ST. LOUIS – Personnel from Coast Guard Regional Exam Center St. Louis opened a Remote Customer Assistance Office in St. Paul, Minn., today in order to reduce time and travel costs for mariners in the St. Paul area.
The new office is co-located with Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment St. Paul located in the Henry Whipple Federal Building, Fort Snelling, Minn.
The Remote Customer Assistance office is open on the second Tuesday and third Thursday of each month to assist mariners with obtaining a new or renewed merchant mariner credential.
While the customer assistance office does not provide full service REC functions, office staff is able to review and ensure all acceptability of credential applications, verify citizenship requirements of the applicant and complete all fingerprint requirements for each application. Upon completion, the remote customer assistance office will send the completed application package to REC St. Louis for resolution of the document, license or endorsement. The applicant is then notified of the resolution of his or her application, and in many cases, the entire credential process can be completed without the applicant leaving St. Paul.
The St. Paul REC Remote Customer Assistance Office operates by appointment only, which may be made during normal business hours, Monday through Friday.
For appointments, applicants should call MSD St. Paul at (612) 725-1871 or REC St. Louis at (314) 269-2504.
