Under what condition must you negotiate altitude with the R-side before releasing a departure?

• A. If the arrival is more than 20 minutes from the airport.
• B. If the arrival is 8 minutes or less from the NAVAID and Sector 66 has control.
• C. If the aircraft is on a different approach path.
• D. If weather is VFR.

Answer: (B)

Coordinating altitude with the radar-side before releasing a departure is done to ensure safe vertical separation when an inbound is already close to the airport. When an arrival is eight minutes or less from the NAVAID and Sector 66 has control, the inbound traffic is in a tight window, so the R-side must be consulted to confirm or assign a safe altitude for the departing aircraft before release. This helps prevent conflicts as the arrival stacks through the final approach and the departure climbs out, keeping both streams properly separated.

The other scenarios don’t inherently require this step: a far-distant arrival leaves more time and flexibility; being on a different approach path doesn’t automatically create the same near-term conflict; and weather being VFR doesn’t by itself mandate altitude negotiation before departure.