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Upskill / Aviation Standards and Regulations / Aviation licensing, Course 1: foundations

Aviation licensing, Course 1: foundations

Aviation licensing foundations: why, who and the global framework

By Aerospace Garage Desk · Introductory · 45 minutes · 24 narrated pages · Updated October 2026

What you will be able to do

  • ✓ Define licence, rating, certificate and approval, and describe the life of a licence from eligibility to renewal
  • ✓ Explain the safety, accountability and cross-border reasons for licensing, and the workforce pressures on it today
  • ✓ Map the stakeholders: rule makers, the organisations that deliver licensing, licence holders and the public
  • ✓ Explain Articles 32, 33, 37 and 38 of the Convention, the difference between Standards and Recommended Practices, and what Annex 1 contains
  • ✓ List the roles licensed under Annex 1, and the roles that employers authorise instead
  • ✓ Describe a licensing authority's duties, how ICAO audits them, and how tasks, but not responsibility, are delegated

Course content

Session 1 · What aviation licensing is

1.1

  1. Permission to do a job others rely on · free preview
  2. Licence, rating, certificate, approval
  3. The life of a licence
  4. Worked example: is this pilot legal for tomorrow's flight?
Session 2 · Why licensing exists

1.2

  1. Safety depends on individual acts
  2. Accountability and trust
  3. A common language across borders
  4. From the investigation file: Colgan Air Flight 3407 and the training record
Session 3 · Who is involved

1.3

  1. The rule makers
  2. Those who deliver the system
  3. Licence holders and the public
  4. Worked example: when is the next language test due?
Session 4 · The Chicago Convention and Annex 1

1.4

  1. 1944: the foundation
  2. Annexes, Standards and Recommended Practices
  3. What Annex 1 contains
  4. Worked example: tracking an Annex 1 amendment to the national rule book
Session 5 · Who gets licensed

1.5

  1. Flight crew
  2. Beyond the flight deck
  3. Who is usually not licensed
  4. Worked example: which licence category can sign for which task?
Session 6 · The State as licensor

1.6

  1. What a licensing authority must have
  2. Checked by ICAO
  3. Delegation and responsibility
  4. Worked example: checking a logbook before a licence is issued

Who this course is for

Upskill courses are for professional development and are not approved by any aviation authority. Learner Terms

Course content © Aerospace Garage Limited. All rights reserved.