Legal Interpretations
Ceruzzi-Continental 1990
Summary
The Question
May an airworthiness certificate be mounted on the cockpit side of the cockpit door so that only the flight crew can see it when the door is closed?
Background
Continental Airlines' associate general counsel asked about 14 CFR 91.27(b), which requires the airworthiness certificate to be displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew.
The FAA’s Interpretation
Yes. 14 CFR 91.27(b) is framed in the alternative: it requires the certificate to be legible to either the passengers or the crew, not both, so mounting it on the side of the cockpit door facing into the cockpit, visible only to the flight crew when the door is closed, complies.
- Requester
- Ceruzzi
- Organization
- Continental
- Issued
- August 7, 1990
- Subject
- General Operating & Flight Rules
Regulations Cited
- 14 CFR 91.27
- 14 CFR 91.28
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August 7, 1990
Mr. Leonard A. Ceruzzi
Associate General Counsel
Continental Airlines Post
Office Box 4607 Houston,
Texas 77210-4607
Dear Mr. Ceruzzi:
This is in response to your letter of March 20, 1989, requesting an interpretation of § 91.27(b) of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). We apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry, and thank you for your patience. In your letter, you ask if it is permissible to mount the airworthiness certificate on the side of the cockpit door facing into the cockpit so that only the flight crew can see it when the door is closed.
The answer to your question is yes. Section 91.27(b) provides as follows:
No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section [§ 91.27] or a special flight authorization issued under § 91.28 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew. (Emphasis added.)
Since § 91.27(b) is framed in the alternative, compliance can indeed be achieved by hanging the airworthiness certificate on the side of the cockpit door facing into the cockpit so that only the flight crew can see the certificate when the door is closed. The regulation does not require the certificate to be legible to both the passengers and the crew. Instead, it requires that the certificate be legible to either the passengers or the crew. This interpretation has been coordinated with two other organizations within the Federal Aviation Administration: the Air Transportation Division of the Flight Standards Service, and
Page 2
Aircraft Manufacturing Division of the Aircraft Certification Service.
Thank you for your concern for compliance with the FAR. We hope that we have satisfactorily answered your inquiry.
Sincerely,
Donald P. Byrne
Acting Assistant Chief Counsel
Regulations and Enforcement Division
Snapshot retrieved August 6, 2026.