Civil Penalty Appeals

Under federal regulation 14 C.F.R. §13.202, the Administrator of the FAA serves as the "decisionmaker" on administrative appeals from the decisions of the Department of Transportation administrative law judges in civil penalty cases. The Office of Adjudication advises the Administrator on such matters.

Administrative appeals are not routine, and they usually come near the end of the FAA civil penalty process. The process starts with an investigation that might lead to a proposed civil penalty against a respondent. If the respondent does not accept the proposed penalty, it may request a hearing before an ALJ at the Department of Transportation's Office of Hearings. Following an initial decision or other dispositive order from an ALJ, the complainant (i.e., the FAA enforcement office) or the respondent may appeal to the decisionmaker under 14 C.F.R. § 13.233. Most decisions in administrative appeals are final agency orders that respondents may appeal to certain United States Courts of Appeal, and they are precedential in civil penalty matters. 

• Index of Final Orders in Civil Penalty Appeals
  • Cases by Subject
  • Cases by Regulation or Statute
  • Cases by Name
  • Cases by FAA Order Number
  • Cases Appealed to Federal Court
• Delegation of Authority
  • Delegation of Authority under 14 CFR 13.16 and Part 13, Subpart G from the Administrator to the Chief Counsel and Director of the Office of Adjudication (PDF) (March 28, 2016)
• Rules of Procedure:
  The Rules of Procedure are found in 14 C.F.R. Part 13, Subpart G. On October 1, 2021, the FAA published new rules that amended Subpart G and have an effective date of November 30, 2021.
  • Highlights of the update to the rules.
  • Federal Register Rule published on October 1, 2021. This contains a detailed discussion of the new rules. The new rules themselves begin at page 54546, and Subpart G at page 54538.
  • e-CFR. The e-CFR is not the official version of Federal regulations, but it is updated daily as an informal resource.
  • Old rules. Annual volumes of the Code of Federal Regulations. The latest version of the old rules is found in the 2021 edition. The new rules will appear in subsequent editions.
• Appeal Brief Information for Unrepresented Respondents
• Publications
• Resources
• Filing Information for Civil Penalty Appeals
• DOT Office of Hearings

Last updated: Friday, June 30, 2023