What is a Grade Assessment Renewal?

A Grade Assessment Renewal (GA Ren) is available to individuals who have previously completed a full Grade Assessment or Grade Assessment Renewal (within the last 3 years). It enables individuals to maintain their Grade Assessment without having to repeat a full Grade Assessment again.

All individuals are required to meet the eligibility criteria for a GA Renewal before they can proceed with enrolling onto the Competence.

Who is eligible to enrol onto a GA Renewal?

  • Individuals who previously completed a full MTCS Grade Assessment (GA) or GA Renewal in the same role within the last 3 years and have continually held MTCS competence certification at that grade.
  • In addition, the prior Certificate of Competence (Full GA or GA Renewal) is required to be in date or have not expired more than 6 months.

The GA renewal confirms that the individual has remained active, competent, and compliant in their role.

Who is NOT eligible to enrol onto a GA Renewal?

If your last Grade Assessment (GA) certificate at this grade is allowed to have expired for more than 6 months, re-certification must instead be completed via the Individual Competence Assessment (ICA) route.

What is required to complete a Grade Assessment Renewal?

The GA Renewal process requires you to provide the following:

  • Witness Statements completed by your Supervisors/Managers or Agency dated within the last 12 months, confirming you have continually worked in the role.
  • Two appraisals completed by your Supervisors/Managers since your last Certificate of Competence was issued (either full Grade Assessment or Grade Assessment Renewal).  One of these must be dated within the last 12 months
  • Copies of valid Offshore Survival & Medical certificates must be uploaded as part of your submission.

Blank Witness Statements and Appraisal templates can be obtained via your online account through the Guidance Documentation area. Alternatively the templates will be available within the GA Renewal itself, which will appear on your MTCS Online Dashboard after purchase.

How long do I have to complete a Grade Assessment Renewal?

The GA Renewal course needs to be completed within 12 months of purchase and within 6 months of expiry of your last certificate.

When should I submit my evidence?

The issue date of the new certificate will be the date that the verification was completed, so please try to renew any previous certificate as close to the expiry month as possible.

We advise leaving up to 10 working days for a verification to be completed. We aim to be well within that time frame, however in busier periods it may not be possible.

How much is a Grade Assessment Renewal?

The cost to enrol onto a GA Renewal is £147.14 (including VAT) and a secure payment link can be provided by the Customer Services Team.

How do I start the process?

If you are ready to proceed you can contact the team at [email protected]. They will confirm whether you meet the eligibility and then provide a link to proceed to payment.

As soon as payment has been made you will gain access, and be able to upload your evidence, to the new GA Renewal course.

How was my last Certificate of Competence attained?

Grade Assessment (GA)

If your Certificate of Competence was attained through a Grade Assessment (GA) or a previous Grade Assessment Renewal (GA Ren), you will need to complete a Grade Assessment Renewal.

This option is only for individuals who meet the eligibility criteria to complete a GA Renewal.

Please see the eligibility criteria to confirm this.

Individual Competence Assessment

If your Certificate of Competence was attained through an Individual Competence Assessment (ICA), you are required to complete a further ICA.

Not sure? Here’s how to check:

1. Log in to MTCS Online account

2. Go to your Dashboard

3. Scroll down to ‘MTCS Certificates’

From here you can view your certificates and see whether you previously completed an ICA, GA or GA Renewal

Alternatively, you can contact the MTCS Team to confirm what your recertification options are.

If you have any questions regarding your Grade Assessment Renewal, please contact us [email protected]