Following consultation with the Dynamic Positioning Training and Executive Group (DPTEG), it has been agreed that DPOs may apply to revalidate their DP certificates no later than three years after the certificate has expired. 

This means that any DPO wishing to revalidate an expired certificate whether by taking the DP Revalidation Course or the DP Refresher & Competency Assessment Course may only do so if the certificate expired within the previous three years at the time of submitting their online application. 

Training Centre Requirements 

Training centres are instructed to only accept DPOs onto the NI DP Revalidation Course under the following conditions: 

• The certificate is still valid, and the course is taken no more than 12 months before the certificate’s

expiry date. 

• The certificate has expired no more than three years prior to the course date. 
• If the DPO previously revalidated via the Revalidation Course, they must have completed a minimum of 28 days of DP sea time, gained while the certificate was valid, and dated within the previous five years. 

Training centres are instructed to only accept DPOs onto the NI DP Refresher & Competency Assessment Course under the following conditions: 

• The certificate is still valid, and the course is taken no more than 12 months before the certificate’s expiry date.
• The certificate has expired no more than three years prior to the course date.
• The DPO must have completed a minimum of 30 days of DP sea time, gained while the certificate was valid, and dated within the previous five years. 

Revalidation Beyond Three Years 

If a DPO wishes to revalidate a certificate that has been expired for more than three years, they should be advised to contact The Nautical Institute directly. Such applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

Important Note on Certificate Validity 

Please note that revalidated certificates are issued with an expiry date of five years from the expiry date of the previous certificate. 

Example:

If a DPO was due to revalidate in 2026 but only applies in 2028, the new certificate will be valid only until 2031, resulting in a loss of two years of validity. The DPO will then be required to revalidate again in three years, rather than in five.