Did You Know…About Aircraft Radio Station Licences and Pilot Radio Operator Certificates?

The subject of radio station licences and radio operator certificates causes confusion each year, especially for pilots flying to the USA from Canada and to Canada from the USA.

Let’s deal with radio station licences first.

Most pilots know that both the USA and Canada eliminated the need to carry radio station licences for their own aircraft in their own airspace a few years ago, but what about travel to the other country?

ICAO Convention Article 29 details the documents that each nation is supposed to require for all aircraft. The ICAO Standard specifically states a radio station licence and operator’s permit are required if the aircraft is equipped with radios. However ICAO rules are not the law of the land – ICAO makes recommendations and the nations that are signatories to the Convention agree to either follow the ICAO rules or let ICAO know that they have a “difference” with the ICAO recommendations. Both the USA and Canada are signatories.

In the USA the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets the rules. They do not require US registered aircraft flying in US airspace to have a radio station licence. They do require US registered aircraft that are flying outside of US airspace to have a radio station licence.

Here is what the FCC regulation says:

Title 47: Telecommunication, PART 87—AVIATION SERVICES, Subpart B—Applications and Licenses

§ 87.18   Station license required.

(a) Except as noted in paragraph (b) of this section, stations in the aviation service must be licensed by the FCC either individually or by fleet.

(b) An aircraft station is licensed by rule and does not need an individual license issued by the FCC if the aircraft station is not required by statute, treaty, or agreement to which the United States is signatory to carry a radio, and the aircraft station does not make international flights or communications. Even though an individual license is not required, an aircraft station licensed by rule must be operated in accordance with all applicable operating requirements, procedures, and technical specifications found in this part.

US Customs has been given the job of enforcing the FCC regulations for US registered aircraft entering the USA to see if they had one while flying internationally.  Under US law the station licence is still required for US registered aircraft when entering the USA, although not for flying within the USA.

Canadian aircraft entering and flying in the USA do not have to comply with § 87.18, but do have to abide by the Canadian rules.

The Canadian regulations are found in The Radiocommunication Act and the Radiocommunication Regulations made under the Act. Section 15.1 of the Radiocommunication Regulations says:

Exemption of Radio Apparatus on Board an Aircraft

15.1 (1) This section applies in respect of an aircraft that is

(a) registered or licensed under an Act of Parliament; or

(b) owned by, or under the direction or control of, Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

(2) A radio apparatus that is operated on board an aircraft in the performance of the aeronautical service or the radiodetermination service is exempt from subsection 4(1) of the Act, in respect of a radio licence, if

(a) the operation of the radio apparatus occurs when

(i) the aircraft is within Canada,

(ii) the aircraft is outside Canada and the territory of another country, or

(iii) the aircraft is in the territory of another country with which Canada has entered into a reciprocal agreement that confers similar privileges on Canadians.

This means that Canadian registered aircraft flying in Canada do not require a station licence, but that Canadian aircraft flying in the airspace of any other country do require a station licence, unless a reciprocal agreement is in effect exempting them. No reciprocal agreement has been signed with the USA.

Neither Canada Customs nor Industry Canada inspectors (who have responsibility for enforcement of the Radiocommunication Regulations in Canada) have been asking to see station licences for aircraft entering Canada or flying in Canada recently, but they can do so at any time. Transport Canada does not carry out “ramp-check” inspections for radio licences on foreign aircraft as those documents are Industry Canada’s responsibility.

So does a Canadian aircraft need a radio station licence to fly in the USA? Legally the answer is “yes”.

Does a US aircraft need a radio station licence to fly in Canada? Legally the answer is also “yes”.

Now let’s look at the pilot qualification – the radio operating certificate.

Both the USA and Canada require radio operators certificates (the licence for the person using the radio) under certain circumstances.

In the USA the FCC issues a Restricted Radiotelephone Operators Permit for US pilots, but only for international use – they are not required while flying in the USA. There is no US rule requiring a Canadian pilot to have a radio operating certificate while flying in the USA

In Canada the equivalent document is called a Restricted Radiotelephone Operators certificate or the newer term - Restricted Operator Certificate with Aeronautical Qualification.  The Canadian Radiocommunication Regulations say:

33. A person may operate radio apparatus in the aeronautical service, maritime service or amateur radio service only where the person holds an appropriate radio operator certificate.

So an operating certificate is always needed wherever a Canadian pilot is operating a radio on a Canadian aircraft. There is no Canadian rule requiring a US pilot to have a radio operating certificate while flying in Canada.

In the US enforcement of the requirement for a pilot to have a radio operating certificate when flying a US aircraft coming back from an international flight is delegated to US Customs.

In Canada the responsibility to enforce the regulations requiring an operator’s certificate is Industry Canada’s. They have not been inspecting Canadian pilots recently to ensure that pilots are carrying this licence, but can do so at any time. As with the station licence TC does not “ramp check” pilots for the operator’s certificate as that is Industry Canada’s responsibility.

So does a US radio operator require a Restricted Radiotelephone Operators Permit? By US rules the answer is “yes” at all times when they are flying outside of the USA.

Does a Canadian radio operator require a Restricted Operator Certificate? The answer is “yes” at all times in Canada and outside.