Converting Between UK CAA and EASA Part-66 Licences

Searches for "UK CAA EASA licence conversion" usually come from engineers in one of three situations: holding an EASA licence and wanting to work on UK-registered aircraft, holding a UK licence and moving to an EU employer, or wanting both licences. Before 2023 there were formal transfer routes. In 2026 there are none, and the practical question is no longer "how do I convert" but "which of my exams and experience will the other authority accept".

This guide explains what changed and when, what each direction looks like now, how dual licences work, what it costs and where FAA licences fit. Part-66 Prep is an independent study aid, not EASA, the UK CAA or any authority; transitional rules have changed several times since 2021, so check the authority's current pages before you plan exams. For the exam differences themselves, see EASA vs UK CAA Part-66.

What changed after Brexit

Until 31 December 2020 the UK was an EASA member state and the CAA issued EASA Part-66 licences. From 1 January 2021 EU aviation law was retained in UK law, and the CAA became the issuing authority for UK Part-66 licences under the retained Part-66. Since then:

Date	What happened
1 January 2021	Two systems: EASA licences from EU member states, UK licences from the CAA
31 December 2022	The CAA's route for EU licence holders to get a UK licence based on their EU licence closed at midnight. From 1 January 2023 the UK no longer recognises EASA-issued licences or certificates for UK-registered aircraft
12 June 2024	The EU exam standard changed under Regulation (EU) 2023/989; the UK kept the old one
31 December 2025	The CAA's reactivation route for UK licences transferred to an EU state before exit closed

So the routes that people still describe in forums, transfers, validations and reactivations, have all ended. What remains is the normal application process in each system.

Key fact: The CAA says it has no mechanism to accept a licence issued by another state as an exemption from UK Part-66, and EASA says a licence from a non-member state cannot be rendered valid as an EASA licence. Each authority now only issues its own licence on its own evidence.

EASA licence holder wanting a UK licence

You apply for a UK licence like any other applicant, through the CAA Customer Portal, and pay £455 per category as of October 2026. The application guide covers the process. The issue is evidence. The CAA's post-EU-exit licensing page sets the rules, checked in October 2026:

Module passes

• EASA Part-147 certificates of recognition dated on or before 31 December 2022 are accepted for 10 years from their date for basic modules and courses, and 3 years for type training.
• EASA certificates dated after 31 December 2022 are not accepted. Any module passed after that date must come from a UK Part-147 organisation (which can be located anywhere in the world) or from a CAA exam.
• Certificates from certain revoked organisations are refused whatever their date; the CAA names them on its page.

In practice: an engineer who completed an EASA basic course in 2021 can still use those certificates for a UK application until 2031. An engineer who passed EASA modules in 2024 must pass those modules again under UK rules, at UK paper sizes, with essays in Modules 7, 9 and 10.

Experience and type ratings

Experience gained outside a UK Part-145 organisation can count if it meets 66.A.30 and the CAA can verify it with the organisation concerned, so EASA Part-145 experience is not wasted. On-the-job training for a first type rating is stricter: OJT done outside the UK is only accepted if it was carried out by a UK-approved Part-145 organisation with OJT procedures approved by the CAA. The CAA's temporary acceptance of OJT from EASA Part-145 organisations completed before 31 December 2022 ran until 31 December 2025. Type training must also have been started and completed within the 3 years before the application.

Module 10 in particular

Module 10 aviation legislation is the module where the content genuinely differs, because each system now teaches its own law. The UK Module 10 covers the UK framework with the CAA as authority and has 40 questions plus an essay for B1 and B2; the EASA Module 10 covers the EU framework and has 44 questions and no essay. The CAA's page does not single out Module 10: a pre-2023 EASA Module 10 certificate falls under the same 10-year acceptance as any other module, and a later one is not accepted. If you need to sit UK Module 10, the Module 10 questions guide explains how to prepare, and you can try Module 10 paper 1 with UK CAA rules selected on the start screen.

UK licence holder wanting an EASA licence

The EASA Part-66 FAQs are blunt: a licence issued by a country other than an EASA member state cannot be rendered valid as an EASA Part-66 licence, and such licences are not mutually recognised in the European system. You apply for a new licence to the competent authority of an EU member state (or Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) on EASA Form 19, meeting its requirements.

What that means for exams:

1. Modules passed in the EASA system before 2021 were EASA exams, including those taken at UK Part-147 organisations when they held EASA approval. Whether an authority still accepts a specific certificate, within the 10-year window, is for that authority to confirm.
2. Modules passed only under the UK system since 2021 are not EASA exams. Under 66.A.25(d) an authority may grant credits for other technical training and examination it considers equivalent, through an approved examination credit report, but nothing obliges it to. Plan on sitting EASA exams unless the authority tells you otherwise in writing.
3. The EASA papers follow the 2024 standard: essays only in Module 7, a maximum of three attempts per module in 12 months, and different paper sizes in several modules (for example Module 8 is 24 questions, Module 13 for B2 is 188).

Experience gained in UK organisations can usually be presented as evidence of experience; under 66.A.30(e) an authority can accept experience gained outside its own system when it judges it equivalent. Again, ask before you plan.

Holding both licences

Many engineers who work for organisations with both UK and EASA approvals hold two licences. The practical points:

• Two applications, two fees, two renewals. Each licence has its own five-year cycle and its own authority. The renewal guide covers both.
• Two sets of exam evidence. Since 2023, a UK certificate does not count for EASA and an EASA certificate does not count for the UK. Some Part-147 organisations hold both UK and EASA approvals and can examine for each system, which can let you sit both versions of a module close together. Ask your organisation how it schedules them.
• Different papers for the same module. Several modules differ in size, and Modules 9 and 10 have essays only in the UK version. Practise for each system separately.
• Different attempt rules. Three attempts in 12 months under EASA rules; three consecutive attempts then a one-year wait under UK rules, with a 90-day wait after a fail in both. If you have failed the same module in the other system, ask your exam centre how it treats that attempt before you book.

The Part-66 exams hub links every rule guide, including resits and booking CAA exams.

Three common situations

These examples show how the rules apply. They are illustrations, not rulings: the authority decides each application.

An EASA B1.1 engineer from 2019 moving to a UK operator

Basic course completed at an EU Part-147 organisation in 2019, EASA licence issued in 2021, working at an EU Part-145 since. The basic certificates are dated before 31 December 2022, so the CAA accepts them for 10 years from their date, until 2029. Experience at the EU Part-145 can count if the CAA can verify it. The first type rating is the harder part: OJT done in an EASA organisation is no longer accepted, so it has to be done under a UK Part-145 organisation with CAA-approved OJT procedures, and type training must be within 3 years of applying. The deadline to watch is 2029, when the basic certificates reach 10 years and can no longer support a first UK application on their own.

A UK apprentice who wants an EASA licence too

Modules passed at a UK Part-147 organisation since 2023 are UK exams. For an EASA licence, the apprentice needs EASA module passes, usually by sitting the EASA version of each module at an organisation with EASA Part-147 approval, at the EASA paper sizes (Module 9 with no essay, Module 8 at 24 questions and so on). Some organisations hold both approvals and may be able to schedule both versions close together.

A UK licence holder relocating to the EU

A licensed B2 engineer with UK passes from 2022 to 2025 moves to an EU employer. The UK licence gives no EASA privileges. The engineer applies to the member state authority on EASA Form 19. Unless the authority grants credits in writing, plan for EASA exams in every module, and in particular Module 10, which covers EU law. The engineer can keep the UK licence by renewing it with the CAA, which is useful if they may return or work on UK-registered aircraft.

What it costs

There is no conversion fee because there is no conversion process. The costs are those of a normal application plus any exams you need to repeat.

Item	UK CAA (as of October 2026)	EU
Licence grant per category	£455	set by each authority
Module exam	£60 per attempt at a CAA venue; Part-147 prices vary	set by the authority or Part-147 organisation
Type rating endorsement	£183	set by each authority
Rejected or withdrawn application	£242 deducted	varies

UK figures come from the CAA application pages and the CAA Scheme of Charges (ORS5). The Part-66 licence cost guide adds training and study costs. We do not quote EU fees we have not checked.

A worked illustration, clearly an example and not a quote: an EASA B1.1 holder who passed every module in 2024 and wants a UK B1.1 licence would need all 13 UK module exams. At a CAA venue that is 13 × £60 = £780 in exam fees if every exam is passed first time, plus £455 for the licence, before any training, travel or study materials.

FAA A&P and other third-country licences

An FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate is not convertible to Part-66 in either system. EASA's FAQ notes that the bilateral agreements between the EU and the US, Canada, Brazil, China and Japan do not cover maintenance licences, and the CAA has no mechanism to accept another state's licence in place of UK Part-66. The CAA's own page for UK-resident A&P holders deals only with licence verification letters, which it stopped sending to the FAA on 30 September 2024.

A&P holders therefore sit the Part-66 modules for their category. Experience on FAA Part-145 repair stations may count towards 66.A.30 if the authority accepts it as equivalent and can verify it, which can shorten the route compared with a newcomer.

What to do next

1. Decide which licence you actually need, based on where the aircraft you will certify are registered and which approvals your employer holds.
2. List every module pass you have, with its date and the organisation's approval number (UK.147 or a member state's EASA approval).
3. Check each against the rules above, then confirm with the authority before booking exams.
4. For modules you must sit again, start with the free papers for the right system, for example Module 10 paper 1 and Module 9 quick practice, and take the free B1.1 diagnostic to see where you stand. The free UK CAA exam guide summarises UK essays, attempts and booking.
5. Use Pro for papers 2 to 10 in both EASA and UK sizes when you need more practice.