Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners
Special Issuances
The following pages of the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners introduce the AME Assisted Special Issuance (AASI) process.
The Guide refers to a number of selected medical conditions that are initially disqualifying (if the applicant does not meet the issue criteria in the Aerospace Medicine Dispositions Tables or the Certification Worksheets) and must be deferred to the AMCD or RFS. If this is a first-time application for an AASI for the applicable disease/condition, and the airman has all the requisite medical information necessary for a determination, the Examiner must defer and submit all of the documentation to the AMCD or RFS for the initial determination.
Following the granting of an Authorization for Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate (Authorization) by the AMCD or RFS, an Examiner may reissue a medical certificate to an applicant with a medical history of an initially disqualifying condition once the AASI's specialized criteria is met and the applicant is otherwise qualified. An Examiner's decision or determination is subject to review by the FAA.
Each AASI has their own specialized clinical criteria, by which an Examiner may reissue a medical certificate to an applicant with a medical history of an initially disqualifying condition, if otherwise qualified. The Authorization letter is accompanied by attachments that specify the information that treating physician(s) must provide for the re-issuance determination.