Apply for a PEC

You can apply for a new, extended or amended Pilotage Exemption Certificate (PEC) in the SafeSeaNet Norway system.

Applying for a PEC for the first time

Create your own user account in SafeSeaNet Norway.

You will find user instructions on the log-in page. Just below the log-in field, click on the text ‘Register here’. The necessary pages will then appear for you to create your own user account. Fill in the required data.

Once you have created a user account, you can log in. The email address you entered is your username. Once you are logged in, you must update your personal information. Check that everything is correct, enter your address and click on ‘Update’.

Explore

In the menu to the left of the page, you can now click on ‘PEC Admin’. This will give you more options for what you want to view and what you want to do with your electronic PEC (e-PEC). Take a few minutes to explore the portal.

Video guide on how to apply for a PEC in SafeSeaNet Norway

Applying to extend or renew a PEC

Navigators can apply to extend or renew a PEC in SafeSeaNet Norway.

Go to SafeSeaNet Norway

Validity and renewal

Class 2 and 3 PECs are valid for five years from the date of issue.
Class 2 and 3 pilot exemption certificates are valid for five years after issuance. Pilot exemption certificates can be renewed upon application if the applicant can document that he/she, during the certificate's validity period, has maintained his/her knowledge of the waters in the area for which the renewal application has been submitted. The Norwegian Coastal Administration may allow the use of a simulator to maintain knowledge of the waters. The renewal is valid for five years.
Class 1 PECs are valid for two years from the date of issue.
Class 1 pilot exemption certificates are valid for two years after issuance. Pilot exemption certificates can be renewed upon application if the applicant can document that he/she, during the certificate's validity period, has made a minimum of two voyages in the fairway. The Norwegian Coastal Administration may, as an exemption, allow the voyages to be done in a simulator. The renewal is valid for two years. Pilot exemption certificates that have not been renewed can be reactivated up to three years after expiry, if the requirements for renewal are fulfilled during the three-year period.
When your application for a PEC has been processed, you will receive a response from the Norwegian Coastal Administration. In the response, you may be required to sit an exam before the certificate is issued/extended. You cannot take the exam until you have received the response (decision) from the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
See Section 19 of the Compulsory Pilotage Regulations.

Amendments to a PEC

A PEC may, upon application, be amended to apply to one or more other specified vessels of a similar type and size to which the current PEC applies, without the need to sit another exam. See Section 18 of the Compulsory Pilotage Regulations.

Reactivating a PEC

Go to ‘My account’ in SafeSeaNet Norway and link your account to your PEC.

Video guide on how to link your SafeSeaNet account to your existing PEC.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to apply for a Pilotage Exemption Certificate

For Classes 1 and 2, navigators must apply for a Pilotage Exemption Certificate (PEC) in the monitoring and information system SafeSeaNet Norway. You then need to sit an exam with a state pilot.

For Class 3, you do not need to apply in advance. You will sit an exam with an assessor. Documentation of your sailing experience and the assessor’s evaluation are then sent to the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

See the video guide for how to create a personal user account in SafeSeaNet Norway
Requirements for experience

All relevant experience/sailing time is taken into consideration when navigators apply for a new, extended or renewed PEC. If applying for extension or a new PEC this will decide how many exams the navigator will receive in a test offer. But the navigator will only be able to apply for fairways where he have experience from within the last five years.

See the requirements for experience in Sections 10, 11, 12 and 19 of the Compulsory Pilotage Regulations.
Conditions for using the PEC

All voyages with a PEC must be registered in the monitoring and information system SafeSeaNet Norway before the voyage starts. In addition, certain conditions apply to voyages that are carried out with a PEC.

See the conditions for using the PEC.
PEC exam

Navigators must sit an exam in order to obtain a Class 1, 2 or 3 PEC. In the exam, the applicant must show that he/she has sufficient navigation knowledge and skills for the route/area in question.

Read more about the PEC exam.
Representative exam

This is an exam that covers a specific area where the navigator’s sailing experience determines how much of this area is granted upon passing an exam. The exam only applies to Class 2 and Class 3 PECs.
Representative exam - offshore

Navigators who have taken an exam that is representative of the offshore bases can extend their coverage to other offshore bases.
Exam with a pilot

PEC exams for Classes 1 and 2 must be taken with a state pilot. This PEC gives the holder more rights than Class 3.
Exam with an assessor

PEC exams for Class 3 can be taken with an assessor.
Assessor training course

Shipping companies are permitted to have their own assessor to carry out Class 3 PEC exams for their own navigators. Class 3 applies to vessels up to 100 metres that do not carry hazardous or noxious cargo. Navigators who participate in the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s assessor training course are given an introduction to the exercising of authority and how to conduct a PEC exam in accordance with the regulations.
PEC fee

A PEC fee is payable when sitting an exam, or renewing, amending or extending a PEC.

The PEC fee is applicable when sitting practical and theoretical exams prior to a new certificate being issued, and when renewing, amending or extending a certificate.

The practical and theoretical exams that are necessary for a PEC to be issued or extended incur a fee of NOK 4471 per exam.

If an applicant fails an exam, a new fee must be paid to retake the exam. If a navigator applies for a PEC for a large area that requires more than one exam, a charge of NOK 4471 is payable for each exam.

A fee of NOK 1117 is payable to have a PEC issued, renewed or amended. The total PEC fee payable for an exam and for a new/extended certificate to be issued is NOK 5588.

The PEC fee is invoiced automatically in SafeSeaNet Norway.

Read more about fees