Before providing an Air Traffic Control (ATC) service, an individual must be appropriately qualified and licensed.
They must hold an Air Traffic Controller’s (ATCO) Licence that includes an associated rating and rating endorsement
appropriate to the task. ATCO licences are issued by the CAA following completion of the appropriate approved initial
training courses, examinations and assessments.
Ratings indicate the type of ATC service you may provide, while their associated rating endorsements indicate
specialist tasks within those ratings.
Maintenance of the ATCO Licence
The assessment of competence for revalidation of a unit endorsement may be carried out within the three month period
preceding the date of expiry of the current unit endorsement. If the revalidation process is completed before the 3
month period, then its’ validity period shall start not later than 30 days from the date on which the assessment is
completed.
Provided the controller is assessed as competent, the unit endorsement will be revalidated for 12 months from the
date of expiry of the current endorsement unless an alternative validity period has been authorised by the CAA. Where
the unit wishes to align the expiry dates of all unit endorsements held by a controller, a unit endorsement may be
revalidated for a shorter period. This information is recorded on form SRG 1416 (Record of Revalidation of an ATCO Unit
Endorsement).
Format of the ATCO Licence
The format of the licence has been determined by Regulation (EU) 2015/340 and each page does not include the name of
the holder as was previously the case with Regulation (EU) 805/2011 licences.
You must not cut up your licence into separate pages. The licence must be kept whole but can be folded as
required.