The yacht crew CV: what agencies advise on length, photo and references, and which papers back it up

There is no official template for a yacht crew CV, and no official rule that requires or bans a photo, your age or your nationality on it. Crew agencies advise two pages, a professional photo and two references with contact details. What employers must check are your papers: qualifications, medical certificate, travel documents and, on UK yachts, your discharge book.

We use the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), UK and EU law, and crew agency advice, marked as such. Finding your first job is covered in Your first yacht job.

Is there an official yacht CV template?

No. We found no official CV template from the MCA, from flag states or from the ILO. What exists is guidance from crew agencies, and it differs in the details; the PYA also offers its members CV advice (PYA).

How long should a yacht CV be?

Two pages, according to most agencies:

YPI CREW adds that AI may help you write a CV but should never invent, inflate or embellish your experience (YPI CREW).

Should you include a photo, your age and your nationality?

Agencies say yes. These are agency recommendations, not rules:

• Photo: YPI CREW calls a photo standard practice in yachting: head and shoulders, a smile, a neutral background, no sunglasses, hats, filters or selfies (YPI CREW). Bluewater suggests an outdoor photo in a white polo shirt, without sunglasses, hat or much jewellery, with a file size under 250 KB (Bluewater). Wilsonhalligan says yacht applications often ask for a photo and warns against selfies and photos from a night out (Wilsonhalligan).
• Personal details: Bluewater lists date of birth, current location, availability, nationality or nationalities, languages, and whether you smoke or have visible tattoos (Bluewater). Viking Crew also names passport details, marital status, visas and your medical certificate (Viking Crew).

Is it legal for employers to ask for this?

We found no official rule that bans these details on a CV, and none that requires them. Equality rules are addressed to employers and agencies, not to what you choose to write:

• ILO Convention 111 covers access to employment, so also the application stage. It lists race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin; age and nationality are not named. A distinction based on the inherent requirements of a job is not discrimination (ILO C111, Article 1).
• EU law: Directive 2000/78/EC covers religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation, including selection criteria; age limits for recruitment can be justified, for example by training requirements (EUR-Lex, Articles 1 and 6). Directive 2000/43/EC covers racial or ethnic origin, but explicitly not nationality (EUR-Lex, Article 3).
• UK law: The Equality Act 2010 bans discrimination in the arrangements for deciding whom to offer a job (s. 39), and employers should generally not ask about your health before an offer (s. 60). For seafarers, this part applies only in prescribed cases (s. 81; SI 2011/1771).
• Data protection: The UK ICO says recruiters may only collect information that is proportionate and relevant to the role. Its guidance, still a draft, does not mention photos (ICO).

Your date of birth is needed at the latest in the contract: every MLC employment agreement must state your full name, date of birth or age, and birthplace (MLC, Standard A2.1). Our guide to the MLC explains the contract.

Which hospitality experience counts?

We found no official rule on which hospitality experience counts for a yacht job, and no official source that weighs it on a CV. It is a judgement made by captains and agencies. What agencies say about hospitality and cruise ship backgrounds is collected in our guide Does cruise ship experience count for a yacht job?.

What is set down officially concerns qualifications, not service skills. On large yachts of 24 metres and over, the employer must make sure crew hold an MCA Yacht Rating Certificate or another MCA-recognised qualification, such as an ILO Able Seafarer, the Efficient Deck Hand or an STCW watch rating. Employers must also check discharge books for qualifications and certificates of competency, check medical certificates and travel documents, and make sure all crew speak the ship's common working language (GOV.UK, hiring crew; checking qualifications).

Which documents back up your CV?

Your discharge book, testimonials and references. The MCA describes the discharge book as "a full record of a seaman's career experience and certification" (GOV.UK):

• You need a UK discharge book if you are a British citizen working on ships or large yachts, or a non-British citizen employed on a UK-registered ship or large yacht. It costs £55 by post, or £105 with the 24-hour premium service or in person at a Marine Office.
• Entries record the ship, tonnage, your capacity, and the dates and places of joining and discharge. You do not need the book to join a ship, and it is not a travel document (MGN 685).
• According to the PYA, entries cannot be made retroactively and show only time in a rank, not the type of service, so you still need sea service testimonials. The PYA Service Record Book, by contrast, can be filled in retroactively once the PYA has checked your testimonials (PYA).

Under the MLC, every seafarer must receive a record of employment, which must not contain any statement on the quality of your work or your wages (MLC, Standard A2.1). An assessment of your work therefore belongs in a reference.

What makes a testimonial or reference count?

For UK yacht certificates, testimonials must be verifiable, follow the MCA format in Annex A, cover your conduct and ability over the last 12 months of yacht service and be signed by the master (MSN 1858 Amendment 2, section 5.4). A full day needs at least 4 hours of working duty in 24 hours. The MCA verifies testimonials and discharge book entries and stops processing anyone who submits false sea time or certificates (section 13). Crew who signed an agreement and did not join, or left the vessel other than on discharge, must show two further years of yacht service with good conduct before an NOE or CoC (section 5.4).

The PYA is authorised by the MCA and Transport Malta to verify testimonials. Non-members pay €50 each, at least two on the first submission, with processing in up to 25 working days; verified testimonials can also show your experience in your employment profile (PYA).

For job references, agencies differ:

• YPI CREW says agencies usually check references before putting you forward, and asks for name, position, yacht, email and phone (YPI CREW).
• Bluewater advises always listing two referees rather than "references available on request" (Bluewater).
• Wilsonhalligan accepts both (Wilsonhalligan).

What do agencies have to check?

In the UK, an agency may not put you forward for a seagoing post until it has verified your identity, experience, training and qualifications; these regulations do not apply to employment on pleasure vessels (SI 2014/1615). Under MLC guidance, agencies should verify employment references and check that certificates are current and not obtained fraudulently (MLC, Guideline B1.4.1).

The UK has no mandatory licence for agencies, only voluntary MCA certification (MGN 475 (M) Amendment 2). The MCA list of 1 September 2026 names 121 certified services, including Wilsonhalligan Yacht Recruitment and Viking Maritime Group with Viking Crew (MCA list). Entry-level certificates are covered in how to become a deckhand or stewardess.

Sources

Maritime Labour Convention 2006 as amended (ILO), ILO Convention 111, EU Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC, UK Equality Act 2010, UK SI 2011/1771 and SI 2014/1615, UK ICO draft recruitment guidance, UK MCA (MSN 1858 Amendment 2, MGN 685, MGN 475 (M) Amendment 2, list of certified recruitment services, GOV.UK pages on discharge books and hiring crew), the PYA, and the published guidance of the crew agencies YPI CREW, Bluewater, Wilsonhalligan and Viking Crew. Agency statements are marked as such. All checked on 15 October 2026 and linked above.