Transfer, Suspension, Surrender and Revocation of Airworthiness Approvals

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval is granted to a legal entity and in the case of an organisation, this is clearly identified with its company registration number. A CAA approval once granted is not transferrable from one registered company to another.  

When the business assets of a CAA approved organisation (company A) are sold or transferred to another registered company (company B), the approvals issued to company A become null and void and the privileges granted to it can no longer be exercised. 

Information on the legal implications of transferring an approval can be found in the CAA Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information Procedures, Leaflet C-30 (CAP562). 

Suspension of an approval in whole or in part, temporarily suspends the privileges granted under the approval until satisfactory resolution of the circumstances that led to the suspension are resolved to the satisfaction of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). 

Suspension of an approval will normally be as the result of a Level 1 finding being issued by us, in accordance with the applicable regulation. In such a case, organisations will normally be required to provide us with an action plan that details how they intend to return to compliance within the timeframe granted by us. To lift the suspension, organisations will be required to demonstrate compliance and provide details of their preventative actions and root cause analysis.

During the period of suspension, the privileges granted under the approval can no longer be exercised.

Failure to demonstrate compliance within the timescales granted by us may result in actions being taken to revoke the approval.

There is a list of Airworthiness Approved Organisations available, which includes approvals that have been suspended.

Following a request from the Accountable Manager or Compliance Monitoring Manager of the organisation or in the case of an organisation in administration, the administrator, to surrender an approval, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will notify the organisation in writing that the approval has been revoked. The approval certificate and schedule of approval must be returned to us at the address below:

Shared Services Organisational Approvals. 
Civil Aviation Authority
Aviation House
Gatwick Airport South
Beehive Ring Road
West Sussex
RH6 0YR

Once an approval has been revoked, it is permanent and irreversible, if the organisation wishes to hold a CAA approval in the future, they will need to make an application for a new approval. 

Following revocation of the approval, the privileges granted under that approval can no longer be exercised.

An approval may be revoked by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in accordance with the applicable regulation, as a result of a Level 1 finding being issued. In most cases however, the revocation of an approval is as a result of the organisation not taking the appropriate actions to return to compliance following suspension of the approval.

Once an approval has been revoked, it is permanent and irreversible, if the organisation wishes to hold a CAA approval in the future, they will need to make an application for a new approval. 

Following revocation of the approval, the privileges granted under that approval can no longer be exercised.

The approval certificate and schedule of approval must be returned to us at the address below:

Shared Services Organisational Approvals. 
Civil Aviation Authority
Aviation House
Gatwick Airport South
Beehive Ring Road
West Sussex
RH6 0YR

There is a list of Airworthiness Approved Organisations, which includes approvals that have been revoked.

When proposing to suspend or revoke an approval, the approval holder will be given the right to appeal the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposal under Regulation 6 of the Civil Aviation Authority Regulations.

Further details on the appeals process can be found on the Appeal a decision the CAA has made affecting your organisation webpage.

• CAA Regulatory Enforcement Policy (CAP1326)
• Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Information and Procedures (CAAIP) (CAP 562)
• Root cause analysis - Regulation, policy and guidance for UK airworthiness approval holders
• UK Initial Airworthiness Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 (Part 21) 
• UK Continuing Airworthiness Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 (Part M, Part 145, Part 66, Part 147, Part T, Part ML, Part-CAMO, and Part-CAO) 
• British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCAR), Section A, Sub-section 8 (CAP553)