Aviation recruitment compliance, without chasing a single licence page
GettingDocs takes the chasing out of aviation recruitment compliance for agencies placing contract pilots, B1 and B2 licensed engineers, mechanics, cabin crew and airside ground staff. Amy asks each candidate on WhatsApp or email for whatever is still missing, from the Class 1 medical and Part-66 licence to the five-year history an airside ID pass needs, checks each file as it lands and attaches it to their record in your ATS.
Thanks, Amy · Larkfield Aviation Recruitment
Two B1 engineers start a winter line maintenance contract on Monday week. One file is still short of a licence page and a DBS certificate.
A line maintenance client at a regional airport confirms two B1 engineers for the winter schedule. Neither can work airside until the airport’s ID pass office has their application, and the client wants both files by Tuesday. Here is the same week, twice.
- Thursday, 10 am
The client confirms both engineers. A consultant emails each of them the document list and the pass office deadline.
- Thursday evening
The first engineer replies with his full file from the crew room. The second says he will do it at the weekend.
- Friday
He texts a photo of his Part-66 licence to the consultant’s mobile. It shows the front page only, with no type ratings. Nobody forwards it.
- Monday
His Basic DBS certificate is in a drawer at home, and the GSAT course link is still unopened in his inbox.
- Tuesday
The deadline passes with his file incomplete. His pass application cannot go in, and the client books an engineer from another agency.
The engineer misses the start, the client is a licensed engineer short for the first week of the schedule, and your agency loses the booking.
- Thursday, 10 am
Same call, same two engineers. The placements show in your ATS and Amy messages both on WhatsApp with what each still owes.
- Thursday, 1 pm
The first engineer’s licence, type training certificates and five-year history arrive and are filed on his record as they land.
- Thursday evening
The second sends the front page of his Part-66 licence. Amy tells him the type ratings page is missing and asks again. It arrives ten minutes later.
- Friday
Amy’s next reminder asks for his Basic DBS certificate and GSAT certificate. He photographs the DBS certificate that night and finishes GSAT on Saturday.
- Monday
Both files are complete in your ATS. Your compliance team checks them and the pass applications go to the client a day early.
Both engineers are on shift with their passes from the first day of the contract. Nobody on your team sent a single reminder.
Three steps, and nobody chases anybody
When a first officer, B1 engineer, mechanic, cabin crew member or ramp agent is placed, Amy messages them on WhatsApp or by email from your own domain, wherever they are between rosters. She lists only what is still missing from their file. No portal, no login, no app.
Every file is filed the moment it arrives, then Amy opens it. A licence with the ratings page missing, or a medical certificate too blurred to read, goes back with the reason. Anything she is unsure of goes to a one-click review queue, and she keeps reminding at the time you choose until the file is complete.
Documents are attached to the candidate’s record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate, with Greenhouse coming soon, and copied to Google Drive if you want them there too. Anything already on the record is not asked for again, so your team can see who is ready for their pass application and who is holding it up.
- Pilot licence
- Class 1 medical certificate
- Part-66 licence
- Employment history with gaps explained
- GSAT certificate
No portal, no login. Only what is still missing is ever asked for.
The aviation compliance checklist Amy collects
Operators, maintenance organisations and airports each set their own requirements, but most aviation files in the UK are built from these four groups. Choose a placement type to see a typical file, and Amy asks each pilot, engineer or crew member for exactly those documents.
Pilot licences, Class 1 medicals and type ratings5 of 5 documents
- Pilot licence (UK Part-FCL ATPL or CPL)
- Class 1 medical certificate (UK Part-MED)
- Type rating evidence (rating page and certificate of revalidation)
- Logbook pages (recent hours and hours on type)
- Last licence proficiency check or OPC (LPC or operator proficiency check record)
Part-66 licences for licensed aircraft engineers3 of 3 documents
- Part-66 licence (category B1 or B2 with type ratings, or category A where held)
- Type training certificates (for each aircraft type on the licence)
- Human factors training certificate
Airside pass background check paperwork5 of 5 documents
- Employment history with gaps explained (the last five years, including education and time out of work)
- References (covering the five-year history)
- Basic DBS certificate (or a Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI basic check)
- Overseas criminal record certificate (for each country lived in for six months or more in the last five years)
- GSAT certificate (General Security Awareness Training)
Right to work, cabin crew attestation and payroll6 of 6 documents
- Passport
- Right to work documents (share code or passport)
- Cabin crew attestation
- National Insurance number
- Bank details form
- Signed terms of engagement
Choose aviation when you sign up, or later in Settings, and every document on this list is set up for you straight away. UK accounts also come with Right to Work, DBS Certificate, CV and Driving Licence built in, and on Pro you can add your own document types, named the way your operators and airports name them.
From contract pilots to airside ground handling, every placement gets its own list
A contract captain and a baggage handler owe very different files. Chase rules read your ATS to decide who is chased and for what, so each placement type is asked only for its own documents.
Contract pilots
Captains and first officers on fixed-term or freelance contracts with airlines, charter and business jet operators. Licence, Class 1 medical, type rating, logbook pages and the last proficiency check are on file before the first rostered duty.
Licensed engineers, B1 and B2
Licensed aircraft engineers for line and base maintenance, often for a winter check season or an AOG call. Part-66 licence, type training and human factors certificates come in alongside the airside pass paperwork.
Aircraft mechanics
Mechanics and category A holders supporting licensed engineers in the hangar and on the line, with their licence where held, human factors training and everything the pass office asks for.
Cabin crew
Cabin crew for seasonal and ad hoc flying, with their cabin crew attestation, passport and a complete five-year history so the airside pass is not what holds up the first trip.
Airside ground handling
Ramp agents, baggage handlers and airport security staff working airside, where the five-year history, Basic DBS certificate and GSAT certificate decide whether they start on the day booked.
Documents land in the ATS you already use
Aviation staffing questions
What does an aviation recruitment compliance file usually include?
Pilots typically owe their licence, Class 1 medical certificate, type rating evidence, logbook pages and last proficiency check. Licensed engineers owe their Part-66 licence, type training and human factors certificates. Anyone who needs an airside ID pass adds a five-year employment history with gaps explained, references, a criminal record certificate and GSAT, and everyone adds right to work, National Insurance and payroll details. Clients add their own items.
What is needed for an airside pass background check?
The airport or employer runs the check, but it rests on what the candidate provides: proof of identity, a five-year history of employment, education and any gaps, with references to back it up, and a basic criminal record certificate from DBS, Disclosure Scotland or AccessNI. The CAA treats that certificate as valid for 26 weeks from issue. Anyone who has lived abroad for six months or more in the last five years also needs an overseas criminal record certificate for each of those countries, and GSAT training is required of everyone applying for a full airside pass.
Does GettingDocs verify licences or run DBS and counter-terrorist checks?
No. GettingDocs collects what the candidate sends and checks it is the right document and readable. Checking a licence with the CAA, confirming a medical, taking up references and judging the history stay with your compliance team or the client. GettingDocs does not apply for DBS certificates, and a counter-terrorist check (CTC), where a role needs one, is applied for by the sponsoring employer through the CAA. What GettingDocs gives you is a complete file to start those checks from.
What documents does a B1 or B2 licensed engineer need?
Usually the UK Part-66 aircraft maintenance licence with the right category and type ratings, type training certificates for each aircraft, a human factors training certificate, and the full airside pass paperwork. The maintenance organisation then issues its own certification authorisation once the engineer has started.
How can we get contract pilots and engineers airside faster?
Most of the wait is the candidate finding time to send things between rosters, and the pass application cannot go in until the last item arrives. Asking for everything missing in one message, then reminding at a set time until the file is complete, removes most of that wait. GettingDocs starts as soon as the placement shows in your ATS.
Can GettingDocs chase Class 1 medical renewals?
GettingDocs does not track expiry dates by itself. Chase rules read your ATS, so if a field or status in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate shows a pilot’s medical or a crew member’s DBS certificate needs replacing, a rule asks that person for the new one and files it on their record when it arrives.
Get pilots, engineers and airside crew cleared before the start date
See Amy build an airside pass file from one of your own engineers or pilots on a 15 minute call.
