The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) is an associated body of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) representing the civil aviation regulatory authorities of a number of European States, who have agreed to co-operate in developing and implementing common safety regulatory standards and procedures.

Member states are required to adopted the common comprehensive and detailed aviation regulations as set out in the Joint Aviation Regulations (JAR) The JAR are recognised and complied by the Civil Aviation Authorities of all participating countries The UK CAA – Civilian Aviation Authority; the regulatory authority of the United Kingdom is a JAA member state.

The licensing requirements for airplanes are contained in JAR FCL-1 and this describes a the flying as well the theory requirements for qualifying for a JAA license. It is now become possible for pilots holding an ICAO license, ie a flying certificate issued by any ICAO country, to initiate the process of acquiring a JAA license.