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Garmin® VHF/AIS Programming and Reprogramming Guide
Important: Owner's manuals provide information on programming the MMSII, however, programming an MMSI number is prohibited in the USA for any person other than the manufacturer or the installing dealer on an AIS™ 600, 800, WatchMate® 850, Vesper® 6000 / 8000 and Cortex® Hub. Personally inputting the MMSI on these devices is against federal regulation and is not recommended or supported by Garmin®.
The Mobile Marine Safety Identity (MMSI) number is a nine-digit code that identifies a vessel. A MMSI number can be obtained from the telecommunications authority or ship registry for the specific country. In the USA, a MMSI number can be obtained from these sources:
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC): assignments are recognized internationally
- BoatU.S.®, Sea Tow®, or United States Power Squadrons®: assignments are for USA waters only.
Note: In the USA, it is prohibited under FCC regulations to enter incorrect or improper data. It is a violation of the rules of the FCC to input an MMSI number that has not been properly assigned to the user, or to otherwise input any inaccurate data in the device.
Device | Initial MMSI Programming Federally Allowed by Owner | Clearing of MMSI Preformed by Owner | Reprogrammable by Owner | Programmable / Reprogrammable through an Authorized Garmin Service Center / Marine Installer | Programmable / Reprogrammable through Garmin Customer Service Center |
Garmin VHF 100 / 110 / 115 / 200 / 210 / 215 / 300 / 315 Marine Radio | Yes | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center¹, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | Yes³ | Yes | Yes¹ |
Garmin VHF 210 / 215 / 200 AIS Marine Radio | Yes Changing the MMSI Number Already Programmed into a Garmin VHF or AIS | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center¹, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | Yes³ | Yes | Yes¹ |
Garmin AIS 600 Blackbox Transceiver | No | No Requires Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | No | Yes | No |
Garmin AIS 800 Blackbox Transceiver | No | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | No | Yes | Yes |
AIS WatchMate 850 Transponder | No | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | No | Yes | No |
Vesper XB-6000 / 8000 | No | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | No | Yes | No |
Cortex Hub | No² Remote Programming: Cortex® MMSI Programming Form | No Requires Garmin® Customer Service Center, Authorized Garmin® Service Center or Marine Installer | No² | Yes | Yes |
¹ The Garmin® VHF 100, 200 and 300 Marine Radio and Garmin® VHF 300 AIS™ Marine Radio cannot be programmed through Garmin® Customer Service Center and must be sent/taken to a Garmin® Certified Service Center or Marine Installer for reprogramming
² The owner may manually install the .VSM file if there is not a green cloud status light on Cortex® Hub. Cortex® Programming - Using a Vesper Secure Message File (.vsm)
³ This requires a clearing of the MMSI prior. Once the MMSI is cleared a VHF can be programmed following the initial programming guide.