On November 26, 2026, Article 92.303 of CCAR-92 (民用无人驾驶航空器运行安全管理规则, Ministry of Transport Order 2024 No. 1, 交通运输部令2024年第1号) ends the transitional special-airworthiness pathway for pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen medium and large civil unmanned aircraft systems. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (中国民用航空局) administers the rule, adopted on December 15, 2023 and in force on January 1, 2024. Article 92.9 designates the Civil Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Management Platform (UOM, 民用无人驾驶航空器综合管理平台) for airworthiness and operations services.
Designers, manufacturers and operators of domestic medium and large civil UAS must obtain the Chapter D type certificate, production licence and airworthiness certificate by November 26, 2026, when the transitional special-airworthiness pathway in Article 92.303 ends, or the aircraft no longer has that transitional path for an operations certificate. That set includes pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen systems that seek an operations certificate. The dossier states no fine amount.
- Deadline : November 26, 2026, the date the transitional special-airworthiness pathway ends (obligation due).
- Who : Designers, manufacturers and operators of domestic medium and large civil UAS that still need a Chapter D type certificate, production licence and airworthiness certificate under Articles 92.301 and 92.453, including pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen systems that seek an operations certificate.
- What : Obtain design, production and airworthiness approval: a type certificate, a production licence and an airworthiness certificate under Articles 92.301 and 92.453, before the Article 92.303 pathway ends.
- Otherwise : The aircraft no longer has that transitional path for an operations certificate. The dossier states no fine amount.
- Official source : CCAR-92, Ministry of Transport Order 2024 No. 1 (CAAC PDF).
What is due on November 26, 2026
The obligation due on November 26, 2026 is design, production and airworthiness approval for medium and large civil UAS: a type certificate, a production licence and an airworthiness certificate under Articles 92.301 and 92.453. Design and manufacture from January 1, 2024 follow Chapter D. For pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen systems seeking an operations certificate, Article 92.303 ends that pathway on November 26, 2026. No adopted postponement is in the dossier.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| December 15, 2023 | CCAR-92 adopted at the 29th Ministry of Transport executive meeting |
| January 1, 2024 | Signed as MOT Order 2024 No. 1 and in force; Chapter D applies to new design and manufacture |
| November 26, 2026 | End of the transitional special-airworthiness pathway (Article 92.303) |
Who is covered
Designers, manufacturers and operators of domestic medium and large civil UAS that still need a Chapter D type certificate, production licence and airworthiness certificate under Articles 92.301 and 92.453 are covered, including pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen systems that seek an operations certificate. Systems designed or manufactured from January 1, 2024 already follow Chapter D and sit outside the transitional pathway.
What to do before November 26, 2026
- List every domestic medium and large civil UAS still missing a Chapter D type certificate, production licence and airworthiness certificate under Articles 92.301 and 92.453.
- For each pre-January 1, 2024 design-frozen system that will seek an operations certificate, obtain those three approvals before Article 92.303 ends on November 26, 2026.
- For design or manufacture from January 1, 2024, complete the same Chapter D approvals. That cohort is already outside the transitional pathway.
- File the airworthiness records through UOM, the platform Article 92.9 designates for those services.
What happens otherwise
When the transitional special-airworthiness pathway in Article 92.303 ends on November 26, 2026, the aircraft no longer has that transitional path for an operations certificate. The responsible agencies in the dossier are the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国交通运输部) and the regional civil aviation administrations (民用航空地区管理局). The dossier states no fine amount.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces a change to this CAAC date the moment an official text records it.
