USCG Issues Waiver & Equivalency Guidance
July 8, 2026
On June 3, 2026, the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG’s) Office of Cybersecurity Policy (CG-MCP) issued Cybersecurity Waiver & Equivalency Guidance (MCP-WI-002) to provide a unified process for entities to request waivers or equivalencies from the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) Cybersecurity Regulation (33 CFR Part 101 – Subpart F). The Work Instruction promotes consistent USCG review of waiver and equivalency requests while preserving flexibility for entities with different operational profiles, cyber maturity levels, and Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) environments. The Work Instruction also emphasizes that a completed Cybersecurity Assessment (CSA) is the required foundation, and a mandatory