Please Note: The Board of Pilot Commissioners is not currently accepting applications for the Pilot Trainee Training Program Selection Examination. We anticipate opening the application process at the beginning of 2026. Please check back for updates.

The Board of Pilot Commissioners administers a maritime pilot training program. Graduates of the program become Board-licensed maritime pilots. Entrance into the program is via a selection examination.

The minimum requirements for entrance into the Pilot Trainee Training Program, are outlined in California Code of Regulations, Title 7, Section 213.  The Board has recently changed the minimum experience qualifications to qualify for the exam.  These now include allowing Chief Mate experience, piloting in other jurisdictions, and lower tug tonnage requirements. Applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications will not be admitted to the examination.

A Pilot Trainee Training Program Selection Examination was held in June 2022 at the California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) in Vallejo, California.  We anticipate the next exam to be offered in June of 2026. The 2022 exam produced a list of ten successful candidates, as well as an Exam Validation Report, the later created by the Selection Services Program of the California Department of Human Resources.  These, and other exam resources can be found in the links below:

• Exam Validation Report 2022
• 2022 Ranked List FINAL Updated 07-24-2023
• Trainee-Applicant-Handbook-2022
• BOPC Exam Press Release 2022

Pilot Trainee Training Program
All pilots must be selected for, and successfully complete the Pilot Trainee Training Program (Pilot Training Program) administered by the Board. The Pilot Training Program can last from one to three years. Trainees that the Board determines to have successfully completed the Pilot Training Program are eligible to be licensed by the Board.

Successful applicants to the Pilot Training Program must meet minimum licensing and industry experience requirements including holding a master’s license, have two years command experience on tugs or deep draft vessels, and pass a rigorous written examination and simulator exercise administered by the Board. Evaluation of an applicant’s qualifications and selection examination performance is conducted by Board staff and contracted consultants. Board-licensed pilots contribute significant Pilot Training Program selection examination subject matter expertise at no cost to the Board.

Successful applicants to the Pilot Training Program are placed on an eligibility list, and the list can last for up to three years. New trainees are selected and admitted into the Pilot Training Program when determined there is a need for more Board-licensed pilots, and are required to be available full-time for up to three years in the program. Trainees train with virtually each of the Board-licensed pilots on the same vessels in the Board’s jurisdiction that they will eventually be licensed to pilot, initially as observer, and then navigate vessels under the supervision of a pilot. By the time a trainee finishes the Pilot Training Program, a trainee will have handled every type of vessel that comes into the Board’s jurisdiction and will have been into and out of every marine facility multiple times.

The Pilot Training Program is administered by the Board and a five-member Pilot Evaluation Committee made up of five senior Board-licensees. The committee tracks each trainee’s progress and based on specified criteria, determines when the trainee has successfully completed the training. The committee recommends to the Board when the trainee has satisfactorily completed the program and is eligible to be licensed. The Board determines if and when a trainee graduates from the Pilot Training Program, and when to issue the graduate a license. In 2023 the Board paid a $8,000 monthly stipend to trainees participating in the Pilot Training Program.