1. The Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness — Structure and Current Edition

Continuing airworthiness is governed by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014. EASA republishes it through its eRules project as the Easy Access Rules (EAR) for Continuing Airworthiness — a consolidated publication that combines the officially published EU regulation with the related Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Guidance Material (GM). EASA expressly notes the EAR is not an official publication; the legally binding texts remain the Regulation itself and the relevant ED Decisions. It is, however, the standard working reference for industry.

Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 contains several Annexes (Parts):

• Annex I — Part-M (continuing airworthiness management requirements)
• Annex II — Part-145 (approved maintenance organisations)
• Annex III — Part-66 (aircraft maintenance licence / certifying staff)
• Annex IV — Part-147 (maintenance training organisations)
• Annex Va — Part-T (continuing airworthiness of aircraft in third-country operation)
• Annex Vb — Part-ML (lighter continuing airworthiness regime for smaller general-aviation aircraft)
• Annex Vc — Part-CAMO (Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisations)
• Annex Vd — Part-CAO (Combined Airworthiness Organisations)

The EAR is published on the EASA website at the Easy Access Rules library (easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/easy-access-rules), with the Continuing Airworthiness book at the Continuing Airworthiness page. As of mid-2026 the current content revision is the Revision from September 2025, which incorporated Corrigendum II to ED Decision 2023/019/R covering the review of Part-66 and the introduction of new training methods and teaching technologies. EASA’s page carries an explicit note that Regulation (EU) 2025/111 is not incorporated into this revision but is planned for the next one in 2026. A March 2026 “enhanced online” re-release was a platform/format refresh of the September 2025 content rather than a new content revision.

2. What “Competence / Competency” Means in EASA Law

EASA defines the term in the guidance to Part-145. GM1 to Annex II (Part-145) Definitions states:

Competency — is a combination of individual skills, practical and theoretical knowledge, attitude, training, and experience.

There is an essentially identical definition in Part-CAMO. GM1 to Annex Vc (Part-CAMO) Definitions uses the same wording, the only difference being the plural “attitudes”:

Competency — is a combination of individual skills, practical and theoretical knowledge, attitudes, training, and experience.

In plain terms, competence is a holistic state. A person is not competent merely because they attended a course, hold a licence, or have years on the job. Competence emerges when skills, knowledge, the right attitude/behaviour, appropriate training and relevant experience all combine and can be demonstrated.

How competency is achieved and controlled

The rules require the organisation to assess and continuously control competence:

• For maintenance organisations, 145.A.30(e) requires the organisation to establish and control the competence of personnel. AMC1/AMC2 145.A.30(e) require competence to be assessed before unsupervised work and “controlled on a continuous basis,” and set out what the competence-assessment procedure must contain (who assesses, when, validation of qualifications, methods for initial and continuous assessment, and corrective action for unsatisfactory results).
• For CAMOs, CAMO.A.305(g) requires an equivalent competence procedure. AMC1 CAMO.A.305(g) states that technical-support personnel are assessed for competency before unsupervised work commences and competency is controlled on a continuous basis, by evaluating on-the-job performance and/or testing of knowledge by qualified personnel, training records and experience records.

So competency is built through a blend of training + experience + on-the-job performance, and verified through a documented competence assessment owned by the organisation.

3. Courses for Licensing vs Courses for Competency

This is the crux of the matter for a licence-seeker.

Licensing courses

These lead toward an Aircraft Maintenance Licence (AML) under Part-66 and require formal approval. They are:

• Part-66 basic-knowledge training and examination — the licence Modules (e.g. Modules 1–17 for the relevant category/sub-category); and
• Aircraft Type Training — theoretical and practical, with associated examination/assessment, that counts toward a type rating endorsement on the licence.

These must be delivered/examined by a Part-147 approved Maintenance Training Organisation (with a narrow “direct approval” exception for type training that a competent authority may grant case-by-case under 66.B.130).

Competency courses

These are internal/organisational training to make staff competent for their tasks — human factors (required by 145.A.30(e)), continuation training for certifying staff (M.A.607 / 145.A.35 / CAO.A.040), fuel tank safety, EWIS, SMS, regulatory/awareness courses, general familiarisation, and so on. None of these lead to a licence, and none require a Part-147 approval or an EASA course approval.

4. Part-147 Approval — What It Actually Covers

A Part-147 approval (Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014) is an organisational approval that authorises a Maintenance Training Organisation to:

• deliver approved basic (knowledge) training for Part-66 categories/sub-categories;
• conduct the basic examinations that feed the licence; and
• deliver and examine aircraft type training that counts toward a type rating.

A Part-147 approval can only be granted to an organisation that demonstrates capability to conduct training and examinations on the complete syllabus of at least one (sub)category of the Part-66 licence. Crucially, EASA’s published Part-147 FAQ confirms that Part-147 is not a generic “training approval”: courses outside the scope of Part-66 cannot be part of the approval schedule of a Part-147 organisation, this does not prevent the organisation from providing such courses, and the scope, content and delivery methods of those courses are not reviewed by the Agency or the EASA Member States as part of the Part-147 audit scope.

In other words, even a Part-147-approved school’s non-Part-66 courses (e.g. continuation/awareness training) are not “EASA approved” — they sit entirely outside the Part-147 approval.

5. EASA “Approved Courses” Policy — EASA Does Not Approve or Run Commercial Courses

This is the single most important point for the licence-seeker’s question. Under the EASA system, EASA does not approve, certify or endorse individual commercial training courses or course providers. The only formal approval is the organisational Part-147 certificate — and even that is granted by the competent authority: a national aviation authority for organisations inside the EASA Member States, or EASA itself only for organisations located outside the EASA Member States (the “Foreign Part-147” route).

Two official EASA pages support this:

• EASA’s Aviation Training at EASA page states that EASA offers training only to its own staff and to members of the national aviation authorities who perform work on behalf of the Agency — i.e. EASA is not a public course provider.
• EASA’s Part-147 FAQ confirms EASA does not issue instructor licences, that instructors can only exercise instruction privileges through the approval of a training organisation, and that courses outside Part-66 scope are not reviewed by the Agency.

For training inside EASA Member States, EASA is not even the approving body — the national aviation authority is. So “EASA approved my course content” is not a thing that exists for competency training. Approval is organisational (Part-147) and is held by an organisation, not attached to an individual commercial course.

6. Training for Competency Needs No EASA/CAA Approval — But Must Satisfy Organisational Requirements

Training delivered purely to build competency — not leading to a licence — requires no EASA and no competent-authority course approval. What it does need is to satisfy the organisational requirements of the receiving maintenance organisation or CAMO:

• the training programme described in the organisation’s exposition (the MOE for a Part-145 organisation, the CAME for a CAMO); and
• the competence-assessment procedure required by 145.A.30(e) / CAMO.A.305(g).

EASA’s guidance confirms the chain of responsibility: where Part-M, Part-ML, Part-145 or Part-CAO requires staff to be trained, the appropriateness of that training is assessed during the audits of those particular organisations. In other words, the receiving organisation’s quality/compliance-monitoring system — itself audited by the competent authority — is what validates the training.

Industry practice confirms this reading. Established training providers openly state that there is no EASA organisation approval to deliver regulatory courses such as Human Factors (to comply with 145.A.30), Fuel Tank Safety, EWIS, SMS or quality-auditing techniques, and that the approval — in reality “acceptance” — comes from the receiving Part-CAMO, Part-145 or Part-ORO organisation. Such certificates from non-Part-147 providers are routinely accepted on the strength of the receiving organisation’s vetting, not on an EASA approval.

This means an organisation such as Aviathrust — per its own website, established in Malta and delivering EASA-rules-based training in CAMO, Part-145, airworthiness and compliance online in a synchronous format — can lawfully and validly deliver competency, continuation, familiarisation, awareness and regulatory training that maintenance organisations recognise, without that training being “EASA Approved,” as long as the material meets the receiving organisation’s procedures and is accepted through its quality system. For general familiarisation courses feeding CAMO roles, AMC1 CAMO.A.305(c) indicates such courses can be delivered by a Part-147 organisation, the manufacturer, or any other organisation accepted by the competent authority.

7. Conclusion — The Right Question for a Licence-Seeker

If you are pursuing an Aircraft Maintenance Licence and you ask a provider “Is your training EASA approved?”, the honest, regulation-accurate answer depends entirely on which training you mean:

• For your Part-66 licence Modules and aircraft Type Training — yes, these must be delivered/examined by a Part-147 approved organisation (or, for type training, under a competent-authority direct approval). Approval here is real, organisational and mandatory. Check that the provider holds a Part-147 certificate with the relevant scope, or that exams are taken at a Part-147 organisation / with the competent authority.
• For competency, continuation, familiarisation, awareness or regulatory training — “EASA Approved” is the wrong test, because EASA does not approve individual courses at all, and these courses do not lead to a licence. What matters is whether the content satisfies the receiving organisation’s MOE/CAME training programme and competence-assessment procedure, and is accepted by that organisation’s quality system. A certificate from a non-Part-147 provider like Aviathrust is perfectly valid for these purposes when it meets the receiving organisation’s needs.

The bottom line: only Part-66 licence modules and Part-147 type courses require approval, and even then the approval is organisational (Part-147), granted by a competent authority — not EASA approving the course content directly.

Practical Checklist for Licence-Seekers

1. First, classify the course. Ask: does this lead toward my Part-66 licence (a basic Module or a Type Course), or is it competency/continuation/awareness training? This single question resolves most of the confusion.
2. If it is a Part-66 Module or Type Training: require evidence of Part-147 approval with the correct scope (the right category/sub-category for basic training; the specific aircraft type for type training). Confirm where the examination / Certificate of Recognition will be issued — it must come from a Part-147 organisation or the competent authority.
3. If it is competency/continuation/regulatory training: do not look for an “EASA Approved” stamp — it does not exist for these courses. Confirm the content maps to your (or your employer’s) MOE/CAME training programme and competence-assessment procedure, and that your quality/compliance-monitoring function will accept the certificate. Ask the provider for the syllabus or Training Needs Analysis so your organisation can vet it.
4. For general familiarisation courses feeding CAMO/airworthiness roles: check with your competent authority whether prior agreement is expected (AMC1 CAMO.A.305(c)).
5. Re-check when goals or rules change: if your goal shifts from “build competence” to “obtain/extend a licence or type rating,” the requirement escalates to Part-147 approval. And if a future Easy Access Rules revision changes Part-66/Part-147 training methods, confirm the current edition.