous month.
What should you do if you have transmitted a distress call a number of times on channel 16 and have received no reply?
You are calling another vessel by radiotelephone using the International Code of Signals. He responds with the words "Alpha Sierra". What does this indicate?
Which fog is produced by warm moist air passing over a cold surface?
Buoys which only mark the left or right side of the channel will never exhibit a light with which characteristic?
In which country would you expect the channels to be marked with the IALA-B Buoyage System?
How is an occluded front represented on a weather map?
If a weather bulletin shows the center of a low-pressure system to be 100 miles due east of you, what winds can you expect in the Southern Hemisphere?
An orange and white buoy with a rectangle on it displays what information?