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4 Answers

Time from Check Ride to PP Certificate

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Student Pilot

I passed my Private check ride on December 19, and was immediately issued a temporary certificate that says it is good for 120 days or until replaced by a permanent certificate.  Now I'm wondering what the usual time lapse is for the permanent certificate to be issued.  Ten weeks after passing the check ride I still find nothing when I search for my name on the FAA's Airmen Certification Information seach page.  I suppose the fact that I'm not listed there as a student either must mean that the wheels of government are slowly turning, but I'm looking forward to seeing my name there as "Private," and getting that little plastic card to put in my wallet.  Does anyone know what the typical waiting period is?

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4 Answers



  1. Kent Shook on Mar 01, 2011

    According to the airmen certification page at http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/ , the FAA is “currently processing permanent Airmen Certificates for temporary certificates that were issued approximately January 20, 2011.”
     
    How long has it been since you got your medical/Student Pilot Certificate? I find it troubling that you’re not even listed as a student yet when your Private checkride was a month before the date the FAA says they’re working on. Also, did you fill out a paper FAA Form 8710 for your checkride, or did you use the online IACRA system?
     
    I would check with the examiner you used for the checkride to make sure they sent the paperwork promptly, and/or contact the Airmen Certification branch (click the contact link on the page I linked to above). If you don’t have a permanent certificate by the time the 120 days is up (4-18), you should be able to get another temp from the examiner. However, it seems to me that you should already have the permanent certificate provided the examiner sent in the paperwork properly.

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  2. John Parsons on Mar 02, 2011

    Kent,
    My 3rd class medical and student cert. date from October 2009.  The examiner submitted the application through IACRA and I know he entered the data immediately because he then downloaded the temporary certificate and printed it out on the spot.
    I will contact the FAA and ask about the seeming delay.
    Thanks,
    John

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  3. Wes Beard on Mar 02, 2011

    The turn around for IACRA is around two weeks.  Through my extensive use of IACRA I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that there are validation errors that can occur if the DPE doesn’t quite do something correctly.  This is caught usually by the airman registry services branch in Oklahoma City and the application is sent back to the DPE.  The DPE is then required to send in a paper corrected IACRA 8710.
     
    It’s interesting that your information is not in the online FAA database when your student pilot certificate and medical were issued in October 2009.  It no doubt should be in there right now.   Perhaps a call to the airmen registry is in order to verify the information they have.
     
    http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/contact_airmen_certification/ 

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  4. John Parsons on Mar 02, 2011

    Kent and Wes,
    I called the FAA and got great assistance.  First, they told me not to bother using the general search feature for airman certification info, as they are phasing it out.  There is a new log-in page for that now: https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/amsrvs/Logon.asp
    Second, the lady looked me up by name and DOB told me my PP certificate was mailed late last week.  She also told me my new certificate number.
    So it was a happy ending every way you look at it.  Thanks for your advice!
    -John

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