Certification records
STC status records review
An STC status records review is for lessors, airlines, and acquisition teams confirming that the supplemental type certificates recorded on an aircraft are real, installed, and supported. It runs before a transaction, a return, or a registry change. It verifies each STC against its installation evidence and approved data, the continued-airworthiness instructions it carries, and its validity in the jurisdiction the aircraft operates under. You receive an STC register, a list of unsupported or unvalidated STCs, and the evidence needed to close each gap.
When this review is needed
- A buyer needs the STCs on an aircraft listed, evidenced, and confirmed as actually installed.
- An aircraft is changing registry and each STC has to be checked for validity under the new authority.
- A return condition references the STC standard and the recorded STCs must be proven against it.
- An STC is listed but its installation evidence, approved data, or ICA cannot be located.
The problem
STCs are recorded as a line on a list, but each one is a certificate that approves a specific installation under a specific data set, often issued by a holder other than the manufacturer. The list says the STC is on the aircraft, while the installation evidence, the approved data package, the ICA, and the proof of validity in the operating jurisdiction sit elsewhere or nowhere. An STC that cannot be evidenced or that was never validated for the registry the aircraft moved to is a configuration the records do not actually support.
What gets reviewed
- Each STC recorded on the aircraft and the installation it approves
- Installation evidence tying the STC to this specific aircraft and the work that embodied it
- The approved data package the STC was installed against
- Instructions for Continued Airworthiness associated with each STC
- Validity of each STC in the jurisdiction the aircraft operates under or is moving to
- Interaction between STCs, where one installation affects or supersedes another
Scope this review
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What gets validated
- Each recorded STC is supported by installation evidence on this aircraft
- Every STC installation references the approved data it was embodied against
- Instructions for Continued Airworthiness for each STC are present and reflected in the maintenance program
- Each STC is valid in the operating jurisdiction, or its validation path is recorded
- Interacting STCs are checked for compatibility rather than read in isolation
- STC effectivity matches the aircraft serial number and configuration recorded
Evidence normally required
- The list of STCs recorded on the aircraft
- STC certificates and installation evidence
- Approved data packages referenced by each STC
- Instructions for Continued Airworthiness for each STC
- Validation or acceptance records for STCs across jurisdictions
- The maintenance program showing STC-driven tasks
Common discrepancies
- An STC listed with no installation evidence tying it to this aircraft
- An STC installation with no reference to the approved data it was embodied against
- Missing Instructions for Continued Airworthiness for an installed STC
- An STC never validated for the jurisdiction the aircraft moved to
- Interacting STCs that have not been assessed for compatibility
- An STC recorded against a serial number outside its stated effectivity
What is at stake
An STC without its installation evidence or its jurisdictional validation can put a recorded configuration in doubt. The installation may need re-evidencing, an STC unvalidated under the operating authority can require a fresh validation or removal, and the missing ICA leaves the continued-airworthiness tasks for that installation unaccounted for.
Move from findings to resolution
Move from findings to a documented resolution path.
How the work runs
List the STCs
Compile every STC recorded on the aircraft with the installation each one approves.
Evidence each one
Match each STC to its installation evidence, approved data, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness on this aircraft.
Check validity
Confirm each STC is valid in the operating jurisdiction or record the validation path it needs.
Register and route
Record unsupported, unvalidated, or interacting STCs and recommend how to resolve each.
What the buyer receives
Who uses the output
- Records teams assembling the STC package for a transaction or registry change
- Continuing-airworthiness staff confirming STC tasks are in the maintenance program
- Asset and acquisition teams pricing configuration and validation risk
How the work fits into the transaction or program
The review confirms the non-manufacturer changes recorded on an aircraft are evidenced and valid where it operates, so STC gaps surface before a return or a registry change relies on them. It complements a modification status review covering manufacturer changes and feeds the configuration baseline of record.
Aircraft-specific considerations
STC applicability is set by aircraft serial number, prior configuration, and interactions with other installed STCs, so two aircraft of the same type can carry different valid STC sets. The review reads each STC against the specific tail and its existing installations rather than a generic type list.
Jurisdiction-specific considerations
An STC issued by one authority is not automatically valid under another, and acceptance often depends on a bilateral arrangement and a validation process. The review records, for each STC, whether it is valid in the operating jurisdiction or carries a validation path, and treats an unvalidated STC after a registry change as a finding.
Regulatory limits
The review confirms that recorded STCs are evidenced, supported by data and ICA, and identified for validity in the operating jurisdiction. It does not issue, validate, or transfer an STC, and it does not make an airworthiness determination on the installed configuration.
What this review does not cover
- Obtaining, validating, or transferring an STC
- Engineering approval of an STC installation or its data
- Any airworthiness determination on the modified configuration
Specific to this review
- An STC is a certificate held by a specific party for a specific installation, so a line on a status list is not evidence that the STC is installed or that its data package exists.
- Cross-border validity is a defining check, because an STC valid under the issuing authority can be unvalidated under the authority the aircraft moved to.
- STCs interact, so one installation can affect or supersede another, and the review reads them as a set rather than a list of independent line items.
Sources
U.S. Government (eCFR). Type certificates, STCs (Subpart E), TSO authorizations (Subpart O), PMA (Subpart K), and export airworthiness approvals (Subpart L).
Federal Aviation Administration. STC application process, certification basis, and continued airworthiness obligations of an STC holder.
European Union / EASA. EASA design and production certification, STCs, ETSO authorizations, and EASA Form 1 release.
European Union / EASA. Continuing airworthiness, maintenance records, CAMO responsibilities, and the airworthiness review process in the EASA system.
Frequently asked questions
Why does an STC need checking again at a registry change?
An STC is approved under a specific authority. When the aircraft moves to another authority, that STC may need validation before it is valid there, so a registry change is a common point for STC findings to appear.
Relevant glossary terms
Related pages
Where this fits
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We will walk through your current state, the records or evidence involved, and a scoped first engagement.
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