Captain / Legends The title or rank of captain was often used in military organizations and some civilian contexts , and typically indicated an individual with leadership responsibilities . Description . Surface forces . In ground - based military organizations , captains were typically company commanders , a role they served in both the GAR during the Clone Wars and in the Imperial Army during the Galactic Civil War . In the Imperial forces , they could also serve as support officers , adjutants and aides - de - camp at battalion level or above . At least one officer , Captain - Supervisor Grammel , held a rank which apparently combined his military rank with the civilian bureaucratic title of Supervisor . Early in the Clone Wars , clone captains in the GAR were identified by red markings on their armor , while Imperial Army captains seem to have typically worn an insignia with three red pips over three blue , and one code cylinder at the left shoulder , although it seems that in some situations , other variations were known : for instance , a Rebel source indicates that some Army captains aboard the Death Star may have worn a rank bar with a single strip of three pips , and one rank cylinder at either shoulder . Captains ranked above the lieutenants who commanded platoons , and below the majors who typically led battalions , in the GAR , and also in the Imperial Army . However , in at least some sections of the Imperial military , an extra grade of commander appeared immediately above captain , denoted by an extra code cylinder at the right shoulder . In the GAR , on the other hand , variations on " commander " were used for all clone trooper ranks above major , but all ranks above captain , including major , seem to have worn the yellow rank flashes of a clone commander , and there was no direct evidence to exclude the possibility of a lower commander rank immediately above captain . Other militaries were probably broadly similar in their positioning of captain within the chain of command , but the available evidence is not always specific . Starfighter forces . Most starfighter corps followed army - style systems in their rank structure , but this did not always translate into giving officers of the same rank similar responsibilities . In the Rebel Alliance , the rank of Captain , depending on the time period , either occurred between Lieutenant and Commander ( such being the case pre - Battle of Hoth ) or between Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander ( post - Battle of Hoth ) . The design of the rank likewise depended on the time period . Pre - Battle of Hoth , it was a silver patch that had three yellow bumps placed in a way that resembled an upside down triangle . Post - Battle of Hoth , the rank possessed gold - trim borders and had two red bumps , one being at the topmost - center , and the other being on the bottommost - center , similar to the earlier design of the rank of Captain pre - Battle of Hoth . In the Imperial military and some early New Republic formations , a captain like Soontir Fel or Pash Cracken often led a squadron of twelve starfighters , but by the outbreak of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion , a mere flight of four fighters in New Republic Starfighter Command could be commanded by a higher - ranking Major , and captains could serve as merely mid - ranking flight officers with no command responsibility . Naval forces . In naval terminology , " captain " could be a specific rank , but also a title held irrespective of rank . Any military officer with a specific commission to command a capital ship might be styled as captain . Within the chain of command , a specific rank of captain was found in most naval forces , although the exact significance of the rank varied . In many naval services , the rank of captain indicated a command - grade officer analogous to an army colonel , above commander but below commodore ; this was the situation in the Galactic Alliance , and Chiss Expansionary Defense Force , and probably in the Old Republic , Rebel Alliance and New Republic before them . Typically , officers holding the rank of captain would hold the command of a single warship , but some captains were responsible for entire squadrons of capital ships , and not all warships were commanded by officers holding the substantive rank of captain . For example , in the last years of the Old Republic , Lorth Needa commanded the " Carrack " - class light cruiser , RSS " Integrity " as a Lieutenant Commander , while the six Dreadnaught Cruisers of Outbound Flight were each under a commander , with a single captain in overall command . Similarly , it seems that the captain in command of the Rendili Home Defense Fleet ' s flagship was a senior officer with extensive command authority . Occasionally , a captain could serve in a subordinate role : for instance , Captain Theb Tobbra was first officer of the New Republic heavy cruiser " Indomitable " during the Koornacht Crisis , with Commodore Brand apparently serving as the ship ' s captain , although he was also overall commander of Task Force Aster . In the Imperial Navy , a rank of Captain of the Line existed , which was typically held by officers commanding a " line " , a formation that normally consisted of around four ships but could range in reality from one to twenty , depending on size and role ; the rank was also typically held by admirals ' adjutants . This was separate from the title of captain held by the commanding officer of any individual ship , but it may still have corresponded to the traditional rank of captain . There was a great deal of prestige attached to the post of ship ' s captain in the Imperial fleet , and the ethos of the Navy honored men who prized and cultivated their relationship with a specific ship : captains might often refuse promotions to administrative posts , or even turn down the command of larger and more capable warships . Civilian use . Civilians in command of a private vessel , even a light freighter such as the " Millennium Falcon " , were also addressed as " captain . " From the early days of the Galactic Republic , the Bureau of Ships and Services , or " BoSS , " was responsible for the licensing , certification , and registration of starship captains . In order to be licensed , a civilian captain during the Imperial era needed to pass numerous oral , written , and practical tests . They also needed a standard background check , documentation of at least ten years as a spacer , and a 300 credit fee . The fee was increased to 500 credits to expedite licensing , which eliminated much of the testing and flight time requirements . Many smugglers operated with forged documents , however , which cost thousands of credits but avoided other legal entanglements . Captain ' s licenses were required to legally buy a starship , obtain an arms load - out permit for a starship , or obtain copies of the " Spacer ' s Information Manual " from the Imperial Space Ministry . Operating a starship without a captain ' s license was a Class Four Infraction under the Imperial Penal Code . The rank of captain would also be used by law enforcement agencies and usually referred to a high ranking officer in the organization . Sports teams such as limmie teams also had captains .