ENAC Skydiving Licences: How the Italian System Really Works

In Italy, ENAC issues a single Skydiver's Licence: from a regulatory standpoint, there is no A, B, C, D level structure. And yet, on forums, on many schools' websites, and in conversations at the drop zone, you constantly hear talk of 'licence A', 'getting your B', 'needing a C to fly wingsuit'. This confusion has a clear origin — the international FAI/USPA standard — and it's worth clearing up once and for all, because following the wrong path has real consequences: missing certifications, prohibited activities, and gaps in insurance coverage.

What ENAC Actually Issues

The regulatory references are the ENAC Regulation 'Licenze di Paracadutismo' (Ed. 3) and the Regulation on ordinary and special jump operations. The first document explicitly describes the structure of the Italian system: there is a single Skydiver's Licence, to which additional ratings are appended — by endorsement — as the skydiver acquires them over time.

The available ratings are:

CS — Certificazioni di idoneità a Tecniche Speciali (Special Technique Proficiency Certifications): required for disciplines that carry additional risk (freefly, wingsuit, canopy formation, and others). Each CS has specific requirements in terms of recent jump numbers, type of experience, and generally a dedicated course with an instructor.

Istruttore di Paracadutismo (Parachuting Instructor): a teaching rating for those who want to train students. It requires significant experience thresholds (on the order of hundreds of jumps and freefall hours — check the current version of the regulation for exact figures).

IPS — Istruttore di Paracadutismo Senior (Senior Parachuting Instructor): the higher tier of the instructor rating.

Esaminatore di Paracadutismo (Parachuting Examiner): the highest level, authorised to conduct official examinations and assessments.

Tandem Master: a specific rating to conduct tandem jumps with a passenger.

Direttore di Lancio (Jump Director): the person responsible for jump operations at the drop zone.

All of these ratings are issued by ENAC and endorsed on the licence. They are not 'levels' in a mandatory sequence — they are functional certifications, each with its own prerequisites.

Keeping Your Licence Current: Recency Requirements

ENAC does not think in terms of 'licence A duration' or 'renewing your B'. The system is based on recency: the licence remains current as long as the skydiver meets three conditions within the past 12 months:

At least 15 jumps, including at least 1 in the past 3 months.

At least 10 minutes of freefall.

A valid ENAC Class 2 medical certificate, issued by an authorised ENAC-certified medical examiner — not a GP, not a generic sports medicine doctor.

If any of these requirements lapses, the licence becomes inactive. Reinstatement involves check jumps with an instructor following the school's procedures, and renewal of the medical certificate. Exact details should be verified against the current version of the ENAC regulation and with your certified school.

The A/B/C/D System: What It Is and Where It Comes From

The 'A/B/C/D licences' you hear mentioned at Italian drop zones are an industry convention derived from the FAI/USPA standard. The USPA (United States Parachute Association) codified four progressive experience levels, which were subsequently adopted as an international reference by the FAI's IPC (International Parachuting Commission). In brief:

A Licence: the first independent level after an AFF course or equivalent. Typically around 25 jumps as a guideline under the USPA standard, with basic freefall skills and the ability to land independently.

B Licence: intermediate level, typically from 50 jumps under the USPA standard, with greater freefall and canopy skills and the ability to participate in more complex formations.

C Licence: experienced skydiver, several hundred jumps, multi-discipline proficiency; often used informally as a threshold for organisational roles.

D Licence: senior level, typically 500 or more jumps under the USPA standard; required for high-responsibility roles (load organizer, tandem cameraman, certain international qualifications).

These thresholds do not appear in the ENAC regulation. They are useful for communicating your experience level between international drop zones and for navigating the FAI standard, but they carry no regulatory weight in Italy. Telling an Italian Direttore di Lancio 'I have a B licence' is an informal indication, not an official document.

The Role of AeCI and the Sporting Licence

Alongside the ENAC system operates Aero Club d'Italia (AeCI), the national aeronautical federation recognised by CONI and affiliated with the FAI. AeCI's remit is sporting and competitive activity: membership, national competitions, ratified records, and Italian representation within the FAI through the Commissione Nazionale Paracadutismo (CNP).

To take part in competitive activity in Italy — entering official competitions, attempting FAI records, obtaining international sporting licences — a skydiver must be a member of a local aero club affiliated with AeCI. This membership is separate from the ENAC licence and operates under a different set of rules.

The practical distinction is this: your ENAC licence authorises you to jump. AeCI membership authorises you to compete. A skydiver who jumps purely for enjoyment, with no interest in competition, needs the ENAC licence but does not necessarily need AeCI membership. Anyone who wants to compete needs both.

What You Need and When: A Practical Guide

To cut through the most common confusion, let's look at the real-world scenarios a skydiver with 50–200 jumps will encounter during their progression:

Want to jump independently at an ENAC-certified Italian drop zone? You need the ENAC Skydiver's Licence, a valid Class 2 medical certificate, and current recency requirements. Nothing else.

Want to do freefly or wingsuit? You need the specific CS (Special Technique Proficiency Certification) endorsed on your ENAC licence. Simply 'having a C licence' in the FAI/USPA sense is not enough: you need the ENAC CS for that discipline, with the requirements the regulation sets out for it. Contact your ENAC-certified school for the correct pathway.

Want to jump at foreign drop zones or attend international events? There, your counterparts will use the A/B/C/D language. You can indicate your level according to that standard as an experience reference, but bring your ENAC licence too: it is the recognisable Italian legal document.

Want to compete in national competitions? You need membership of an AeCI-affiliated aero club, in addition to your ENAC licence.

Want to become an instructor or Tandem Master? You need the corresponding ENAC rating (Istruttore, IPS, Esaminatore, Tandem Master), with the experience prerequisites set out in the regulation. These ratings are endorsed on your existing ENAC licence — they are not separate documents.

Comparison Table: ENAC System vs. FAI/USPA Convention

To make the comparison clear at a glance, here are the structural differences between the two systems:

ENAC System (Italian regulation)

Document: Single Skydiver's Licence

Additional ratings: CS (special techniques), Istruttore, IPS, Esaminatore, Tandem Master, Direttore di Lancio

Maintenance: recency (15 jumps/12 months, 1 jump/3 months, 10 min freefall) + Class 2 medical certificate

Issuing authority: ENAC

Legal validity in Italy: yes

FAI/USPA Convention (international standard)

Document: A, B, C, D Licences (experience levels)

Progression: jump numbers + freefall time + skill test

Reference authority: USPA (USA) / FAI-IPC (international)

Legal validity in Italy: no (it is an experience reference, not a regulatory framework)

Practical use: communicating your level at foreign drop zones, accessing FAI events

The Forum Confusion: Where It Comes From

Many Italian school websites and forum threads use 'A/B/C/D licence' as though these were the official levels of the ENAC system. This happens for two reasons: first, the FAI/USPA standard has become the common language of the international community, and schools adopt it for ease of communication. Second, in the day-to-day life of a drop zone, the school's internal progression requirements — how many jumps before you can freefly, how many before you can jump in formation with strangers — overlap with the FAI/USPA levels and create the impression that they are the same thing.

They are not. When a school says 'you need a C licence to do freefly', it is using a practical shorthand that means 'you need experience comparable to FAI/USPA level C and the ENAC CS for freefly'. On the legal document, what matters is the CS endorsed by ENAC.

If you are a newer jumper with 50–200 jumps planning your progression, the right question to ask your school is not 'when do I get my B?' but 'which CS do I need to do X, and what are the ENAC requirements for each one?'

In Summary

The Italian system is simpler than it appears, but it requires using the right terminology. ENAC issues the licence and certifies operational ratings: it is the authority that matters for jumping legally in Italy. AeCI manages sporting membership and FAI representation: it is the authority that matters for competing. The letters A/B/C/D are a useful international communication tool, but they neither replace nor accurately reflect the Italian regulatory structure.

For any questions about specific requirements — jump numbers for a CS, thresholds for instructor ratings, medical certificate validity — the correct source is the ENAC Regulation 'Licenze di Paracadutismo' in the current version available at enac.gov.it, or directly your ENAC-certified skydiving school. Forums are useful for exchanging ideas, not for planning a regulatory pathway.