General Requirements for Certification
Unless it’s not required by the specific scope of the Part 135 certificate being sought, the following items
are required for certification:
Company Ownership
An applicant must be a citizen of the United States of America. If the proposed certificate holder will be
owned by a partnership, each member of the partnership must be a U S citizen, if owned by a corporation or
association created or organized under the laws of the United States or of any State, Territory, or
possession of the United States, the president and two-thirds or more of the board of directors and other
managing officers thereof must be a citizen of the United States and at least 75 per cent of the voting
interest must be owned or controlled by persons who are citizens of the United States or of one of its
possessions.
Principal Base of Operation
At the time of application, the applicant must demonstrate via either documentation of ownership, lease
agreement, or a letter of intent that it has established a physical location for its principal base of operation.
Aircraft
An applicant / operator must have the exclusive use of at least one aircraft that meets the requirements for
at least one kind of operation. The applicant must either own or have a lease agreement for a period of 6
continuous months from the time of certification to satisfy the exclusive use requirement. The applicant
may begin the certification process with a letter of intent showing that an aircraft will be purchased or
leased, but in no circumstance will the certification process be completed until the applicant provides a
suitable aircraft.
Once the scope of operation is determined a written statement showing that the aircraft and its equipment
conforms to the requirements of 14 CFR 135.25, including registration, current airworthiness certification,
identification, and current airworthy condition, is required. The certificate holder must also show that the
aircraft meets the requirements for all its intended operations.
Maintenance Requirements for Part 135 operations
Depending on the complexity of the aircraft, and the scope of operation, maintenance for Part 135
operations are more stringent than for Part 91 operations.
Aircraft that are type certificated for a passenger seating configuration, excluding any pilot seat, of nine
seats or less, shall be maintained under parts 91 and 43 of this chapter and §135.415, §135.417, §135.421
and §135.422. An approved aircraft inspection program may be used under §135.419. This can include
annual inspections, 100 hour inspections, and an approved aircraft inspection programs (AAIP).
Aircraft that are type certificated for a passenger seating configuration, excluding any pilot seat, of ten
seats or more, shall be maintained under a maintenance program in §135.415, §135.417, §135.423
through §135.443. This includes a continuous airworthiness maintenance program (CAMP). See §135.425
and AC 120-16G for additional information.
In addition, the aircraft and all its components with manufacturer recommended Time Between Overhauls
(TBO’s) must be complied with for an aircraft operated on a Part 135 certificate. The maintenance records
must be complete with no gaps in documentation, especially for time or cycle limited components. Any
time or cycle limited components that have an incomplete maintenance record must be brought back to a
zero time status.
To ensure that the aircraft and maintenance records are in compliance with the requirements of Part 135,
the FAA will conduct a Conformity Check on the aircraft.
Economic Authority
Applicants who are applying to conduct interstate Commuter operations are required to obtain Economic
Authority from the Department of Transportation (DOT). The DOT issues the economic authority when it
determines that an applicant is “fit, willing, and able” to conduct operations and the applicant has filed
evidence of insurance coverage as described below. Because this is a requirement to complete
certification, an applicant should apply for the economic authority determination as early as possible to
avoid the possibility of delays.
More information and forms are located at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Aviation Policy website.
Applicants who are applying to conduct interstate On-Demand operations must register as an Air Taxi
Operator by filing OST Form 4507 – Air Taxi Operator Registration and Amendments – along with the
evidence of insurance coverage described below, with the FAA Air Transportation Division, Technical
Programs Branch. Applicants must register not later than 30 days prior to the commencement of
operations
Forms and more information, including a How to Become an On-Demand Air Carrier Operator (PDF)
handbook, can be found on the FAA’s Technical Programs Branch website.
Insurance
All U.S. direct air carriers operating in interstate or foreign air transportation must file evidence of aircraft
accident liability insurance coverage that meets the requirements of 14 CFR Part 205 using OST Form 6410
– US Air Carriers Certificate of Insurance – with the FAA Air Transportation Division, Technical Programs
Branch.
A copy of the form and filing information can be found at the FAA’s Technical Programs Branch website.
Management Personnel
In order to become certificated as a Part 135 “Standard” certificate holder, an applicant must designate by
name the individuals who will serve as the Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, and Director of Maintenance.
For the specific experience requirements required to serve in these positions, refer to 14 CFR Part 119.71.
If applying for certification as either a “Basic” or “Single PIC” certificate holder, an applicant may request a
deviation for certain management positions.
Manuals
At the time of formal application, company manuals must be submitted to the FAA.
General Operations Manual (GOM)
The certificate holder’s manual should contain the certificate holder’s operations policies, methods, and
procedures. Crewmembers are required to comply with the operations policies, methods, and procedures
contained in the manual. §135.23 contains a list of the items that are required to be included in the GOM.
Certificate holders that operate aircraft with 9 or less passenger seats generally include their maintenance
procedures in the GOM.
General Maintenance Manual (GMM)
A separate General Maintenance Manual is required for certificate holders that operate aircraft with 10 or
more passenger seats and must include the following three sections:
1.
Administrative policies and procedures;
2.
Detailed instructions for the administration, management, and accomplishment of the elements of the
certificate holder’s maintenance program;
3.
Technical data that describes maintenance standards, methods, techniques, and procedures.
For additional guidance relating to maintenance manual requirements refer to 14 CFR (§135.21, and
§135.427), as applicable.
Aircraft Flight Manual
Part 135, §135.81(c) requires that Part 135 operators maintain a current flight manual (or the equivalent
information for certain aircraft certified without a flight manual) for each aircraft used in their air
transportation operations. To satisfy the Part 135 requirements, operators may use the approved Airplane
Flight Manual (AFM) or the approved Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM), as applicable, or they may develop,
obtain approval for, and use a Company Flight Manual (CFM).
HazMat Manual– Will or Will-Not Carry Program
All certificate holders are required to submit, for FAA approval, a Hazardous Materials Operations and
Training Program, even if they do not intend to carry hazardous materials. The definition of “hazmat
employer” and “hazmat employee” can be found in 49 CFR Part 171, §171.8, and the training requirements
are found in 49 CFR Part 172, Subpart Han.
For additional guidance related to hazmat requirements refer to 14 CFR 135 Subpart K.
Training Programs
An applicant, other than one who only uses one pilot in their operation, is required to submit a training
program for their pilot crewmembers and, if applicable, flight attendants.
Initial Company Training Curriculum
The training curriculum (completed to the extent possible) must be attached to the formal application
letter. Training curriculums must include at least the following curriculum segments, as applicable, for each
crewmember position:
Basic Indoctrination Training
Emergency Training
Crew Resource Management (CRM) Training
Initial Ground and Flight Training
Upgrade Ground and Flight Training
Recurrent Ground and Flight Training
Requalification Training
Differences Ground and Flight Training
Transition Ground and Flight Training
Hazardous Materials (hazmat)
For additional guidance related to training curriculum requirements refer to §135 Subpart H.
Drug and Alcohol Program Requirements
The Department of Transportation's (DOT) rule, 49 CFR Part 40, describes required procedures for
conducting workplace drug and alcohol testing for the federally regulated transportation industry. All air
carriers and operators requiring certification by 14 CFR Part 119 and authorized to conduct Part 135
operations shall have a drug and alcohol program. See 14 CFR Part 120. This program is administered by
the Office of Aerospace Medicine, Drug Abatement Division AAM-820.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security program
requirements for Part 135 certificate holders
Applicants who intend on conducting operations under 14 CFR Part 135 may be required to adopt and
implement a Transportation Security Administration (TSA)-approved security program. The size and scope
of the security program required will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, kind of
operations conducted, maximum certificated take-off weight of the aircraft, aircraft seating capacity, and
whether or not they will enplane or deplane passengers within a sterile area of an airport.
For specific security program applicability and requirements refer 49 CFR Section 1544.101 (a) through (i).
For additional guidance regarding TSA Security Program requirements and to find out how to make
application for approval of your program, contact the TSA at: charters-aircargo-s@tsa.dhs.gov.
Minimum Equipment List (MEL)
In the absence of an approved MEL and an appropriate Operations Specification authorization, any aircraft
listed on a Part 135 Operations Specification, which has inoperative instruments or equipment, may not be
operated (See 135.179). Although not an absolute requirement, it is highly recommended that all certificate
holders submit an MEL for each type of aircraft they will be operating.
Proving and Validation Testing
Part 135 states (See 135.145) that no certificate holder may operate a turbojet aircraft, or an aircraft for
which two pilots are required for operations under VFR, if it has not previously operated such an aircraft in
Part 135 operations in at least 25 hours of proving tests acceptable to the Administrator. Aircraft proving
tests are essentially a full-scale simulation of revenue operations to demonstrate the ability to operate
independently, safely, and in compliance with the applicable CFR’s.
Pilots Records Database (PRD)
PRD was enacted to ensure that air carriers adequately investigate a pilot’s background before allowing
that pilot to conduct commercial air carrier flights. Under PRD, an air carrier cannot place a pilot into service
until after it obtains and reviews the last 5 years of the pilot’s records as specified in PRD. For more
information on PRIA see the current Advisory Circular 120-68.
530-PART135 (530-727-8135)
General Requirements
for Certification
Aviation Computer Systems