Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) Exemptions

Secondary reference. This is an operator-level regime, summarised here so you know what it means when a schedule runs on an FRMS exemption. Every section in Division V of Subpart 700 (CARs 700.200–700.259) is covered below in paraphrase; the authoritative sources are the CARs text on Justice Laws, AC 700-046 — FRMS Requirements, and AC 700-045 — Exemption and Safety Case Process.

What it is

The prescriptive rules — the 700.28 tables, rest periods, reserve limits and so on — are a one-size-fits-all safety net. An FRMS lets an operator depart from specific prescriptive limits for a defined flight if it can show, with data and fatigue science, that the way that flight is actually run is no more fatiguing than the prescriptive limit would be.

It is a substantial, ongoing programme — not a form to fill in. The operator builds the system, notifies the Minister, flies under an initial exemption while it gathers evidence, then has to get a safety case approved to keep going.

What an FRMS can and cannot vary — 700.200, 700.201, 700.207

700.200 — the initial exemption. On sending a compliant notice of intent (700.206) and having the two core FRMS components in place, an operator and its crews are exempt from the provisions named in that notice, for the flight described in it. The operator must keep a fatigue analysis available to the Minister every 90 days (or at the end of a shorter operating period). A separate subsection carries the equivalent exemption for 702 aerial-work operators.
Limits that can never be varied. The exemption can reach most of 700.27–700.72, except the daily flight-time cross-check (700.27(1)(c)), the yearly hours-of-work ceiling (700.29(1)(a)), home base (700.36), nutrition breaks (700.37), and the 1,200-hour / 365-day flight-time ceiling (700.103(1)(e)). For 702 operators the carve-out is the yearly flight-time limit (702.92(1)(a)).
Three-year cap. The initial exemption runs only while the operator keeps meeting 700.213–700.225, and ends at the earlier of the continuing exemption (700.234) taking effect or three years after the notice of intent was sent (700.200(3)).
700.201 — “flight” means a series of flights too, when they are consecutive, flown by the same crew, in one or consecutive flight duty periods.
700.207 — no progress, no exemption. If the 90-day analysis shows no progress on the safety case, the initial exemption ends.

Sections 700.202–700.205 and 700.208–700.212 are reserved.

The notice of intent — 700.206

The operator sends the Minister a notice of intent that includes: a statement that the fatigue risk management plan and process are established, implemented and maintained (and that promotion and quality-assurance programmes are coming); a description of the flight; the exact provisions to be departed from; how the flight is run and how that varies from those provisions; the scientific studies showing the variance is not likely to harm crew fatigue and alertness; when the exemption will first apply; a description of the safety case to be built; a commitment to validate it and run an initial audit; and the name of the person responsible for the FRMS (700.206(1)). More than one flight can go in one notice only if they match on FDP length, number of consecutive FDPs, reporting times, window-of-circadian-low exposure, rest, time zones, aircraft type, crew complement, and operating hazards (700.206(2)).

The four components — 700.213 to 700.219

700.213 — establish and implement the FRMS. The appointed operations manager is accountable for it, acts on quality-assurance findings, and reports systemic deficiencies to the accountable executive. Management functions can be delegated, but the responsibility cannot.
700.214 — the four components. An FRMS must contain (1) a fatigue risk management plan, (2) a fatigue risk management process, (3) a fatigue risk management promotion programme, and (4) a quality assurance programme. It must account for all duties the crews perform, and be updated when operations change or when audits or data analysis show fatigue rising.
700.215 — the plan carries a fatigue policy signed by the accountable executive, safety objectives and performance indicators, defined responsibilities, a training plan, a communication plan, and — importantly for crews — a policy for internal fatigue reporting without fear of reprisal.
700.216 — the process sets procedures for internal fatigue reporting, acknowledging every report in writing, collecting hazard data (crew performance, occurrences, schedule data, planned-vs-actual comparisons), schedule modelling, and a risk-assessment method that identifies causes, rates likelihood and severity, prioritises risks, and sets corrective actions.
700.217 — collaboration with employees. The operator must involve employees in developing the internal fatigue-reporting policy and procedure.
700.218 — promotion. The promotion programme trains employees on how the FRMS works and their part in it, what to do about fatigue risks, and the fatigue rules. For 702 operators the syllabus also includes the full fatigue-science curriculum (sleep, circadian rhythm, disorders, countermeasures — mirroring the 703/704/705 training program). Training is competency-based, and the operator communicates industry reports, best practice, new science and FRMS updates.
700.219 — quality assurance. A documented audit process (checklist, frequency plan, audits after occurrences, analysis of findings, corrective actions, record-keeping), a periodic review of FRMS effectiveness, and procedures for ongoing monitoring of the variance’s effect on crew fatigue and alertness.

Sections 700.220–700.224 are reserved.

The safety case and getting approved — 700.225, 700.231 to 700.234

700.225 — the safety case is the evidence that the variance does not increase fatigue or reduce alertness. It describes the flight, the exempted provisions and the variance; the data methods used to set baseline fatigue and alertness and to evaluate the case over time; the supporting science; an analysis of the variance’s effect given the crews’ before-and-after schedules; the fatigue risk controls; and how effectiveness will be monitored. A safety case is validated only when fatigue and alertness data have been collected over one to two years across at least 20 consecutive flights from the notice, and show that no more than 5% of those flights had an adverse effect greater than 5% on baseline fatigue and alertness — with the risk assessment done, mitigations in place and monitored, and corrective actions taken where needed (700.225(3)).
700.231 — initial audit. After the safety case is validated, the operator runs an initial audit of the FRMS, analyses the findings, and implements and assesses corrective actions. It is not repeated for a later variance or a reused safety case if an audit has already been done.
700.232 — submission. The validated safety case goes to the Minister with a statement that the initial audit is done and the FRMS meets the Division.
700.233 — approval. The Minister approves the safety case if satisfied the 700.225(3) conditions are met and the initial audit was conducted.
700.234 — continuing exemption. On the operator receiving that approval, the exemption continues for the same provisions and flight (and any other flight in the notice). It lasts as long as the operator maintains the FRMS, monitors the safety case under 700.248, and fixes any adverse effect within 60 days of identifying it.

Sections 700.226–700.230 and 700.235–700.239 are reserved.

Reusing a safety case for another flight — 700.240

An operator with an approved safety case can apply the same exemption to a different flight, on the same safety case, by sending the Minister a letter of confirmation — but only if the other flight matches the original on a long list of parameters (FDP length, number of consecutive FDPs, reporting times, time zones and direction, window-of-circadian-low exposure, aircraft type, crew complement, operating environment, hazards, and rest before and after). The exempted provisions and the nature of the variance must be identical, and the same 60-day fix and ongoing-monitoring conditions apply.

Sections 700.241–700.245 are reserved.

Staying exempt — the ongoing obligations — 700.246 to 700.259

700.246 — miss the deadline, lose it for two years. An operator that had an initial exemption but did not validate a safety case within the three-year window cannot be exempted from the same provisions for the same flight for two years.
700.247 — recurring audits. The FRMS is audited within 12 months of the initial audit, then every 12 months, and also after an incident or accident and after a major change to the operation.
700.248 — variance monitoring. The operator monitors the variance’s effect on crew fatigue and alertness for every six-month period the flight runs, using a representative sample of flights; adverse effects trigger corrective action, and a remedied safety case is reported to the Minister within 60 days.
700.249 — annual review. At least every 12 months the operator reviews the FRMS — the process, the reliability of its indicators, and whether the safety objectives were met — records the decisions, and keeps quality-assurance duties independent of the work being audited (with narrow exceptions for very small operators).
700.255 — annual training. Employees are trained every 12 months on the 700.218 subjects, with training records and evaluation results kept for each person.
700.256 — documentation kept current. FRMS documentation must reflect what is actually done, and changes are notified to the Minister within 60 days.
700.257 — data and documentation. The operator keeps the fatigue model used, fatigue and alertness test records, the comparison against baseline, and all audit and review material.
700.258 — five-year retention. Information collected or created under the Division is kept for five years.
700.259 — access. The operator makes any required documentation available to the Minister on request.

Sections 700.250–700.254 are reserved.

What it means for a crew member

Your operator can only depart from the specific provisions named in its notice of intent, and only for the specific flight it applies to — everything else still runs on the prescriptive rules.
Some limits are never exempted: the yearly flight-time and hours-of-work ceilings, home base, and nutrition breaks.
The exemption rests on the operator collecting and acting on fatigue data, including your reports. An internal fatigue-reporting route, with acknowledgement in writing and no reprisal, is a required part of the FRMS (700.215, 700.216).
If the data shows the schedule is more fatiguing than the prescriptive limit, the operator has to fix it within 60 days or the flight reverts to the prescriptive rules.
You still have the 700.26 duty to declare when you are not fit for duty, and the FRMS does not change that.