Rating Transfer

IVAO offers a rating transfer to its users who hold real-world ATC or Pilot licences, or hold ATC ratings at VATSIM. Pilot ratings issued by VATSIM cannot be transferred, as the exam requirement do not fulfill those issued by IVAO.

Please note: The rating transfer is a voluntary offer by IVAO towards its users. The offer may be withdrawn entirely in the future or denied individually, by decision of IVAO Training Department, IVAO Executive or the DIR/ADIR of the member's division.

Requirements

To be eligible for a rating transfer, the applicant has to fulfil certain requirements:

Hold a valid ATC or Pilot licence, issued in accordance with ICAO/FAA standards, – or –
Be a member of the VATSIM network with a rating as shown in the table below.
Be a member of an active division on IVAO.
Successful completion of the ADC or PP theoretical exam (as applicable).
Has logged a minimum of hours on our network (see conversion table for the relevant minimum hours).
Shows exemplary behaviour in accordance with IVAO's Rules and Regulations, i.e. no suspension entries in the past three months.
The Division HQ of the applicant has to support the request. To be able to do so, the Division HQ will have to either know the applicant personally or had the occasion to see the applicant fly or control on our network.
The proficiency of the applicant may be checked by the division, if deemed necessary through a practical check or interview before forwarding the request to the HQ Training Department for approval.
HQ Training Department reserves the right to make a crosscheck.

Conversion of licences

The conversion of real-world ratings or licences as well as VATSIM's ATC ratings into IVAO ratings is centered around the abilities we expect the applicant to possess. Ratings not shown below are not eligible for transfer.

ATC				Pilot
Real World	VATSIM	IVAO	Minimum Hours	Real World	IVAO	Minimum Hours
Aerodrome Controller	TMA Controller (S3)	ADC	50	PPL or CPL without IR	PP	50
Approach Controller	Enroute Controller (C1)	APC	60	PPL, CPL or ATPL with IR	SPP	60
Area Controller	Senior Controller (C3)	ACC	70	MPL, CPL or ATPL with IR and MER	CP	70
no transfer		SEC	—	no transfer	ATP	—

Rating transfer process

The process of any rating transfer involves certain people to advocate and validate the request. It should be followed carefully to enable rapid completion.

Furnish a scan of your licence, please include all pages without any hidden item, – or –
Make a screen shot of your VATSIM profile page, please make sure VID, name and ratings are clearly visible (as applicable).
Request the rating transfer with your Division HQ (DIR/ADIR), who will have to act as an advocate to your request. Include the scan of your licence / profile screen shot.
The Division HQ will check the copies of the documents supplied, as far as possible.
If the Division HQ supports your request, they will forward your application to TD/TAD.
HQ Training Department will make a cross-check of the documents.
The Training Department may request the applicant to complete one or more theoretical and/or practical exam(s) before deciding on the rating transfer.
The Training Department may request an interview with the applicant so as to check his professional capability corresponds with the provided license and/or his English proficiency level matches the requested rating.
Once the application is approved by the HQ Training Department, the applicant will be upgraded to the applicable rating as shown in the table above.
The applicant as well as the concerned Division HQ will be notified of the completion of the rating transfer.

If false or forged documents are sent, or if any cheating during the transfer process is recognized,

the user will not receive the requested rating transfer (or will be downgraded, see below),
the user will be banned from doing exams for twelve months.
The case will also be put to the attention of the Executive for further possible sanctions.

Attaining higher ratings after a rating transfer

Should the applicant of any rating transfer wish to advance to a higher IVAO rating, he will have to complete the normal theoretical and practical exam for the desired rating.

Downgrade after a rating transfer

In exceptional cases, there may be reasons to downgrade a user who holds the privilege of a rating transfer. Reasons for a downgrade may include, but are not limited to:

Indications of forged documents that supplemented the rating transfer.
Verifiable reports of sub-standard performance of the user in relation to the rating he was upgraded to.
Misbehaviour or violation of IVAO's Rules and Regulations, which would also justify a suspension of the user from our network.