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100+ Free USCG Mate UFIV Practice Questions

Prepare for the USCG Mate of Uninspected Fishing Industry Vessels (Oceans or Near Coastal) exam with instant access — no signup required.

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: USCG Mate UFIV Exam

225

Typical Original Path Questions

UFV02 module structure

6

Modules on a Typical Path

NMC UFV02

90%

Rules of the Road Pass Score

USCG sample exam standards

3 yr

Mate Sea Service (Ocean/NC)

46 CFR 11.462(d)

$95

Exam Fee

NMC fee schedule

$240

Typical Original Total Fee

Evaluation + exam + issuance

UFV02 Mate of Uninspected Fishing Industry Vessels (Oceans or Near Coastal) is a modular Coast Guard exam totaling about 225 questions on a typical original path. Q100 Rules of the Road requires 90%; Chart Plot about 87%; Nav Problems Near Coastal 90% or Oceans 80%; other modules generally 70%. Under 46 CFR 11.462, Mate applicants need 3 years of ocean or near-coastal service (Great Lakes/inland may substitute up to 18 months), while Master requires 4 years including 1 year as Master, Mate, or equivalent. This free practice bank stresses mate-of-watch duties, fishing-vessel lights and safety, and navigation calculations rather than pure master-command scenarios.

Sample USCG Mate UFIV Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your USCG Mate UFIV exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1As mate on watch under Rule 5 (COLREGS), you must maintain a proper lookout by:
A.Sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate to the circumstances
B.AIS only when other vessels are within 6 nautical miles
C.Visual observation only, because electronics can mislead
D.Radar alone when visibility is restricted
Explanation: Rule 5 requires every vessel to maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing and by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions.
2Under Rule 7, risk of collision is generally deemed to exist when:
A.The compass bearing of an approaching vessel does not appreciably change
B.You are overtaking and will pass more than 1 mile clear
C.You hear a fog signal abaft the beam
D.Another vessel is more than 12 miles away on radar
Explanation: Rule 7 states that risk of collision shall be deemed to exist if the compass bearing of an approaching vessel does not appreciably change.
3In a crossing situation between two power-driven vessels, the vessel that has the other on her starboard side shall:
A.Keep out of the way and, if circumstances admit, avoid crossing ahead
B.Sound five short blasts and continue
C.Turn to port to clear the other vessel's bow
D.Maintain course and speed as the stand-on vessel
Explanation: Rule 15 makes the vessel with the other on her starboard side the give-way vessel. She shall keep out of the way and shall, if circumstances admit, avoid crossing ahead.
4Two power-driven vessels are meeting on reciprocal courses so as to involve risk of collision. Each shall:
A.Alter course to starboard so that each shall pass on the port side of the other
B.Stop engines and wait for the other to act
C.Sound one prolonged blast and maintain course
D.Alter course to port and pass starboard to starboard
Explanation: Rule 14 requires each power-driven vessel in a head-on situation to alter course to starboard so that each shall pass on the port side of the other.
5A power-driven vessel underway at night (not restricted or constrained) generally exhibits:
A.Sidelights and a sternlight only
B.An all-round white light only
C.Masthead light(s), sidelights, and a sternlight
D.Two all-round red lights in a vertical line
Explanation: Rule 23 requires a power-driven vessel underway to show masthead light(s), sidelights, and a sternlight.
6A vessel engaged in fishing other than trawling, underway and making way at night, exhibits:
A.Two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper red and the lower white, plus sidelights and a sternlight when making way
B.Two all-round green lights in a vertical line
C.Three all-round red lights in a vertical line
D.Only the lights of a power-driven vessel underway
Explanation: Rule 26 requires a vessel engaged in fishing other than trawling to exhibit two all-round lights in a vertical line, upper red and lower white, plus sidelights and sternlight when making way.
7A vessel engaged in trawling at night exhibits two all-round lights in a vertical line with the upper light:
A.Red and the lower white
B.White and the lower red
C.Green and the lower white
D.Yellow and the lower white
Explanation: Rule 26(b) requires a vessel engaged in trawling to exhibit two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being green and the lower white.
8You are mate of a fishing vessel with gear out, underway in fog. Under Rule 35, the fog signal you sound at intervals of not more than two minutes is:
A.One prolonged blast, the same as any power-driven vessel making way
B.One prolonged followed by two short blasts
C.Two prolonged blasts in succession
D.Rapid ringing of the bell for about five seconds
Explanation: Rule 35(c) groups vessels engaged in fishing with vessels not under command, restricted in their ability to maneuver, constrained by draught, sailing, towing, or pushing: all sound one prolonged followed by two short blasts at intervals of not more than two minutes, whether underway or at anchor. The signal tells other traffic you may not be free to maneuver.
9You are overtaking another vessel. Under Rule 13, which statement is correct?
A.Any vessel overtaking any other shall keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken
B.Overtaking only applies in a narrow channel
C.The overtaking vessel becomes stand-on once abreast
D.The vessel being overtaken is the give-way vessel
Explanation: Rule 13: any vessel overtaking any other shall keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken until finally past and clear.
10In a narrow channel, a vessel of less than 20 meters in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate only within:
A.The outer limit of the territorial sea
B.A traffic separation scheme only
C.A narrow channel or fairway
D.An anchorage area
Explanation: Rule 9 requires that a vessel of less than 20 meters or a sailing vessel shall not impede a vessel which can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway.

About the USCG Mate UFIV Exam

The USCG Mate of Uninspected Fishing Industry Vessels exam (NMC code UFV02) is the knowledge-test path for the mate endorsement on uninspected commercial fishing industry vessels on Oceans or Near Coastal routes under 46 CFR 11.462. The modular structure emphasizes COLREGS, deck seamanship and safety, navigation fundamentals, chart plotting, and navigation problems at the operational mate-of-watch level, with fishing-industry safety concepts drawn from 46 CFR Part 28.

Assessment

UFV02 modules: Q100 Rules of the Road (50, 90%), Q188 Deck General (50, 70%), Q189 Deck Safety (50, 70%), Q190 Navigation General Near Coastal (50, 70%) or Q191 Navigation General Oceans (50, 70%), Q192 Chart Plot (15, 87%), Q193 Nav Problems Near Coastal (10, 90%) or Q194 Nav Problems Oceans (10, 80%). Q195 is an open-book renewal exercise and is not the focus of this original-knowledge bank.

Time Limit

Up to 3.5 hours per module

Passing Score

70% most modules; 90% Rules of the Road and Nav Problems Near Coastal; 87% Chart Plot; 80% Nav Problems Oceans

Exam Fee

$95 exam fee; $240 typical original application total (U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC) / Regional Exam Centers)

USCG Mate UFIV Exam Content Outline

22.2% of a typical path

Rules of the Road

COLREGS/Inland Rules at the mate-of-watch level: lookout, risk of collision, steering and sailing rules, lights and shapes (including trawling and other fishing), sound signals, restricted visibility, narrow channels, and TSS.

22.2% of a typical path

Deck General

Seamanship, line handling, anchoring and mooring, vessel construction basics, watchkeeping handover, bridge resource management, fishing-deck operations, and supporting the master rather than sole command.

22.2% of a typical path

Deck Safety

Required safety equipment, firefighting, survival craft, immersion suits, EPIRB, emergency response, first aid, pollution prevention, drills, heavy weather, and commercial fishing vessel safety under 46 CFR Part 28.

22.2% of a typical path

Navigation General

Charts and publications, aids to navigation, tides and currents, compass error, bearings, piloting, dead reckoning, radar, weather, and near-coastal or oceans topics matching the route endorsement.

6.7% of a typical path

Chart Plot

Course, speed, time, distance, set and drift, fixes by visual bearings and radar ranges, and standard chart-plotting symbology.

4.4% of a typical path

Navigation Problems

Calculation-driven near-coastal or oceans problems covering speed-time-distance, set and drift effects, and course-to-steer through current.

How to Pass the USCG Mate UFIV Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: 70% most modules; 90% Rules of the Road and Nav Problems Near Coastal; 87% Chart Plot; 80% Nav Problems Oceans
  • Assessment: UFV02 modules: Q100 Rules of the Road (50, 90%), Q188 Deck General (50, 70%), Q189 Deck Safety (50, 70%), Q190 Navigation General Near Coastal (50, 70%) or Q191 Navigation General Oceans (50, 70%), Q192 Chart Plot (15, 87%), Q193 Nav Problems Near Coastal (10, 90%) or Q194 Nav Problems Oceans (10, 80%). Q195 is an open-book renewal exercise and is not the focus of this original-knowledge bank.
  • Time limit: Up to 3.5 hours per module
  • Exam fee: $95 exam fee; $240 typical original application total

Keys to Passing

  • Work through all 100 available questions
  • Review every answer and explanation
  • Track weak areas and revisit them
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

USCG Mate UFIV Study Tips from Top Performers

1Overprepare for Rules of the Road because it is a 50-question module with a 90% pass standard.
2Memorize lights and shapes for vessels engaged in fishing and trawling — they appear often on fishing-industry exams.
3Drill mate-of-watch scenarios: handover, when to call the master, and bridge resource management under heavy fishing-deck workload.
4Study 46 CFR Part 28 commercial fishing vessel safety themes: immersion suits, EPIRB, survival craft, drills, and stability awareness.
5Practice anchoring, mooring, and deck-gear questions in scenario form so you answer like a working fishing mate.
6Build a chart-plot routine: largest scale, regular fixes, set and drift corrections, and standard symbology.
7Drill speed-time-distance and course-to-steer problems until the arithmetic is automatic under time pressure.
8Know the service difference: Mate 3 years vs Master 4 years with officer-equivalent time under 46 CFR 11.462.
9Take timed sets of 50 questions to build the Coast Guard module rhythm and decide when to skip and return.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many questions are on the USCG Mate UFIV (UFV02) exam?

On a typical original Oceans or Near Coastal path, candidates face about 225 questions across six modules: Q100 Rules of the Road (50), Q188 Deck General (50), Q189 Deck Safety (50), Q190 or Q191 Navigation General (50), Q192 Chart Plot (15), and Q193 or Q194 Navigation Problems (10). You take the navigation modules that match the Oceans or Near Coastal route you are applying for.

What passing score do I need?

Most modules require 70%. Rules of the Road requires 90%. Chart Plot requires about 87%. Navigation Problems Near Coastal requires 90%; Navigation Problems Oceans requires 80%. Mate candidates need especially strong mastery of collision-avoidance rules and plot accuracy.

How does Mate UFIV sea service differ from Master UFIV?

Under 46 CFR 11.462, Mate applicants need 3 years of total service on ocean or near-coastal routes, with Great Lakes or inland service allowed to substitute for up to 18 months. Master applicants need 4 years of total service on ocean or near-coastal routes, with Great Lakes or inland substitution up to 2 years, and 1 year of that service must have been as Master, Mate, or equivalent while holding a qualifying MMC endorsement. Exact tonnage limits depend on the vessels on which service was obtained.

What vessels does this endorsement cover?

46 CFR 11.462 applies to masters and mates of vessels documented to engage in the fishing industry navigating the high seas, except wooden ships of primitive build, unrigged vessels, and vessels of less than 200 GRT. Endorsements are issued for ocean or near-coastal routes depending on the examination completed.

How much does the Mate UFIV exam cost?

The current NMC fee schedule lists a $95 examination fee for a typical lower-level officer exam. For a typical original officer endorsement application, the breakdown is about $100 evaluation, $95 examination, and $45 issuance, totaling about $240 under 46 CFR 10.219 fee categories. Medical exam, drug testing, and training costs are separate. Pay fees through Pay.gov as directed by NMC.

Can I take the exam remotely?

No. The Mate of Uninspected Fishing Industry Vessels exam is administered in person at U.S. Coast Guard Regional Exam Centers (RECs). There is no approved remote-testing option for this credential.

Is Q195 part of the original exam path?

Q195 is described in NMC materials as an open-book renewal exercise. This free practice bank focuses on original-module knowledge (Rules, deck general, deck safety, navigation general, chart plot, and navigation problems), not the open-book renewal format.

What calculator can I bring?

The NMC policy letter of December 2, 2024 superseded the earlier TI-30XIIS-only rule. At a Regional Exam Center you may now use a programmable calculator with memory, provided all programs and memory are cleared before you enter the exam room and you bring the manufacturer's instructions (or a copy) showing how to clear them and can demonstrate it to the examiner. If the examiner cannot confirm the device is cleared, a TI-30XIIS is provided instead. Only one calculator is allowed in the room, and other electronics including smart watches are not permitted. Testing outside an REC is covered by the individual Traveling Examination Team plan.