Registry change
Cross-jurisdiction transition evidence checklist
This checklist assembles the records evidence an aircraft needs when it moves between authorities, covering configuration acceptability, approval-basis differences, release acceptance, and export and import documents. Work it early, because the receiving authority's requirements drive the list. You finish with an acceptance-gap matrix against the receiving authority, an export-document inventory, and a bridging action list.
When this review is needed
- An aircraft is changing registry and the receiving authority's requirements have to be met.
- Modifications approved under one authority need recognition under another.
- Export and import airworthiness documents are being assembled for the move.
- A bilateral agreement applies and the team needs to know which evidence it actually covers.
The problem
A transition is planned from the aircraft's current paperwork, but the receiving authority does not care what the outgoing authority accepted. A modification approved under one authority may have no recognition path under the next, component releases on one form may need an acceptance route to the other, and the export document may describe a configuration the records no longer match. Built from the wrong end, the list is always incomplete.
What gets reviewed
- Configuration acceptability under the receiving authority
- Approval basis for modifications and the path to recognition
- Acceptance of component releases across the two authorities
- Export airworthiness approval and the importing authority's special conditions
- Maintenance program acceptance under the receiving authority
- Applicable bilateral agreement coverage and its limits
Scope this review
Tell us the asset, the event, and the evidence in scope, and we will outline a focused first engagement.
Send a representative, redacted record set and we will scope the review.
What gets validated
- Each installed modification has a recognition path under the receiving authority
- Component releases meet the receiving authority's acceptance, or a path is identified
- The export airworthiness document reflects the configuration being transferred
- The maintenance program is mapped to one the receiving authority will accept
- Any reliance on a bilateral agreement is confirmed to fall within its actual scope
Evidence normally required
- Current configuration and modification list with approvals
- Release certificates for installed components and equipment
- Export airworthiness approval and supporting documents
- The receiving authority's import and acceptance requirements
- The applicable bilateral agreement and its working procedures
Common discrepancies
- A modification approved under one authority with no recognition path under the next
- Component releases on one authority's form with no acceptance route to the other
- An export document that lists a configuration the records no longer match
- Special conditions from the importing authority not reflected in the package
- Reliance on a bilateral agreement for an item the agreement does not actually cover
What is at stake
An aircraft that arrives with an unrecognized modification or an unaccepted release can stall on the ground at the receiving end while the gap is bridged, with the asset earning nothing. Scoping the evidence from the destination backward, early, keeps the bridging work off the critical path of the move.
How the work runs
Start at the destination
Capture the receiving authority's import and acceptance requirements and any applicable bilateral agreement scope.
Test the current state
Check the configuration, modifications, releases, and program against those requirements and record each gap.
Confirm the export package
Confirm the export airworthiness document and supporting records match the configuration actually being transferred.
Build the bridging list
Turn each acceptance gap into an action with a recognition or acceptance path before the move.
What the buyer receives
- An acceptance-gap matrix against the receiving authority's requirements
- An export-document inventory with status for each item
- A bridging action list to close the recognition and acceptance gaps
Who uses the output
- Continuing-airworthiness management planning the move
- Asset management sequencing the transition against lease or delivery dates
- Records teams assembling the export and import package
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The checklist scopes the records side of a registry change from the receiving authority backward. It connects to the induction checklist on the program side and to the release-document review where individual releases need an acceptance route.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
The receiving authority's rules, not the outgoing ones, set the evidence list. A bilateral agreement may smooth recognition of some approvals and releases, but its scope is finite, so each item is checked against what the agreement actually covers rather than assumed to be in.
Regulatory limits
The checklist identifies acceptance gaps and a path to close them. It does not grant the receiving authority's acceptance, issue an export or import approval, or make an airworthiness determination.
What this review does not cover
- Issuing export or import airworthiness approvals
- Performing the physical survey required for export
- Any airworthiness determination on the aircraft
Specific to this review
- A release or approval valid under one authority is not automatically accepted by another, so each item is checked against the receiving authority's rules.
- The receiving authority's requirements, not the outgoing ones, set the evidence list, so the work is scoped from the destination backward.
- A bilateral agreement has a defined scope, so reliance on it is confirmed item by item rather than treated as blanket recognition.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Export airworthiness approval requirements and special requirements of an importing authority.
European Union / EASA. Continuing airworthiness, maintenance records, CAMO responsibilities, and the airworthiness review process in the EASA system.
International Civil Aviation Organization. International standards for the airworthiness of aircraft and the framework states use for type and continuing airworthiness.
Frequently asked questions
Does a bilateral agreement remove the need for this work?
No. A bilateral agreement can ease recognition of certain approvals and releases, but its coverage is limited. Each item is still checked against what the agreement actually covers and against the receiving authority's rules.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
Talk to an engineer who has done this work
We will walk through your current state, the records or evidence involved, and a scoped first engagement.
Adapt the checklist to your asset, event, and jurisdiction.