We have recently renewed our Restricted NQE certification with the UK CAA, and in the first quarter of next year, the renewal of our PFCO is due.
We thought it might be worth a post the draw attention to the CAA’s quoted Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to process these applications and renewals.
It is worth noting that the CAA always deals in working days.
Permission for Commercial Operation (PFCO)
If you’re applying for a Standard Permission, then the CAA’s SLA is 28 working days (however you can submit up to 90 working days in advance).
If you’re applying for a Non-Standard Permission, i.e. you are submitting an Operating Safety Case (OSC) then there is no SLA; it is best endeavours and the CAA state that they will keep applicants appraised throughout the process.
National Qualified Entity (NQE and Restricted NQE)
The SLA for NQE applications and renewals (including Restricted NQE) is 90 working days.
On both the SRG1320 form that is used for PFCO applications and renewals, and the SRG1322 form that is used for NQE applications and renewals, there is a sentence that says: “Applications for renewal of permissions may be submitted up to 90 days prior to expiry without loss of validity of the original date.” On the SRG1322 (for NQE applications/renewals), this statement can cause confusion, as the SLA is 90 working days, so this sentence also means 90 working days.
There are a number of free online calculators you can use to easily work out how many days in advance you need to make your submissions; here’s one example (free-online-calculator) where you can enter your certificate date in the ‘starting date’ box, click the ‘-‘ button and enter ’28’ to count back 28 working days.
90 working days is actually almost 4 months in total time – a point worth noting when you are paying for the CAA’s service at the time your application/renewal is submitted.