14 CFR Part 295: The Broker Disclosure Rule, Explained
The federal regulation that governs what a charter broker has to tell you before you book, and what happens if they don't.
The Short Version
Why this rule exists
Before 2019, air charter brokers operated with no federal disclosure requirements at all. A broker could sell you a flight without ever telling you which company was actually operating the aircraft, what capacity they were acting in, or whether the broker carried any liability insurance covering them. The Department of Transportation closed that gap with 14 CFR Part 295, effective February 14, 2019.
Part 295 applies to anyone acting as an air charter broker, whether as a bona fide agent of the charterer, an agent of the operator, or an indirect air carrier arranging the flight. It requires a specific set of disclosures before you sign anything, and it prohibits brokers from misrepresenting their role, the operator's identity, or the safety and quality of the service being sold.
In plain terms: you have a federal right to know who is actually flying you, and what role the company selling you the flight is playing in it.
Before You Book
What we're required to tell you, no request needed
These three disclosures have to reach you before you enter into a contract for your flight.
Who's actually flying you
The corporate name of the direct air carrier in operational control of your aircraft, including any "doing business as" names it operates under. Not a brand, not a broker's marketing name, the actual certificate holder.
What role we're playing
Whether we're acting as your agent, the operator's agent, or as an indirect air carrier ourselves. This determines who's legally responsible for what on your trip.
Insurance status
Whether we, the broker, hold liability insurance covering you, your passengers, and your property on the flight, and if we do, the limits of that coverage. If there is none, you're told before you book, not after.
What you can ask for
A second tier of disclosures only has to be provided if you ask, but you're always entitled to ask.
- The total cost of the trip paid to or through us, including broker and carrier fees and government taxes
- Any fees third parties will charge you directly, such as fuel, landing, or hangar fees (or a good-faith estimate)
- When we act as your agent, any business relationship with the operator that could affect which operator we selected
If something changes
If a broker can't deliver the transportation as arranged, or fails to provide the required disclosures within a reasonable time, you're entitled to cancel and receive a full refund. Part 295 sets real timelines for this, not a vague promise: credit card refunds follow standard card-network rules, and cash or check refunds are due within 20 days of a complete refund request.
This is also why our own internal policy is strict about operator matching: once a quote discloses a specific operator, we book that operator, not a substitute, precisely because swapping it after the fact would create the kind of disclosure mismatch Part 295 exists to prevent.
FAQ
Part 295, Client & Broker Questions
Answers for clients booking a charter, and for brokers building their own disclosure practice
For Clients
For Brokers
How this shows up in every quote
Every Scott Wallace Agency quote includes the Part 295 disclosure block: the operator's legal name and any DBAs, our capacity in arranging the flight, and confirmation of insurance coverage, alongside the safety review we run on every operator we recommend, including its third-party audits (ARGUS, Wyvern or IS-BAO). Questions about a specific quote's disclosure? Call us at (844) 926-3156 or use the form below.