Do You Need a License to Be a Private Jet or Aircraft Broker?

No. In the United States, there is no federal “aircraft broker license” — and none under the other names the job goes by either, so there is no “private jet broker license” or “jet broker license” to hold. No exam, and no government-issued credential you need before you can broker an aircraft sale or a charter flight. That surprises most people, because so much else in aviation is licensed.

What actually applies depends which side of the business you work. Air charter brokers follow federal consumer-protection rules under 14 CFR Part 295. Aircraft sales brokers fall under ordinary business law and, in a few states, dealer registration. Neither amounts to a professional license, and no training certificate — including IABI’s — changes that.

Air charter brokers: what US law actually requires

If you arrange charter flights for clients — connecting a customer with an operator who flies the trip — you fall under 14 CFR Part 295, “Air Charter Brokers.” Read the rule itself before trusting anyone’s summary of it, including this one. For what the rule actually obliges you to tell a client, section by section, see what Part 295 requires you to disclose.

Part 295 defines an air charter broker as one who, “as an indirect air carrier, foreign indirect air carrier, or a bona fide agent, holds out, sells, or arranges single entity charter air transportation using a direct air carrier” (14 CFR 295.5).

The rule does three things, and none is licensing. It exempts brokers from parts of federal transportation law that otherwise apply to anyone “holding out” air transportation to the public, conditional on following Part 295’s own rules (295.10) — no test, no certificate to earn it. It requires disclosures: before a contract is signed, a broker must name the operating carrier, state its own capacity (agent, or indirect carrier), and say whether it holds liability insurance and to what limits; on request, it must also disclose any relationship with that carrier, total cost, and likely third-party fees (295.24). And it bans deceptive practices — “any unfair or deceptive practice or unfair method of competition” (295.22) — with section 295.50 listing examples, including misrepresenting itself as a direct air carrier or selling a flight it has reason to know the named operator can’t legally perform.

Advertising must “clearly and conspicuously state that the air charter broker is an air charter broker, and that it is not a direct air carrier… in operational control of aircraft” (295.23(a)). That line between arranging a flight and flying it is set out in full in what a private jet broker is, and how one differs from an operator. The company actually flying the trip must hold its own DOT economic authority and FAA safety certificate — a broker is “not authorized under this part to hold out, sell, or otherwise arrange charter air transportation to be operated by a person or entity that does not hold” that authority (295.20).

The DOT enforces Part 295 — civil penalties, revoked exemption authority, or criminal referral for willful violations (295.52). Nowhere is there a license, exam, or registration number to obtain before you start. See IABI’s FAA Part 135 and Part 91: what aircraft brokers must know on the related operational-control question, and air charter broker training for what the job requires day to day.

Aircraft sales brokers: what US law actually requires

The sales side has even less federal machinery. The FAA registers aircraft and certifies airworthiness — it doesn’t license the people who sell them. There’s no FAA exam, credential or registration for an aircraft sales broker.

The closest thing is the Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate, under 14 CFR Part 47, Subpart C — not a broker’s license. It’s a registration shortcut for businesses that already own inventory aircraft, issued “to U.S. manufacturers and dealers to… facilitate operating, demonstrating, and merchandising aircraft… without the burden of obtaining a Certificate of Aircraft Registration… for each aircraft with each transfer of ownership” (47.61(a)(2)). A qualifying dealer registers once instead of re-registering each aircraft before a sale, and can then fly it for test flights, demonstrations and sale-related purposes.

Eligibility requires “an established place of business in the United States,” being “substantially engaged in manufacturing or selling aircraft,” and US citizenship (47.65). The certificate is issued to the business, expires after one year, and covers only required flight testing and flights “necessary for, or incident to, sale of the aircraft” — a buyer may fly it for demonstration only under the holder’s direct supervision (47.69, 47.71). None of this licenses a salesperson; it licenses use of aircraft the dealer already owns. A broker who never takes title to an aircraft typically has no reason to hold one.

State-level aircraft dealer registration

Federal law is silent, but a handful of states regulate aircraft dealers directly — usually for sales tax, sometimes as a standalone license. Not a complete list; verify your own state’s agency, and an aviation attorney, rather than assume.

State	What’s required	Source
Washington	License required to “act as an aircraft dealer,” and a dealer includes anyone “acting as a broker of aircraft”; $25,000 surety bond (RCW 14.20.010, .020, .070)	WSDOT — Aircraft dealer license
Minnesota	Optional MnDOT aircraft dealer license ($10 a year) for dealers who want to withhold stock aircraft from the state registration tax or obtain a commercial use permit; the rule says a dealer is not otherwise required to hold one (Minn. Stat. §360.63; Minn. R. 8800.4800)	Minnesota eLicense — Aircraft Dealer’s License
Florida	Tax registration, not a professional license. Brokers — even without possessing the aircraft — must register with the Dept. of Revenue to collect sales/use tax	Florida DOR — Sales and Use Tax on Aircraft, GT-800009 (R. 04/15)

The full state-by-state table, with the FAA dealer certificate, is in aircraft dealer license and state registration.

Not exhaustive — verify your own state directly rather than assume silence. For what a sales broker needs to learn — valuation, title and lien searches, pre-purchase inspections, escrow — see aircraft sales broker training.

Business basics that aren’t aviation licenses

A few requirements apply to almost any broker, none aviation-specific:

• A business entity — most brokers use an LLC or corporation, for liability separation, filed with your state.
• State and local business registration, separate from any aircraft-dealer registration above.
• Sales and use tax awareness. Aircraft transactions can trigger sales or use tax depending on where the aircraft is delivered, used or based — Florida’s rules above are one example. Rates and exemptions vary; use a tax professional who handles aircraft deals.
• Escrow. Aircraft sales typically move funds and title through an independent escrow or title company, not directly between buyer and seller, protecting both sides through the lien search and closing.

None of this makes you a “licensed broker” — it’s ordinary business hygiene.

Certification, license and accreditation — the difference

• A license is issued by government and required by law before you act — a pilot certificate, or a state dealer’s license like the examples above. No US federal agency issues an aircraft broker’s license, though a few states license or register aircraft dealers, as shown above.
• An accreditation is a formal, third-party evaluation of an institution against defined standards, renewed periodically — heavier than a course certificate, and usually applied to organizations, not individuals.
• A certification (course certificate) shows you completed a training program. It’s issued by the school, not a government or accrediting body, and its value depends on what the school teaches.

A course certificate from any private provider — IABI’s included — is a private training credential: evidence you completed that course, not a government license or an accreditation. None is legally required to broker aircraft.

A few real industry bodies issue their own credentials, none of them government licenses. IADA accredits dealer firms and separately certifies individual brokers; becoming an Accredited Dealer takes sponsorship from three existing accredited dealers, an application fee, and a board vote, and Certified Brokers are listed by name on iada.aero. NBAA is a membership association for business aviation companies and professionals; it doesn’t certify individual brokers. NAFA is a membership organization of aircraft-finance companies, including brokers and dealers — education and networking, not certification.

Whatever you’re weighing, ask what it verifies and whether any government requires it. IABI’s own blog covers this from another angle in Certification to become an aircraft broker.

Private jet broker qualifications

There is no legal qualification for a private jet broker in the US. As set out above, no federal exam, degree or licence is required. What exists instead is what employers and clients ask for.

At least one large employer tests ability rather than certificates. Air Charter Service, a large charter brokerage, describes a recruitment process with an online test of verbal, numerical and inductive reasoning, competency-based interviews, and a final interview in which candidates present on their first 90 days in the role. Its pages list no degree, language or experience requirement for trainees. Other employers ask for different things; aircraft broker jobs shows what adverts actually request.

A client cannot check your training, but can check your conduct: whether you make the Part 295 disclosures in writing, whether your firm belongs to a trade body with a code of practice, and whether it has passed a company audit such as ARGUS or Wyvern. Those credentials, and course certificates, are set side by side in aircraft broker certifications compared.

Outside the United States

United Kingdom. No government broker’s licence (UK spelling) exists either. The closest thing is a voluntary credential: The Air Charter Association’s Broker Qualification — three levels, Foundation Knowledge through Advanced Broker Skills, each with an assessment. It’s “currently only available to persons employed by a member company of The Air Charter Association,” per the Association’s own site — membership-based training, not a government requirement.

By country

Each guide below sets out what the regulator says, and where we could not find an answer. None of them is legal advice.

• UK and Europe: the UK Civil Aviation Authority says that “if you are not an airline or you are not acting in an exempt capacity, you must hold your own ATOL”, so in the UK the question is ATOL, not a broker licence.
• GCC: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation lists economic licences for a Commercial Agent for Aviation Service Providers and a General Aviation Support Service Provider, and neither names brokers.
• Canada: the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled in 2016 that resellers “do not operate air services and are not required to hold an air licence”, as long as they do not hold themselves out as an air carrier.
• India: the rules for India, and which authority to check with.
• Australia: the rules for Australia, and which authority to check with.

So what should you actually do?

1. Decide charter or sales first — the rules and daily work differ. See how to become an aircraft broker if you haven’t settled this.
2. Check your own state for “aircraft dealer” registration — don’t assume the table above covers you.
3. Set up the business basics — entity, registration, a sales/use tax plan — before you take a client’s money.
4. Treat training as skills, not a license. Judge a course by what it teaches, using a checklist like how to choose an aircraft broker course — not by whether it calls itself “certified.” The side-by-side comparison sets out, for each provider, exactly what its certificate is and who awards it.
5. Talk to an aviation attorney before your first real transaction, especially on the sales side, where title and liens carry real financial risk. This page is not legal advice.

If you want a credential anyway, the ones that exist, from IADA to the Air Charter Association, are set side by side in aircraft broker certifications compared. For the full set-up of a charter business, from EIN to excise tax and insurance, see how to start an air charter brokerage.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to be an aircraft broker in the US?

No federal license exists for either side. Charter brokers must follow 14 CFR Part 295’s consumer-protection rules; some states require dealer registration, mostly tied to sales tax.

Is an aircraft broker certification the same as a license?

No. A certification is a private credential from the school that ran the course. A license comes from government and is legally required to act. No certification program issues a license.

Do I need an FAA Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate to broker sales?

Only if you take title to inventory aircraft. It’s a registration shortcut for dealers who own aircraft (14 CFR Part 47, Subpart C) — not a license to broker.

Does a charter broker need to register with the FAA or DOT?

No. Part 295 requires specific disclosures and bans deceptive practices, enforced by the DOT — there’s no application or number to obtain first.

Can a broker also be the operator flying the charter?

Sometimes, but only with its own authority. A company that holds its own DOT and FAA air carrier authority can operate flights itself and can also broker flights on other operators’ aircraft. When it acts as a broker, Part 295 requires it to make clear that it is not the direct air carrier in operational control of that flight. A broker with no carrier authority cannot operate the trip.

Is IABI’s certificate accredited or government-recognized?

No. It’s a training credential earned by completing the course and passing the final exam — not a government license or accreditation, and not legal permission to broker.