Where candidates go wrong
The total is rarely the problem. Candidates reach 28 or 29 and still fail because they drop a fourth chartwork question, or a sixth navigation-theory question. Treat the caps as the real pass mark. The other classic error is assuming a module pass travels with you: it does not. It is valid only with the administration that marked it.
The format (RD 875/2014, Anexo II)
40 questions, four options each, 2 hours. Two marking routes run side by side: corrección global (global marking) and corrección por módulos (module marking).
| Materia (subject) | Módulo | Questions | Max errors | Min correct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seguridad en la mar | Genérico (45 min) | 10 | 5 (modules only) | 5 (modules only) |
| Meteorología | Genérico | 10 | 5 (modules only) | 5 (modules only) |
| Teoría de navegación | Navegación (1 h 15) | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Navegación carta | Navegación | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 40 | 12 | 28 |
- Global pass: 28 correct, no more than 5 theory errors and 3 chartwork errors. The generic subjects have no caps under global marking.
- Module pass: each module is passed when both of its subjects meet their minimum. The pass is kept for the next two sittings of that administration, and only there.
Worked scenarios
| Safety | Meteo | Theory | Chart | Total | Global | Modules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 30 | Fail (4 chart errors) | Generic banked |
| 4 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 29 | Pass | (not needed) |
| 8 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 28 | Fail (6 theory errors) | Generic banked |
The second line surprises people: a weak safety paper does not sink a global pass.
Admission and materials (DGMM 2026 convocatoria)
- You must hold the título inmediatamente inferior (the title immediately below), the PER. If you passed that theory exam with a region, send proof to the DGMM before the subsanación window closes.
- The DGMM supplies the carta náutica (chart) and any Anuario de Mareas (tide tables) extracts. Bring blue or black pen, pencil and plotting instruments. Calculators are allowed only for PY and CY.
- DGMM sittings in 2026 are in Madrid (18 April and 21 November). Regions with transferred competence, the Balearics included, set their own dates. Check the local convocatoria.
TIP — Sit both modules, bank what you can Sit the whole paper even if one half is weak. A banked module gives you a lighter second attempt.
Strategy
- Do chartwork first while you are fresh: it carries the tightest cap.
- Budget roughly 45 minutes for generic and 75 for navigation, mirroring the module timings.
- Check every chartwork answer by a second route: reverse the sum, or re-read the sign convention.
What the examiner wants to see
Clean, consistent sign conventions and no careless chartwork. The paper is designed so that a candidate who is sloppy with Ct or current vectors cannot pass on theory alone.
Vocabulario del examen
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| corrección global | global marking |
| corrección por módulos | module marking |
| módulo genérico | generic module |
| navegación carta | chartwork |
| teoría de navegación | navigation theory |
| convocatoria | exam sitting / call |
| subsanación | correction of an application |
| título inmediatamente inferior | title immediately below |