What passengers must sign, and how long to keep records

Every passenger on a cost-sharing flight, unless they hold or have held a pilot's licence, must sign a declaration before the flight confirming they have been told the flight does not meet the same safety standards as a commercial air transport (CAT) flight and that they accept this. The pilot, as operator, must keep that record for 6 months from the date of the flight and produce it if an Authorised Person asks.

This has been the law since 1 October 2025, when NCO.GEN.102 was inserted and ANO article 13(2) was substituted. If you learnt to fly or started cost sharing earlier, this is one of the bigger practical changes. The overview of the October 2025 changes sets it alongside the others.

What the law actually says

The requirement sits in NCO.GEN.102(g) and (h) for Part-21 aeroplanes and helicopters, and in the materially identical ANO 2016 article 13(2)(g) and (h) for non-Part-21 aircraft such as permit types and microlights (the ANO version refers to "a CAT or PT flight", adding public transport). NCO.GEN.102(g) reads:

"For each passenger, a record must be made attesting to: (1) their having been clearly advised that the flight does not meet the same safety standards as a CAT flight; and (2) their acceptance of this fact as indicated by their signed declaration to this effect."

NCO.GEN.102(h) then says the record must be:

1. "completed prior to the flight";
2. "retained by the operator of the flight for a period of 6 months from the date of the flight"; and
3. "produced by the operator of the flight when requested by" an Authorised Person.

For these purposes an Authorised Person is "any constable" or "any person authorised by the CAA" (ANO Schedule 1, limbs (a) and (b) of the definition; limb (c) applies only to article 259). CAP 1590 describes the record as "retained by the pilot/operator" (para 17). For a private cost-sharing flight, that is you.

The CAA's guidance is in CAP 1590, paras 17 to 19, and the full set of conditions is summarised in our guide to the cost sharing rules.

Minimum content of the record

AMC1 NCO.GEN.102(g), published in CAA ORS9 Decision No. 0054 and repeated in CAP 1590 para 19, sets out what the record should contain as a minimum:

• Date of flight
• Aircraft type and registration
• Departure and arrival information
• Passenger information on the differences and associated risks between CAT and flights under this regulation
• Passenger name(s), contact details and passenger signature or other means of indicating acceptance

CAP 1590 para 19 says the pilot in command completes the form. In practice that means you fill in the flight details and the safety information, and each passenger reads it and signs or otherwise indicates acceptance.

Note the words "or other means of indicating acceptance". The record does not have to carry a wet-ink signature. AMC1(a) confirms it can be in the CAA's format or your own method, and CAP 1590 para 18 that it can be on paper or electronic.

Who doesn't need one

AMC1 NCO.GEN.102(g) sets out three situations that change what you need to do.

A few practical points:

• Licence holders. The exemption covers current and former licence holders, but the burden is on you to be satisfied. A short note of what you saw (for example, the licence type) is a sensible habit, even though the AMC does not require it.
• Repeat passengers. This is not a blanket exemption. You still need a record; you can just update the existing one rather than starting again, and the retention clock restarts from the latest flight.
• Children. Someone with legal authority to make decisions for them, such as a parent or guardian, accepts the risks on their behalf. If a family books together, that adult signs for themselves and for each child.

What the CAA template contains

The CAA publishes a template, the "Cost Sharing Flight – Essential Passenger and Pilot Information & Declaration Form". The current version is footed June 2026. It asks for more than the AMC minimum, which is worth knowing if you design your own form.

Flight details

• Date
• Aircraft type and registration
• PIC name, and PIC licence type and number
• Take-off location and time
• En-route landings
• Final landing and time

Essential passenger information, followed by four passenger tick-boxes confirming that:

• the flight is not to airline safety standards;
• the aircraft is not maintained to commercial airworthiness standards;
• the pilot may hold only a PPL or similar, and a lower medical standard; and
• the passenger has read and understood the information.

Passenger section: name, signature, contact details and date, with space for up to five passengers.

PIC declaration, in which the pilot confirms:

• their licence, rating and medical are current;
• the airworthiness documents are valid and the insurance covers cost sharing;
• "I am paying the appropriate share of the direct costs"; and
• the passengers have been briefed.

The PIC declaration goes beyond the legal minimum, but it is a useful self-check. The "appropriate share" line in particular ties back to the cost rules in NCO.GEN.102(c); our guide to what counts as a direct cost and the cost-sharing calculator help you get that number right before you sign it. The form also warns that making a profit could leave your insurance invalid.

You can download the template from the CAA cost sharing page.

Paper or electronic

Either is fine. What matters is that the record exists before you fly, covers the minimum content, and can be found and produced for 6 months afterwards.

Paper works, but it has weak points: forms get left in the aircraft, soaked in a flight bag or lost when a club aircraft changes hands. It also makes "completed prior to the flight" harder to show, because nothing on the form proves when it was signed beyond the date written on it.

If you want paper, or a backup for an airfield with no signal, download our free passenger declaration form. It follows the layout of the CAA's template and records the AMC1 minimum content.

An electronic record is easier to keep and search. Split My Flight is built for this: it sends each passenger the required safety information, collects their signed declaration online before the flight, and keeps the records for you.

Whatever you use, think about the 6-month window from the date of the flight, not from the date of signing, and remember that a repeat flight extends it.

Timing in practice

The rule is "completed prior to the flight". It does not say how long before. Signing at the aircraft meets the letter of the rule, but the spirit is that passengers understand what they are accepting, and a rushed signature on a clipboard next to a running engine is not a great way to achieve that.

A cleaner routine:

1. Send the information and declaration to each passenger when the flight is confirmed.
2. Check every passenger has signed before the day.
3. Brief them again at the aircraft, covering the same points in person.
4. Keep the completed record with your other flight records.

If you change the date or aircraft, update the record so the details match the flight you actually fly. Split My Flight produces a compliance document for each flight, which keeps the signed declarations and flight details together in one place.

What if you don't keep one

The declaration is one of the conditions in NCO.GEN.102 (and ANO article 13) that a flight must meet to count as a cost-sharing flight rather than commercial air transport. The rules don't spell out what happens if only the paperwork is missing, and we have not found a separately listed offence for failing to keep a declaration. The cautious approach is to treat a missing record as putting the whole flight outside the cost-sharing rules, with the AOC consequences described in our guide to cost sharing vs charter.

For the rest of the pre-flight paperwork, see the compliance checklist and the regulations overview.