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14 CFR 135, Subpart F contains the rest requirements for Part 135 operations.

The rest requirement for 1 and 2 pilot unscheduled crews (typical) comes from:

135.267(d)
Each assignment under paragraph (b) of this section must provide for at least 10 consecutive hours of rest during the 24-hour period that precedes the planned completion time of the assignment.

What does the FAA consider rest and what actions by the company will interrupt the required rest?

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The 10 hours of rest need to be uninterrupted, planned, and not spent on call. Essentially, the pilots need to have 10 hours in which they are not obligated to do any work for the company at all. Note that it does not mean "10 hours of sleep", and it is up to the pilot what they do with their time off. (They can even technically fly for another 135 operator during that time, but they run the risk of being "careless and reckless" if they aren't well rested.)

NATA has an article about some of the FAA's legal interpretations (pdf) that's pretty interesting and relatively recent (2011). Their paraphrase of the FAA's varying interpretations is this:

the FAA has said that for a “rest period” to be legal it must be: 1) continuous, 2) determined prospectively (i.e. known in advance) and 3) free from all restraint from the certificate holder, including freedom from work or freedom from the present responsibility for work should the occasion arise. Being on call is specifically mentioned as not rest.

This is an interpretation that is repeated throughout a lot of articles and forum discussions. It's also often pointed out that many (most?) 135 carriers blatantly ignore these rules, as most charter operations require pilots to be on call.

For example

You arrive at 19:00, and are done with paperwork / postflight / etc by 19:30 and leave the airport. The moment that you leave the airport is the beginning of your rest period; it will need to last 10 uninterrupted hours, which means until at least 0530 the next morning (1930 to 0530) to mean anything.

If you get a call from dispatch at 21:00 telling you about a flight that might take place in the morning and that you must be available for a call at 05:00 just in case - your rest ends at 05:00. Because your rest period ended 30 minutes early (when you were required to be available), you did not get the 10 hours of rest and can't take a flight without violating 135.267(d).

Another caveat:

There are no explicit limits on duty time (the exception being 135.267(c) involving a "regularly assigned duty period of no more than 14 hours" which doesn't apply to most 135 operators). The limit is on planned flying conducted under 135.

As long as you plan on parking the airplane when you can show 10 hours of rest in the previous 24 hours (which is why some people incorrectly assume that you are limited to 14 hours of duty: 24 - 10 = 14!), you can be kept on duty afterwards. You can even fly under Part 91 for the company. You can clean the airplane, or do office work. While none of that is rest and it is still duty, it is legal unless you get in the airplane to fly under Part 135 without getting the required rest.

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    $\begingroup$ It doesn't matter if you have to drive, they can assume you live on the airport and rest officially ends when you duty-in. I fondly recall my early-morning hotel van rides to the airport while still "resting". $\endgroup$
    – casey
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 18:11
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    $\begingroup$ Shouldn't the call at 21:00 count as interruption anyway (so even if you were originally planned to start later and they told you to start 5:30, it would still not be legal)? $\endgroup$
    – Jan Hudec
    Commented Mar 19, 2014 at 21:41
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    $\begingroup$ @JanHudec It only interrupts rest if you are required to be available for the call. If they call, and you choose to answer, it does not interrupt the rest period. Keep in mind that rest != sleep, just time that you aren't required to do anything for the company. $\endgroup$
    – Lnafziger
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 18:19
  • $\begingroup$ "most charter operations require pilots to be on call." Could you give us more details as to what you mean by that? For how long do they have to be on call? I suspect there is some subtlety being missed here. $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 27, 2020 at 18:46

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