Posting passport to CAA
 

To obtain my radio licence I need to send my passport to the CAA

I have a holiday booked for four weeks' time so I am a bit hesitant to send it (do they return it recorded delivery?)

The form (I don't have it with me) mentioned a "certified copy" how is this done exactly?

I think you go along to a Notary Public for a certified copy.

Don't send the PP to the CAA. Recorded Delivery means exactly zilch. It is not tracked and if the package vanishes, it's gone and there is no comeback, no compensation, nothing. Special Delivery is better because it is tracked, but it is equally vulnerable to the organised mail thieving gangs which Royal Mail is full of. In my business we mail a pile of stuff every day and we see this regularly.

Your location says London. You could jump on a train, 30 mins down to Gatwick, pop in to the CAA, show them the passport and go home. Probably take a couple of hours total.

I don't particularly trust the CAA with vital documents ever since they nearly lost my irreplaceable logbooks a while ago. It was just by luck and effort on my part that I managed to get them back in my possession.

The whole certified copy thing is a bit of a minefield, I've not truly figured it out. However, if you go to a notary public it will cost a small fortune; the last time I enquired, I was quoted: "85 pounds for the first document, and 35 for each subsequent", they also generally want to verify the authenticity of the original, not just certify the copy - it depends who you speak to, but I've found them a bit -erm- opinionated shall we say?

A solicitor can certify copies (usually at a price), as can the bank.. the minefield is figuring out what is sufficient certification for whom...

In your position, I'd pop into the bank at a quiet moment, see if they'll help, send the copy to the CAA, and hope they're happy enough with that..

What has everyone else done?

Don't worry they will pick another pilot at random and post your passport to him! Sometime back they sent me another pilots licence, log book and new IMC rating!

I sent it directly to him as I did not want the CAA to get another chance at "re-directing" it.

Suggest same as TT. Thameslink or Gatwick Express, then take the little shuttle bus to the CAA. IIRC South Terminal, if coming from train station go to the arrivals door (where the pax come out), past it, then at the far corner down a flight of stairs. Been a while, better check this.

Show them PP, they make copy (happy bureaucrats!), you do same in reverse (happy pilot!). You see - happiness all 'round :ok:

Time involved: about 2-3 hours

So for my £70 radio licence it's either a notarised copy (likely to be more than the licence fee!) or an afternoon off work

I think I'll wait until I'm back from my holiday, then send it :ok:

In my case, the examiner I did my PPL with certified the copy.

Get a photocopy of your passport and get the Examiner who conducted your test to sign it as a certified copy. He should have checked your identity when you did the test! See Note 8 on the application form:The RT Examiner is the Training Provider.