The purpose of this site is to provide FAA flight plan guidance for both domestic and international filers. Information and documentation contained within this site support existing FAA, ICAO, and Flight Service agreements and procedures.
Should you have filing questions, you can email us at flightplanquestions@faa.gov. This email is for strategic questions or recurring issues; any tactical problems with a flight should be referred to the Flight Data unit at the relevant center.
Topics
- Flight Plan Requirements
- Flight Plan Guidance for Pilots
- Flight Plan Guidance for Service Providers
- Flight Plan Filing Service Telecons
- Contact us
Flight Plan Requirements
All IFR flights require a flight plan submitted to an FAA facility or facilities as described in the U.S. Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), Sections ENR 1.10 and ENR 1.11 and in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Section 5-1-6.
The international (ICAO) flight plan format is mandatory for:
- Any flight plan filed, except for Department of Defense flight plans and civilian stereo route flight plans, which can still use the format prescribed in FAA Form 7233−1 (Domestic) to file a flight plan.
- Any flight that will depart U.S. domestic airspace. For DOD flight plan purposes, offshore Warning Areas may use FAA Form 7233−1 or military equivalent.
- Any flight requesting routing that requires Performance Based Navigation.
- Any flight requesting services that require filing of capabilities only supported in the international flight plan format.
Identical guidance is located in the U.S. AIP Appendix 2, AIM Appendix 4, and Order JO 7110.10 Appendix A. These documents are available at Air Traffic Plans and Publications.
Flight Plan Guidance for Pilots
Follow instructions and guidance from your flight plan service provider as well as the instructions in the Aeronautical Information Manual (Section 5-1-6 and Appendix 4) and Aeronautical Information Publication (Sections ENR 1.10, ENR 1.11, and Appendix 2).
To further understand advanced capabilities authorized and how to file them, consult Filing Operational Authorizations in a Flight Plan (PDF).
For reference, this flight plan quick reference brochure (PDF) or flight plan guide (PDF) provides a summary of key flight plan elements.
How to file your flight plan
The FAA provides flight plan filing services as part of the Flight Service organization. You can contact Flight Service or access the pilot web portal here.
Flight Plan Guidance for Service Providers
In addition to the AIM, AIP and FAA Order JO 7110.10, the ERAS Flight Plan Interface Reference Guide (PDF) provides detailed guidance and references to other applicable documents.
Flight Plan Filing Service Telecons
On the first Wednesday of each month, FAA holds a Tele-Conference for Flight Plan Filing Services to discuss flight plan filing issues and standards. All interested filers are welcome to attend.
To add your name to the email list, send your request to flightplanquestions@faa.gov.
Telecon date: First Wednesday of each month
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern
Audio Only
Phone: 1-346-235-0792
Phone conference ID: 695 342 059#
Contact us
Send an email to flightplanquestions@faa.gov.
Last updated: Tuesday, April 04, 2023