Rulemaking and Standardisation

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Rulemaking

This process includes:

  • Develop regulatory material in the field of Air Crew Licensing, including stakeholder consultation and liaison with the European Commission.
  • Develop regulatory material in the field of medical standards for Aircrew and ATCO, including stakeholder consultation and liaison with the European Commission.
  • Develop regulatory material in the field of Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD), including stakeholder consultation and liaison with the European Commission.

Legal Basis

The regulatory framework for these activities is established in key EU regulations, which define the requirements for licensing and medical fitness:

Procedure

The rulemaking process follows a defined and transparent procedure involving consultation with stakeholders, impact assessments, and legal drafting. This ensures that new or amended rules are developed in a coordinated and evidence-based manner.

For a full overview of the process, visit Rulemaking process explained | EASA (europa.eu).

Standardisation

Once regulations are adopted at EU level, the responsibility for implementation lies with the Member States. Only National Competent Authorities (NCAs) are authorised to issue licences. EASA does not issue individual licences but provides technical support and interpretation to facilitate consistent implementation.

To ensure consistency across EASA Member States, the process includes standardisation activities focusing on the oversight of NCAs in the Flight Crew Licensing (FCL), Flight Simulation Training Devices (FSTD), and Medical (MED) domains.

Legal Basis

Regulation 2018/1139 (Basic Regulation) establishes the framework for EU aviation safety rules and EASA's authority.

  • Art. 85: on the monitoring of Member States.

Commission Regulation (EU) No 628/2013 lays down standardisation working methods, which include:

  • Monitoring how NCAs apply Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its implementing rules.
  • Conducting standardisation inspections of NCAs.
  • Verifying that the NCAs are issuing and overseeing certificates in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its implementing rules.
  • Contributing to the assessment of the impact of the implementation by NCAs of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its implementing rules.

Procedure

In relation to examiners standardisation, EASA has the obligation to collect and disseminate the applicable Member State national procedures relating to the conduct of skill tests, proficiency checks, or assessments of competence.

An examiner must review and apply the Member State-specific procedures of the applicant’s licensing authority if this authority is not the same as the one that issued the examiner’s certificate.

To support this, EASA has developed the Examiners Differences Document, which is revised on a quarterly basis. The latest revision can be found in Downloads.

Further information

For additional information, refer to FAQs or contact the relevant authority:

  • Pilots: For questions related to your licence, certificate or rating, contact the NCA that issued it.
  • Cabin crew: For questions related to your cabin crew attestation and assessment of medical fitness:
    • If you are employed: contact your operator’s NCA
    • If you are unemployed: contact the NCA of your residence country.
  • Training organisations and aero-medical centres:
    • located in the EU - contact your NCA
    • located in a third country - further information is available here.
  • NCAs
    • The Agency offers training on Aircrew, Air Operations and other regulations only to its own staff and to members of the national aviation authorities who perform work on behalf of the Agency.
    • NCAs are required to notify the Agency of alternative means of compliance approved within their State.
    • Member States have the flexibility to derogate from the Implementing Rules of the Basic Regulation. Further information is available here.

What are Alternative Means of Compliance and Acceptable Means of Compliance? How can they be used?

Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) provide non-binding standards to meet regulatory requirements. Since AMCs are non-binding, organisations and authorities may propose Alternative Means to comply with the rule (AltMoC) if they can demonstrate that the objective of the regulation is still achieved.

More information is available here: Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Alternative Means of Compliance (AltMoC).

EU-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA)

On 19 November 2020, the European Union and the United States signed two new Annexes under the Agreement on Cooperation in the Regulation of Civil Aviation Safety (BASA). These agreements aim to streamline aviation regulatory processes and reduce duplication in pilot licensing and flight simulator oversight.

Pilot Licensing – Annex 3

The Pilot Licensing Annex establishes a process for converting FAA Private Pilot Licences (PPL) into EU Part-FCL PPL licences. This allows EU-based pilots with an FAA PPL to transition to an EASA Part-FCL PPL in a more efficient and cost-effective way, recognising the similarities between the US and EU regulatory systems.

Key Details:

  • Applies only to Private Pilot Licences (PPL).
  • Does not include Commercial Pilot Licences (CPL) or Airline Transport Pilot Licences (ATPL), which must follow the standard EU conversion process.
  • Ensures that private pilots in the EU operate under EASA regulations while maintaining their qualifications through EASA-approved training organisations.

Read Annex 3: Pilot Licensing.

Technical Implementation Procedures – Licensing (TIP-L)

To support this conversion, the Technical Implementation Procedures – Licensing (TIP-L) outline the specific steps required for converting FAA PPLs into EASA Part-FCL PPLs, including night and instrument ratings. These procedures ensure regulatory compliance while acknowledging the commonalities between FAA and EASA standards.

Read TIP-L: Technical Implementation Procedures – Licensing.

For information on TIP-S, please refer to “EU-US Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA).

EBT

Effective flight crew training is a key part of safe commercial flight operations.

The introduction of Evidence-Based Training (EBT) is the next step in the implementation of best practices across the European aviation community.

EASA has taken a phased approach to EBT implementation:

For future plans on EBT, refer to EPAS Vol II, RMT.0599.

Available resources:

Join the discussion about EBT implementation and access other materials to support your EBT work on the EASA Air Ops Community EBT page.

Related Content

General Publication

Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Integrated Course manual

Flight Crew Licensing Update - EASA’s pilot training paradigm

FAQs - Aircrew training and licensing - Restrictive measures Russia
[pdf]

Position paper on the use of FSTD, other than FFS, in training and checking