Direct Answer
Hiring a Part 135 Director of Operations is a two-part event: you choose a candidate who can meet the qualification standard in 14 CFR §119.71(a)/(b), and the FAA accepts that named individual into the required position under §119.69(a). You do not have a DO until both happen.
Vet the candidate against a certificate-plus-experience bar. The certificate scales to your operation: an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate for operations requiring an ATP (§119.71(a)), or at least a commercial pilot certificate for operations requiring only a commercial certificate (§119.71(b)). The experience is one of two paths: 3 years of supervisory or managerial experience within the last 6 years exercising operational control over Part 121 or Part 135 operations, or 3 years as pilot in command within the past 6 years of Part 121 or Part 135 aircraft. Then assemble the documentation that proves it, propose the individual to your principal operations inspector, and reflect the accepted DO in your management structure and Operations Specifications.
Timing matters: a management change or vacancy triggers a 10-day notification to your Flight Standards office under §119.69(e). The Part 135 sections are §119.69 and §119.71 — not §119.65, which is the Part 121 management section. For the candidate’s view of the same role, see how to become a Part 135 Director of Operations.
If you run the certificate, the most useful framing is this: the FAA does not let you simply name a DO the way you would fill an ordinary management seat. It defines a position you must keep filled (§119.69), defines who is qualified to fill it (§119.71), and then accepts a specific named individual into the role. Your job as the hiring operator is to vet the candidate against that standard, build the documentation that proves they meet it, and propose them to your principal operations inspector. The candidate's job is to bring the qualifying experience and the evidence of it. The sections below walk the owner side end to end — and pair with the candidate-side guide for the other half of the same appointment.
Vetting the Candidate Against §119.71
Before you make an offer, vet the candidate against the binding standard the FAA will apply: 14 CFR §119.71. There is no value in advancing a candidate your principal operations inspector will reject — and the rule, not your hiring preference, decides who is eligible. The Director of Operations standard splits by the kind of operation you conduct.
§119.71(a)If your operation requires an ATP certificate
For a certificate holder conducting any operations for which the pilot in command is required to hold an airline transport pilot certificate, the DO must hold an ATP certificate and either: (1) have at least 3 years supervisory or managerial experience within the last 6 years in a position that exercised operational control over operations under Part 121 or Part 135; or (2) for a first-time DO, have at least 3 years experience within the past 6 years as pilot in command of an aircraft operated under Part 121 or Part 135 (a candidate with prior DO experience needs 3 years as PIC without the 6-year window).
§119.71(b)If your operation requires only a commercial certificate
For a certificate holder that only conducts operations for which the pilot in command is required to hold a commercial pilot certificate, the DO must hold at least a commercial pilot certificate (and an instrument rating if one is required for any of your pilots in command) and meet the same experience structure: (1) 3 years supervisory or managerial experience within the last 6 years exercising operational control over Part 121 or Part 135 operations; or (2) 3 years as pilot in command within the past 6 years of Part 121 or Part 135 aircraft (first-time DO), or 3 years as PIC without the 6-year window for a candidate with prior DO experience.
Cite §119.69 / §119.71 for Part 135 — not §119.65
14 CFR §119.65 is the Part 121 management-personnel section. For an on-demand or commuter Part 135 operator, the required positions live in §119.69 and the qualifications live in §119.71. If a recruiter, candidate, or template you are working from cites §119.65 for your Part 135 DO, the framework is wrong — and that is exactly the kind of error a POI notices.
The owner-side vetting checklist
Translate the rule into questions you can actually answer about a candidate before you propose them. This is screening context, not a regulatory checklist — the binding requirement is §119.71(a)/(b), and your principal operations inspector is the authority on whether a specific background meets it.
Confirm the certificate matches your operation
Does the candidate hold the pilot certificate your operation demands — an ATP if any of your operations require an ATP (§119.71(a)), or at least a commercial certificate if you only require a commercial certificate (§119.71(b))? Verify the certificate and ratings, including an instrument rating if one is required for any of your pilots in command. This is an eligibility floor, not a preference.
Identify which experience path they meet
Does the candidate satisfy the management route (3 years of supervisory/operational-control experience within the last 6 years) or the pilot route (3 years as PIC within the past 6 years at a Part 121 or 135 operator)? Pin down which path, and whether the recency window applies — a candidate with prior DO experience can use the PIC path without the 6-year window.
Get the experience in writing, dated
A résumé claim is not evidence. For the path the candidate is using, collect dated documentation — prior-position letters establishing operational-control authority, logbook summaries, employment records at certificated operators. The POI evaluates the experience, so the proof has to be concrete, not asserted.
Check whether they will wear two hats
If you are a small operator hiring one person as both DO and Chief Pilot, the candidate must independently meet both qualification standards — the DO standard in §119.71(a)/(b) and the Chief Pilot standard in §119.71(c)/(d) — and the consolidated structure must be FAA-accepted under §119.69(b). Vet against two bars, not one.
What the rule does — and does not — pin down for hiring
A deviation path exists for the rare candidate who does not meet the specific experience requirements but has comparable experience: §119.71 lets a certificate holder request a deviation if the relevant FAA division manager finds the person has comparable experience and can effectively perform the functions of the position. That is the exception, not the plan — most hires should clear §119.71(a)/(b) cleanly. For the full text of every position's standard — DO, Chief Pilot, and Director of Maintenance — see our Part 135 required management personnel qualifications guide, the qualifications reference this hiring article points back to.
Can you prove your new DO is qualified — before the POI asks?
FileFlo classifies and indexes the documents that establish a Director of Operations is qualified and accepted — pilot certificate, the experience record behind the §119.71 path, and the appointment/OpSpecs acceptance — and tracks them so the hiring package is complete before an inspector reviews it. Starter at $89/mo, Professional at $299/mo. 5-day free trial, no credit card required.
The Hiring Package You Submit to the FAA
Vetting tells you a candidate is eligible. To actually get them accepted, you assemble a documentation package and propose the named individual to your principal operations inspector. The strength of that package is what determines how smoothly — and how quickly — the acceptance goes. A POI accepting a DO wants to see the certificate and the qualifying experience cleanly, with dates, not reconstructed during review.
Pilot certificate and ratings
The candidate’s ATP or commercial pilot certificate — matching the kind of operation you conduct — plus any required instrument rating. This is the eligibility floor under §119.71(a)/(b); without the right certificate, no amount of management experience makes the candidate acceptable.
Dated evidence of the qualifying experience
The proof behind the §119.71 path the candidate is using: operational-control/management experience within the last 6 years, or pilot-in-command experience within the past 6 years at a Part 121 or 135 operator. Prior-position letters, logbook summaries, and employment records that show the experience is real and falls inside the recency window.
Operations-manual DO duties section
The section of your operations manual that sets out the DO position’s duties, responsibilities, and authority, which §119.69(e) requires you to maintain, together with a current management-personnel list that will name the new DO once accepted.
Proposed management-structure / OpSpecs change
Because §119.69(c) requires the titles of these positions to appear in your Operations Specifications, accepting a new DO is a documented change to your management structure at the OpSpecs level — not an internal HR title change. Your POI works the acceptance against that change.
The hiring side and the candidate side meet at this package: the candidate brings the certificate and experience evidence; you frame it into the OpSpecs-level appointment and submit it. For the candidate's view of building that experience, see how to become a Part 135 Director of Operations, and for the role split that shapes whether you are hiring one person or two, see Director of Operations vs. Chief Pilot.
How FAA Acceptance and the 10-Day Clock Work
You can make an offer, but the candidate is not your Director of Operations until the FAA accepts them into the position. Acceptance runs through your principal operations inspector, who evaluates the named individual against §119.71. There is no DO test or rating the candidate takes on their own — the appointment is operator-driven, and the FAA accepts a specific person into a specific operator's management structure.
You propose the named individual
You identify the candidate for the position and submit their qualifications to your POI. Because §119.69(c) requires the titles of these positions to appear in your Operations Specifications, the acceptance is reflected at the OpSpecs level — a documented change to your management structure.
The POI evaluates against §119.71
The inspector reviews whether the candidate meets the applicable §119.71(a) or (b) standard — the right pilot certificate for your operation and one of the two experience paths. The cleaner your documentation, the faster this goes; an incomplete or asserted-but-unproven experience claim is what stalls an acceptance.
The accepted DO is reflected in your records
Once accepted, the individual is your Director of Operations of record, named in your management structure and OpSpecs. You must keep a current list of management personnel and maintain the record of the position’s duties, responsibilities, and authority in your operations manual.
The §119.69(e) 10-day notification
If a required management position — including the DO — changes or becomes vacant, you must notify the responsible Flight Standards office within 10 days of the change or vacancy under §119.69(e). That clock is why operators line up an accepted replacement before the seat goes empty: operating without a qualified, accepted DO is itself a compliance exposure.
The practical takeaway for an operator: plan the hire around the §119.69(e) clock. A DO departure starts a 10-day notification window, and you cannot run multi-pilot operations without a qualified, accepted DO. The operators who handle this well vet and document candidates before a vacancy, so the proposal to the POI is ready the moment they need it. For how the vacancy-and-notification mechanics work in detail, see notifying the FAA of a Part 135 management vacancy, and for the structure question of whether one person can hold multiple roles, see Part 135 management with one person in multiple roles.
A note on what a DO costs to hire (a top search question)
Compensation is one of the most-searched aspects of hiring a DO, and it varies widely with aircraft type, fleet size, region, and the scope of the operation. As a public-market reference, ZipRecruiter data (June 2026) for FAA Part 135 Director of Operations roles in the U.S. shows most salaries between roughly $75,500 (25th percentile) and $135,500 (75th percentile), with an average near $107,680 per year and top-of-market listings reaching the low $160,000s. Expect the upper end for multi-aircraft jet operations and the lower end for a small single-aircraft on-demand operator. Treat that as a broad, date-stamped range, not a target — and note that FileFlo is a compliance-records tool, not a salary, hiring, recruiting, or compensation-advice service. We compare DO, Chief Pilot, and DOM pay in our Part 135 management salaries guide.
The Records That Prove the Hire — and Where FileFlo Fits
This is where FileFlo fits — and where it does not. FileFlo is not a recruiter. It does not source, screen, hire, place, qualify, or certify candidates, and it does not give legal, career, or HR advice. What it does is classify, index, and track the documents that prove a Director of Operations is qualified and accepted, so the hiring package is complete and provable when your principal operations inspector asks — and so the appointment leaves a clean, audit-ready record afterward. Below are the record sets that sit under a DO hire.
Pilot Certificate & Ratings
14 CFR §119.71(a)/(b) · Part 61What it proves
The new DO’s airline transport pilot or commercial pilot certificate — the certificate that must match the kind of operation you conduct. The eligibility floor for the hire.
How FileFlo tracks it
FileFlo classifies the certificate as a document class, captures certificate level and ratings, and keeps it tied to the individual’s management appointment record.
Qualifying Experience Record
14 CFR §119.71(a)/(b) experience pathWhat it proves
The dated evidence behind the 3-year requirement — operational-control/management experience within the last 6 years, or pilot-in-command experience within the past 6 years at a Part 121 or 135 operator.
How FileFlo tracks it
FileFlo indexes the supporting documents (prior-position letters, logbook summaries, employment records) so the experience that satisfies §119.71 is organized and retrievable rather than reconstructed during POI review.
DO Appointment / FAA Acceptance
14 CFR §119.69(c) · OpSpecsWhat it proves
The record that the FAA has accepted the named individual into the required Director of Operations position, reflected in your management structure and Operations Specifications.
How FileFlo tracks it
FileFlo stores the appointment and FAA-acceptance documentation with dates, tied to the qualification package for a complete, audit-ready chain.
Operations Manual — DO Duties Section
14 CFR §119.69(e) · General Operations ManualWhat it proves
The record of the DO position’s duties, responsibilities, and authority that you are required to maintain, plus the current management-personnel list naming the DO.
How FileFlo tracks it
FileFlo indexes the manual and its revisions so you can show the DO’s documented authority and that the management-personnel list is current.
Vacancy / Change Notification Trail
14 CFR §119.69(e)What it proves
The §119.69(e) notification record when the DO position changes or becomes vacant — the 10-day notice to the responsible Flight Standards office and the documentation of the incoming appointee.
How FileFlo tracks it
FileFlo keeps the change-and-notification documentation dated and linked to the new DO’s qualification package, so a management transition leaves a clean record.
Related guides: Management personnel qualifications (§119.71) · Chief Pilot duties · Director of Maintenance responsibilities · First 100 days as DO/Chief Pilot
FileFlo is the proof layer — it is not a recruiter and does not place or qualify candidates
FileFlo is a compliance document intelligence platform. It classifies, indexes, and tracks the records that document a Director of Operations hire — certificate, qualifying-experience evidence, FAA acceptance, and the manual/notification trail — and surfaces gaps and expirations. It does not source, screen, hire, recruit, place, qualify, or certify anyone, it is not a dispatch or flight operations management system, and it does not provide legal, career, or HR advice. You and the FAA qualify and accept the DO; FileFlo keeps the documentary proof audit-ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you hire a Part 135 Director of Operations?
You hire a Part 135 Director of Operations by selecting a candidate who can meet the qualification standard in 14 CFR §119.71(a) or (b), then proposing that named individual to your FAA principal operations inspector for acceptance into the required position under §119.69(a). The hiring itself is your decision as the certificate holder, but the person does not actually become your DO until the FAA accepts them. So the practical sequence is: vet the candidate against §119.71 (the right pilot certificate for your operation plus one of the two 3-year experience paths), assemble the documentation that proves it, propose the individual to your POI, and reflect the accepted DO in your management structure and Operations Specifications. Because a management vacancy triggers a 10-day notification clock under §119.69(e), most operators line up an accepted replacement before the seat goes empty.
What qualifications must a Part 135 Director of Operations candidate meet?
The candidate must meet 14 CFR §119.71(a) or (b), depending on the kind of operation you conduct. Under §119.71(a), if your operation requires the pilot in command to hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate, the DO must hold an ATP certificate. Under §119.71(b), if your operation only requires a commercial pilot certificate, the DO must hold at least a commercial pilot certificate (plus an instrument rating if one is required for any of your pilots in command). On top of the certificate, the candidate needs one of two experience paths: 3 years of supervisory or managerial experience within the last 6 years in a position that exercised operational control over Part 121 or Part 135 operations, OR 3 years of pilot-in-command experience within the past 6 years in aircraft operated under Part 121 or Part 135. A candidate who has previously served as a DO can use the PIC path without the 6-year recency window. Note the Part 135 sections are §119.69 and §119.71 — not §119.65, which is the Part 121 management section.
Does a Part 135 Director of Operations have to be a pilot?
For certification purposes, effectively yes. Both qualification paths in 14 CFR §119.71(a) and (b) require the person to hold a pilot certificate — an airline transport pilot certificate for operations requiring an ATP, or at least a commercial pilot certificate for operations requiring only a commercial certificate. The experience requirement can be satisfied through management or operational-control experience rather than recent line flying, so your DO does not have to be an actively flying line pilot, but the certificate requirement means any candidate you hire must hold the relevant pilot certificate. As the hiring operator, treat the pilot certificate as a non-negotiable eligibility floor — a candidate who cannot produce the right certificate cannot be accepted into the position, no matter how strong their management résumé is.
How long does it take for the FAA to accept a Director of Operations?
The FAA rules do not publish a fixed turnaround time for accepting a named Director of Operations — acceptance happens through your principal operations inspector (POI) on a case-by-case basis as they evaluate the candidate against 14 CFR §119.71. In practice, the speed of acceptance tracks the quality and completeness of the documentation you submit: a clean package showing the right pilot certificate and clear, dated evidence of the 3-year operational-control or pilot-in-command experience moves faster than one the POI has to chase. What the rule does fix is the vacancy side: under §119.69(e), you must notify the responsible Flight Standards office within 10 days of any change in your management personnel or any vacancy in a required position. That 10-day clock is why operators that plan ahead vet and document candidates before the seat opens, rather than scrambling after a departure.
What documents do you need to propose a Part 135 Director of Operations to the FAA?
You need the records that prove the candidate meets 14 CFR §119.71 and that the appointment is reflected where the rule requires. The core package is: the candidate's pilot certificate and ratings (ATP or commercial, matching your operation); dated evidence of the qualifying experience behind the §119.71 path the candidate is using — supervisory/operational-control experience within the last 6 years, or pilot-in-command experience within the past 6 years at a Part 121 or 135 operator; the appointment and FAA-acceptance documentation reflected in your management structure and Operations Specifications under §119.69(c); the operations-manual section setting out the DO's duties, responsibilities, and authority; and the current management-personnel list naming the DO. FileFlo classifies and indexes these records so the package is complete and provable before your POI asks — it does not hire, recruit, place, qualify, or certify the candidate.
Can one person be both Director of Operations and Chief Pilot on a Part 135 certificate?
Sometimes, but it is not automatic, and it is an FAA-accepted structure rather than a hiring shortcut you can declare on your own. The default under 14 CFR §119.69(a) is three distinct required positions — Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, and Director of Maintenance. Combining the DO and Chief Pilot in one hire depends on the FAA accepting, under §119.69(b), that you can conduct operations safely with fewer or different categories of management personnel, judged against the kind of operation, the number and type of aircraft, and your area of operations. Even where a consolidated structure is accepted, the individual must independently meet the qualification standard for each role — the DO standard in §119.71(a)/(b) and the Chief Pilot standard in §119.71(c)/(d). For a small operator hiring one person to wear two hats, that means vetting against two separate bars, not one.
What is the salary range for a Part 135 Director of Operations in 2026?
Compensation varies widely by aircraft type, fleet size, region, and the scope of the operation, so treat any figure as a broad range rather than a number. As a public-market reference, ZipRecruiter data (June 2026) for FAA Part 135 Director of Operations roles in the United States shows most salaries between roughly $75,500 (25th percentile) and $135,500 (75th percentile), with an average around $107,680 per year and top-of-market listings reaching the low $160,000s. As the hiring operator, expect the upper end of that range for multi-aircraft jet operations and the lower end for a small single-aircraft on-demand operation. FileFlo does not provide salary, hiring, recruiting, or compensation advice — these are date-stamped public-market figures to ground expectations, and you should confirm current market pay through dedicated salary sources and counsel.
What happens to the FAA notification when you change your Director of Operations?
When your Director of Operations changes — a departure, a vacancy, or a new appointee — 14 CFR §119.69(e) requires you to notify the responsible Flight Standards office within 10 days of the change or vacancy. The same provision requires you to keep the duties, responsibilities, and authority of the position documented in your operations manual and to maintain a current list of the persons assigned to your required management positions. So a DO change is not just an internal hire — it is a documented, time-sensitive event the FAA actively tracks. Operating without a qualified, accepted DO is itself a compliance exposure, which is why most operators have the incoming candidate vetted and the FAA acceptance in motion before the outgoing DO leaves, and keep the notification and appointment paperwork dated and organized.
Keep your management-personnel records current and provable
Hiring a Director of Operations is a documented, FAA-accepted appointment — and a §119.69(e) clock when it changes. FileFlo classifies and indexes the records that prove the hire — pilot certificate, the §119.71 qualifying-experience evidence, FAA acceptance, and the §119.69(e) notification trail — with expiration and vacancy alerts and a one-click POI surveillance binder. AI document classification. 600+ document types. Starter at $89/mo, Professional at $299/mo. No credit card required for the 5-day free trial.
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Reviewed by Chad Griffith, Founder, FileFlo — compliance document intelligence. June 15, 2026. Regulatory citations verified against Cornell LII (14 CFR §119.69 and §119.71) as of publication date; salary figures cite ZipRecruiter (June 2026) as a dated range. This article is educational and is not legal, career, recruiting, or HR advice. FileFlo is not a recruiter and does not place, qualify, or certify candidates.