Module 1 - Licensing & SRC Exam
What the SRC Covers
What you will learn
Distinguish the SRC operator qualification from the station licence and explain when supervision or the risk-to-life emergency exception changes who may transmit.
The Short Range Certificate is the usual UK operator qualification for marine VHF and VHF/DSC. It demonstrates operator competence; it does not license the equipment or turn this revision product into an official course or assessment.
The RYA describes the SRC as the minimum qualification for controlling marine VHF and VHF/DSC on a UK-flagged vessel that is voluntarily fitted with radio. The published course covers radio operation, frequencies, distress and medical-assistance procedures, ship-to-shore calls, DSC and the GMDSS. CEPT sets the broader examination syllabus behind those topics.
Ofcom's licence terms separate the qualified person from the licensed station. Routine use must be by someone who holds the relevant certificate and Authority to Operate, or under that person's direct personal supervision. The terms contain a narrow exception: where an emergency creates a risk to life, any person may use the radio to summon assistance.
This module helps you organise and practice the governing decisions. It cannot issue an SRC, provide the hands-on assessed practice of an RYA course, or replace the exam at an RYA Recognised Training Centre.
Allocate radio roles before departure
A family crew has one SRC holder and two people who have never used marine VHF. They want everyone to know how to call the marina and what to do if the qualified operator is incapacitated.
1. Name the routine controller
Identify the certificate holder who will make routine calls or directly supervise another operator.
2. Rehearse without transmitting
Use the set's training mode, a simulator or a powered-off call card so practice does not create live traffic or a distress alert.
3. State the emergency boundary
If life is at risk and the qualified operator cannot act, any crew member may use the radio to summon assistance.
Sense check: The emergency exception protects life; it is not permission to make ordinary unsupervised calls.
Common mistake or limitation
- Treating the SRC as the licence for the vessel's radio equipment.
- Assuming an unqualified person may make ordinary calls merely because an SRC holder is somewhere aboard; supervision must be direct and personal.
- Turning the risk-to-life emergency exception into a general exemption from operator competence.
Recap
- SRC concerns the operator; the Ship Radio or Ship Portable Radio Licence concerns the station and equipment.
- Routine use requires an appropriately certificated operator or direct personal supervision.
- Any person may summon assistance by radio when an emergency creates a risk to life.
- Compass Revision supports preparation but does not award the SRC.
Optional quick check
Section 1 of 9
The only SRC holder is unconscious and an unqualified crew member believes life is at risk. What is the defensible radio decision?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 31 August 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
Continue studying Licensing & SRC Exam
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 1. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.