(a) Training requirement. Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c) and (f) of this section, no certificate holder may use any crewmember or person to perform any of the job functions or direct supervisory responsibilities, and no person may perform any of the job functions or direct supervisory responsibilities, specified in § 135.501(a) unless that person has satisfactorily completed the certificate holder's FAA-approved initial or recurrent hazardous materials training program within the past 24 months.

(b) New hire or new job function. A person who is a new hire and has not yet satisfactorily completed the required initial hazardous materials training, or a person who is changing job functions and has not received initial or recurrent training for a job function involving storage incidental to transport, or loading of items for transport on an aircraft, may perform those job functions for not more than 30 days from the date of hire or a change in job function, if the person is under the direct visual supervision of a person who is authorized by the certificate holder to supervise that person and who has successfully completed the certificate holder's FAA-approved initial or recurrent training program within the past 24 months.

(c) Persons who work for more than one certificate holder. A certificate holder that uses or assigns a person to perform or directly supervise a job function specified in § 135.501(a), when that person also performs or directly supervises the same job function for another certificate holder, need only train that person in its own policies and procedures regarding those job functions, if all of the following are met:

(1) The certificate holder using this exception receives written verification from the person designated to hold the training records representing the other certificate holder that the person has satisfactorily completed hazardous materials training for the specific job function under the other certificate holder's FAA approved hazardous material training program under appendix O of part 121 of this chapter; and

(2) The certificate holder who trained the person has the same operations specifications regarding the acceptance, handling, and transport of hazardous materials as the certificate holder using this exception.

(d) Recurrent hazardous materials training—Completion date. A person who satisfactorily completes recurrent hazardous materials training in the calendar month before, or the calendar month after, the month in which the recurrent training is due, is considered to have taken that training during the month in which it is due. If the person completes this training earlier than the month before it is due, the month of the completion date becomes his or her new anniversary month.

(e) Repair stations. A certificate holder must ensure that each repair station performing work for, or on the certificate holder's behalf is notified in writing of the certificate holder's policies and operations specification authorization permitting or prohibition against the acceptance, rejection, handling, storage incidental to transport, and transportation of hazardous materials, including company material. This notification requirement applies only to repair stations that are regulated by 49 CFR parts 171 through 180.

(f) Certificate holders operating at foreign locations. This exception applies if a certificate holder operating at a foreign location where the country requires the certificate holder to use persons working in that country to load aircraft. In such a case, the certificate holder may use those persons even if they have not been trained in accordance with the certificate holder's FAA approved hazardous materials training program. Those persons, however, must be under the direct visual supervision of someone who has successfully completed the certificate holder's approved initial or recurrent hazardous materials training program in accordance with this part. This exception applies only to those persons who load aircraft.