46 USC § 10310 - Discharge

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t46/s10310"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "46 USC § 10310 - Discharge"
title_number: 46
title_name: "SHIPPING"
section_number: "10310"
section_name: "Discharge"
chapter_number: 103
chapter_name: "FOREIGN AND INTERCOASTAL VOYAGES"
part_number: "G"
part_name: "Merchant Seamen Protection and Relief"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-03-26"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 564; Pub. L. 103–206, title IV, § 408, Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2436.)"
---


# § 10310. Discharge

A master shall deliver to a seaman a full and true account of the seaman’s wages and all deductions at least 48 hours before paying off or discharging the seaman.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 98–89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 564; Pub. L. 103–206, title IV, § 408, Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2436.)

| Revised section | Source section (U.S. Code) |
| --- | --- |
| 10310 | 46:64146:642 |

Section 10310 requires the master of a vessel to give each seaman a full account of the seaman’s wages 48 hours before discharge. The penalty for violation is $50.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1993— struck out “or a shipping commissioner” after “to a seaman” and struck out at end “A master failing to deliver the account is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of $50.”