Student pilot certificate and medical

The student pilot certificate

You apply online through the FAA's IACRA system, and a CFI, a pilot examiner, an FAA office or an Airman Certification Representative at a Part 141 school verifies your identity and signs off the application. The FAA then mails you a plastic certificate, usually within a few weeks. Apply early so it arrives before you're ready to solo.

To be eligible for a student pilot certificate in an airplane you must be at least 16 years old and able to read, speak, write and understand English (14 CFR 61.83). Student pilot certificates issued today don't expire.

The medical certificate

To solo you also need a medical certificate. Most student pilots get a third-class medical from an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). You start by filling out the application online in MedXPress, then bring the confirmation number to your AME appointment.

"Calendar months" means it runs to the end of the month. An exam on March 3 that's good for 60 calendar months is valid through the end of March five years later (14 CFR 61.23).

BasicMed is an alternative to a medical certificate, but it requires that you've held a medical certificate at some point after July 14, 2006. Brand-new student pilots usually can't use it yet.

What a student pilot can't do

14 CFR 61.89 lists the limits. As a student pilot you may not act as pilot in command:

• Of an aircraft carrying a passenger.
• Carrying property for compensation or hire, or for compensation or hire yourself.
• In furtherance of a business.
• With flight or surface visibility less than 3 statute miles during the day or 5 statute miles at night.
• When you can't fly with visual reference to the surface.
• Contrary to any limitation your instructor writes in your logbook.

On top of these, every solo needs specific instructor endorsements (61.87 and 61.93). Your CFI handles those, but you should know they exist and check them before every solo.