NM1GI Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

What a Pass Rate Means for This Credential

Candidates searching for an "NM1GI pass rate" usually want one thing: a number that tells them whether to worry. For National Master 100 GL and Inland (NM1GI), a Master or Mate less than 100 GRT endorsement for Great Lakes and Inland waters administered by the United States Coast Guard National Maritime Center (NMC), that number is harder to pin down than the search results suggest.

The honest summary is this: this article does not quote a pass percentage because the sources we rely on do not publish one for this route, and inventing one would mislead you. What the published material does give you is a clear map of what is tested, how the modules are organized, and why results vary from candidate to candidate. That map is more useful for planning than a headline percentage would be.

Why There Is No Single NM1GI Number

Three structural features of this credential make a single universal pass rate misleading.

The exam is not one common mandatory test

The NMC does not publish official percentage weights for this route, and the five preparation groups are not a single common examination that every candidate takes identically. Your approval to test determines which modules are assigned, which route applies, and whether you receive any credit. Two candidates pursuing the same endorsement can walk into different testing situations.

Route-specific content

The Rules of the Road module depends on your approved route. Candidates are assigned either Rules of the Road: International and Inland (Q100) or Inland (Q300), and the route-specific Rules choice counts once in your preparation, not twice. A pass rate averaged across both versions would blur two genuinely different subjects.

Raise-of-grade versus full original

Q352 Navigation and Deck General/Safety is separately listed as a raise-of-grade route module. It is not a universal sixth exam group and should not be confused with a second Rules subject. Candidates sitting it are in a different situation from those preparing for a full original endorsement, so lumping their results together would distort any rate.

The Five Preparation Groups and Where Candidates Struggle

Because the NMC does not publish weights, we treat the five groups as unweighted. That means you should not assume one is "worth more" than another. Each is a module you must clear. The full breakdown lives in our complete guide to the NM1GI exam domains; here is how they relate to difficulty.

Anecdotally, candidates tend to find the broad-content modules (Deck General and Deck Safety) intimidating because of sheer topic count, while the chart plot rewards or punishes procedural discipline. We say "tend to" deliberately: there is no published data ranking these by failure rate, so treat the pattern as a planning heuristic, not a statistic.

How Your Approved Route Changes the Outcome

Great Lakes-and-Inland versus Inland applicability matters, and the NMC module table makes this explicit. Two topics carry a footnote 3 marking them as Great Lakes-specific: heavy-weather handling and the launching of lifeboats and liferafts in heavy weather.

Practically, this means:

• If your approved route includes the Great Lakes, you should expect Heavy Weather Operations and Maneuvering for Launching of Lifeboats and Liferafts in Heavy Weather to be in scope within Deck General (Q347).
• If your route is Inland only, those footnoted topics may not apply to you, which narrows what you must master.
• Candidates who study from a generic source that ignores this distinction risk either over-preparing or, worse, skipping content their route requires.

The Specific Topics Behind the Results

Results follow content. Here is what the published catalog actually puts in front of you, organized by module.

Notice how much of Q349 and Q350 overlap in subject headings: piloting, distance off, bearing problems, fixes, dead reckoning, electronic navigation, instruments, aids to navigation, and publications. That overlap is an advantage. Mastering the theory once pays off twice, provided you actually practice applying it.

Chart Plotting: Where Accuracy Beats Knowledge

The Navigation Problems: Chart Plot (Q350) module is retained in the NM1GI route and is unlike the other four groups. You are not recalling a fact; you are producing a result. A candidate can understand running fixes conceptually and still lose the module through a misread scale, a transposed bearing, or an arithmetic slip.

That is why a raw "pass rate" tells you little about your own risk here. What matters is whether you can reliably execute these worked problems under time pressure:

1. Establish position using a fix or running fix from bearings and distance off.
2. Apply dead reckoning forward from a known position.
3. Use aids to navigation and chart information correctly, consistent with Notices to Mariners.
4. Work compass error corrections without sign mistakes.

Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain

Study method is secondary to knowing what to study, so here is one short, NM1GI-specific sequencing idea. The logic: build the foundation that later modules reuse, then finish with the performance-based module while earlier material is fresh.

Adjust the pacing to your own background; a candidate with years on inland towboats will weight this differently from someone newer to deck work. For a fuller plan, see the first-attempt study guide and the NM1GI cheat sheet for last-stage review.

How to Read Pass-Rate Claims Critically

Because the underlying numbers are not published for this route, you will encounter claims of varying quality. Use these filters.

• Check the credential. "NM1GI" is a string that other credentials also use. A statistic about a different certification says nothing about this one. This article concerns National Master 100 GL and Inland (NM1GI) only.
• Ask for a source and date. A percentage with no named origin is a rumor, not data.
• Ask which module and route. A rate for a raise-of-grade module (Q352) or for Inland-only candidates does not transfer to your situation.
• Remember what the sources cover. The NMC Examination Guide reflects regulations effective 2014-03-24 and describes content, not outcomes.

For the money side of the decision, our certification cost breakdown and the ROI analysis are better places to start than a statistic. Fee mechanics and scheduling depend on NMC procedures, so consult the current NMC guidance and your own approval to test rather than relying on secondhand numbers; our exam dates guide and passing score article cover what we can say with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want a clear picture of your own readiness rather than a borrowed statistic, take a baseline attempt on the NM1GI practice test, then use the What Is NM1GI? overview and the domain guide to close the gaps module by module.