Annex 12 – Search and Rescue. Ninth Edition, 2024.
In December 1946, the Search and Rescue Division, at its second session, made recommendations for Standards and Recommended Practices for Search and Rescue. These were developed by the Secretariat and the then existent Air Navigation Committee, and were duly submitted to the Council. The proposals were not accepted by the Council in the form in which they were presented and, on 20 April 1948, were referred back to the Air Navigation Committee for further consideration.
A further draft Annex was then developed in the light of experience gained at Regional Air Navigation Meetings and eventually was approved in principle by the Air Navigation Commission and circulated to States for comment. Further development was made by the Air Navigation Commission as a result of States’ comments and the resulting proposals were adopted by the Council on 25 May 1950 and designated as Annex 12 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Annex became effective on 1 December 1950 and came into force on 1 March 1951.
This Annex sets forth the provisions applicable to the establishment, maintenance and operation of search and rescue services by Member States in their territories and over the high seas. Annex 12 is complemented by the three-volume International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (Doc 9731) which provides guidelines for a common aviation and maritime approach to organization and provision of search and rescue services.
Amendment 19 (9th Edition).
Sources: Sixth meeting of the Air Traffic Management Operations Panel (ATMOPSP/6); and the twenty-seventh meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization/ International Maritime Organization (ICAO/IMO) Joint Working Group on Harmonization of Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (JWG-SAR/27)
Subjects: a) Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS); and
b) Responsiveness of SAR operations, safety of SAR personnel at accident sites, conduct of exercises, and procedures to be followed when intercepting a distress transmission as of 26 November 2026.
Adopted: 18 March 2024.
Effective: 22 July 2024.
Applicable: 28 November 2024. 26 November 2026.
