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UK Civil Aviation Regulations

These are published by the CAA on our UK Regulations pages. EU Regulations and EASA Access Guides published by EASA no longer apply in the UK. Our website and publications are being reviewed to update all references. Any references to EU law and EASA Access guides should be disregarded and where applicable the equivalent UK versions referred to instead.



If a type rating or class rating issued onto your licence has expired, you are no longer allowed to exercise the privileges of that rating. Ratings can be renewed after they have expired or revalidated up to three months before they expire.

Renew your rating

ATO assessment

To renew your rating, you must report to an approved training organisation (ATO) for an assessment to see whether you can undergo a proficiency check to renew the rating immediately or whether you will need to take refresher training first.

Proficiency check

If the ATO assessment indicates that your flying skills are of an appropriate level, the ATO will issue you with a course completion certificate (CCC) for your assessment which will allow you to take a formal proficiency check with an approved examiner.

If you pass the proficiency check, the examiner will endorse your rating with a new expiry date by signing the relevant section of your licence and entering the new date.

For a rating to be endorsed with a new expiry date, it must be displayed on the front of your licence. Ratings on the back of your licence are not valid, regardless of any endorsements.

The examiner must forward to the CAA a copy of the examiner’s report from your proficiency check.

Refresher training

If your ATO assessment indicates that your flying skills need to improve before you take a formal proficiency check, then you will need to undergo refresher training. The ATO will determine how much refresher training you must take with reference to the Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) guidelines published by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The AMC guidelines take into account factors such as your total flying experience, the complexity of the activities covered by the privileges of the rating and the amount of time that has passed since your rating expired.

The ATO should develop an individual course of refresher training suited to your needs.

Once you have successfully completed your refresher training, the ATO will issue you with a CCC which will allow you to progress to a formal proficiency check with an approved examiner.

Revalidate your rating

If your rating will expire within three months, you can apply directly to take a proficiency check at an ATO to have the rating revalidated, without having to take an assessment first.

Alternative means of compliance

If you hold the same rating on a current, valid, ICAO-compliant licence from another licensing authority and the rating has not yet expired, you can apply directly to take a Proficiency Check at an ATO to have your rating renewed, without having to take an assessment first.

Your validating medical certificate for the licence onto which the rating is issued must also be current and valid.

Please note you can only hold EASA licences through one member state, and that should be the state which holds your medical records.