ENG1 Fort Lauderdale: All 3 Approved Doctors in the USA
ENG1 in the USA: There are only three approved doctors
If you need an ENG1 in Fort Lauderdale, you're in the right place. You're in the only place in the US where you can get one.
The ENG1 is a UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) medical. Outside the UK, only doctors on the MCA's approved doctors overseas list can issue one. That list (updated 25 August 2026) names exactly three doctors in the United States, and all three are in South Florida. There are none in Miami, Newport, Annapolis, Seattle or anywhere else.
New to ENG1s altogether? Start with our ENG1 medical certificate guide, which covers what it is, how long it lasts and renewals. This post is about getting one booked here.
ENG1 doctors in Fort Lauderdale and South Florida
These are the three US entries on the MCA list, as published:
| Doctor | Clinic / address | Phone | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr E Grenet | Health Medical Centers, 1489 SE 17th St, Suite 2, 2nd Floor, Southport Shopping Centre, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 | (954) 525-7595 | Fort Lauderdale, near Port Everglades and the 17th Street yards |
| Dr J DeNobriga | 8190 S. Jog Road, Ste 220, Boynton Beach, FL 33472 | (561) 369-2908 | Boynton Beach, between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach |
| Dr R Greer IV | 624 U.S. Highway 1, Lake Park, FL 33403 | (561) 844-2464 or (561) 844-2465 | Lake Park, just north of West Palm Beach |
The New River, lined with yards and private docks, is where a lot of Fort Lauderdale's yacht work happens. Photo: Tamanoeconomico, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Check the live list before you book. Doctors get added and removed, and an ENG1 from a doctor who's no longer approved is worthless. Opening the gov.uk page to confirm the name is still there takes thirty seconds.
Which one you pick mostly comes down to where you're staying. If you're in a crew house off 17th Street or around Lauderdale Marina, Dr Grenet's clinic is close by. If you're working out of Palm Beach or Riviera Beach, Lake Park is the obvious choice. Boynton Beach sits in between and may have openings when the others are full.
Not in Florida?
If you're crewing out of New England, the Chesapeake or the Pacific Northwest, there's no approved ENG1 doctor near you. You can travel to South Florida, or you can use a US Coast Guard medical instead (see below). If you're heading down-island, the MCA list also has approved doctors in Antigua, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. That's handy if your ENG1 is due to expire mid-Caribbean season.
What an ENG1 costs in Fort Lauderdale
The MCA list doesn't publish fees for overseas doctors, and none of the three clinics publishes an ENG1 price online. In the UK the fee is £115, a limit set in UK regulations. Don't assume a Florida clinic will charge the same. Ask for the price when you book, and ask whether extra tests like bloods or an ECG would cost more if the doctor needs them.
Also check who's paying. MCA guidance says that if you're employed in the UK, your employer pays. On a boat that's often the case too, so if you're joining a vessel, ask the captain or management company before you pay yourself. Green crew paying for their own first ENG1 is completely normal, though.
Book early: November to April fills up
Fort Lauderdale's busy season runs from the boat show in late October through spring. Boats come in for yard periods, Caribbean charter programmes crew up, and hundreds of green crew arrive in town all needing the same three doctors. Clinic diaries fill up fast.
The Las Olas bridge on the Intracoastal opens on demand for yachts; from November the waterway fills up, and so do clinic diaries. Photo: Luigi Rosa, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Don't count on a same-day appointment. Health Medical Centers takes ENG1 bookings online, but its site says online booking isn't available for the same day or more than 90 days out. Book ahead, but not too far ahead.
- Book before you fly in if you can. If you're coming over for the season, sort the appointment from home. Then your first week goes on dockwalking, not waiting for a medical.
- Renewing? Don't leave it to the last week. If a boat offers you a job and your ENG1 runs out before the start date, that's an easy reason for them to call the next CV on the pile.
What to bring to your ENG1 medical
The MCA's seafarers medical certification guidance lists what to bring:
- Valid photo ID. Your passport is the safest bet. A driving licence, national ID card or seaman's discharge book also works.
- Your current ENG1 (or equivalent), if you're renewing.
- Glasses or contact lenses, plus spares if you have them. Your eyesight is tested with them.
- Any medication you take, so the doctor can see exactly what it is.
- Your GP's name and phone number.
- Any recent letters from your GP or hospital, especially for anything ongoing.
If you've got a condition you're worried about, bring the paperwork. A doctor who can see you're stable on treatment is far more likely to pass you, or give you a restricted certificate, than one left guessing. Our post on what to expect at the ENG1 exam covers the exam itself and what happens if you fail or get a restriction.
What about the USCG medical?
US crew may already hold a USCG Merchant Mariner Medical Certificate, and plenty of yachts will accept it. Still, the ENG1 is the yacht-industry standard, and a lot of captains and management companies will ask for it by name. We cover the USCG medical, the ML5 and the other accepted equivalents in ENG1 equivalent medical certificates.
Once you've got your ENG1: get on the dock
An ENG1 plus your STCW Basic Training is the minimum to be taken seriously. After that, it's about getting in front of the right boats, and Fort Lauderdale is one of the biggest daywork hubs in the world. Our guide to superyacht daywork hubs covers where the work is and when, and the dockwalking guide covers how to work the marinas.
If you're not a US citizen or resident, sort your status before you fly. Daywork in the US requires work authorisation, and a B1/B2 visa does not cover casual daywork on the Fort Lauderdale docks.
The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, at the turn of October and November, kicks off the Florida season. Photo: Tamanoeconomico, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Once your ENG1 is through, upload it to your Radius crew profile. Crew with a valid ENG1, STCW and CV who have checked in recently show up on the map for nearby captains looking for dayworkers. That means Fort Lauderdale boats can find you while you're still out walking the docks.