49 CFR § 245.120 - Requirements for territorial qualification.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t49/s245.120"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "49 CFR § 245.120 - Requirements for territorial qualification."
title_number: 49
title_name: "Transportation"
section_number: "245.120"
section_name: "Requirements for territorial qualification."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
part_number: "245"
part_name: "QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF DISPATCHERS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "49 U.S.C. 20103, 20107, 20162, 21301, 21304, 21311; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 49 CFR 1.89; and Pub. L. 110-432, sec. 402, 122 Stat. 4884."
regulatory_source: "89 FR 44806, May 21, 2024, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "245"
---


# 245.120 Requirements for territorial qualification.

(a) After FRA has approved a railroad's certification program, a railroad shall not permit or require a person to serve as a dispatcher on a particular territory unless that railroad determines that:

(1) The person is a certified dispatcher; and

(2) The person either:

(i) Possesses the necessary territorial qualifications for the applicable territory pursuant to § 245.119; or

(ii) Is assisted by a Dispatcher Pilot who is qualified on the territory.

(b) If a person is called to serve on a territory that they are not qualified on, the person must immediately notify the railroad that they are not qualified on the assigned territory.

(c) A person shall no longer be considered qualified on a territory if they have not worked on that territory as a dispatcher in the previous 12 months.

(d) Each railroad shall adopt and comply with a program meeting the requirements of this section. When any person (including, but not limited to, each railroad, railroad officer, supervisor, and employee) violates any requirement of a program which complies with the requirements of this section, that person shall be considered to have violated the requirements of this section.