Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your FAA questions.
You can search for your nearest FSDO on our website. You can contact them for:
- Low-flying aircraft
- Accident Reporting
- Air carrier certification and operations
- Aircraft maintenance
- Aircraft operational issues
- Aircraft permits
- Airmen certification (licensing) for pilots, mechanics, repairmen, dispatchers, and parachute riggers
- Certification and modification issues
- Enforcement of Airmen & Aircraft Regulations
You can search for your nearest FSDO on our website. You can contact them for:
- Low-flying aircraft
- Accident Reporting
- Air carrier certification and operations
- Aircraft maintenance
- Aircraft operational issues
- Aircraft permits
- Airmen certification (licensing) for pilots, mechanics, repairmen, dispatchers, and parachute riggers
- Certification and modification issues
- Enforcement of Airmen & Aircraft Regulations
The FAA’s federal drug and alcohol testing regulation is outlined in 14 CFR part 120 and applies to the following persons:
- All air carriers and operators certificated under 14 CFR part 119 and authorized to conduct operations under part 121 or part 135 of 14 CFR; all air traffic control facilities not operated by the FAA or by or under contract to the U.S. military; and all operators as defined in 14 CFR § 91.147.
- All individuals who perform, either directly or by contract, a safety-sensitive function listed 14 CFR §§ 120.105 and 120.215.
- All part 145 certificate holders who perform safety-sensitive functions and elect to implement a drug and alcohol testing program under part 120.
- All contractors who perform safety-sensitive functions and elect to implement a drug and alcohol testing program under part 120.
The steps to establish your program depend on your type of operation. According to 14 CFR §§ 120.117 and 120.225:
- A part 121 or 135 operator, or a part 145 repair station that elects to conduct its own testing must obtain an Operations Specification paragraph (A449) by contacting its FAA Principal Operations or Maintenance Inspector.
- An air tour operator as defined in 14 CFR § 91.147 must register its program by contacting the local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and requesting a Letter of Authorization (LOA). The FSDO will issue an Operations Specification paragraph (A049) as the LOA. A part 121 or 135 operator that intends to begin operations as an air tour operator must advise the FAA Drug Abatement Division.
- An air traffic control facility not operated by the FAA or by or under contract to the U.S. Military, or a contractor that elects to conduct its own testing must register its program with the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division.
Once you establish your program, you must implement the testing program prior to the date you start operations as a part 121 or 135, air tour operator, or air traffic control facility, or prior to performing safety-sensitive duties by contract (including subcontract at any tier) for a part 121 or 135 or 91.147 employer. You must ensure that your testing program meets all the requirements under 14 CFR part 120 and 49 CFR part 40. For program guidance, including Drug Abatement’s Advisory Circular (AC 120-126A), and helpful resources, you should visit the FAA’s industry drug and alcohol testing website and the Department of Transportation’s website). If you hire a service agent (defined in 49 CFR § 40.3 as a consortium/third party administrator (C/TPA), collector, breath alcohol technician and screening test technician, medical review officer, and substance abuse professional) to assist you in implementing or managing your program, you must ensure the service agent is qualified (where applicable) and compliant with the federal regulations. As the employer, you are responsible for all actions of your officials, representatives, and service agency in carrying out the requirements of 14 CFR part 120 and 49 CFR part 40.
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at (202) 267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about our program.
Applicable Regulations:
- Follow the requirements in the Small UAS rule (Part 107)
- Obtain an exemption under the Special Authority for Certain Unmanned Systems (U.S.C. 44807).
- Obtain an airworthiness certificate for the aircraft
While FAA sets minimum certification requirements for air carriers (commercial certificate with instrument rating), each airline sets its own minimum experience requirements. For example, FAA requires 250 total hours for a commercial pilot certificate. However, few, if any, airlines use that amount of flight time as their own minimum standard. They may require 1,000 or 2,000 hours or more. Also, market conditions (supply of pilots and demand for air travel) influence what minimum experience airlines require.
Also, different air carriers may consider some types of flight time more important than others. Some prefer more jet or turbine experience, while some may prefer more time in a particular type of aircraft. Many airlines also consider whether the applicant has a college degree.
There are aviation job-search companies that research hiring requirements and trends of all U.S. air carriers. You can find these companies through an internet search and through advertisements in flying magazines.
You can get information about FAA requirements for all pilot certificates (14 CFR Part 61) on the Government Printing Office Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Be sure to select Part 61.
The requirements to get a mechanics certificate are on our website.
The requirements to get a mechanics certificate are on our website.
You can find procedures for replacing a lost test report on our website. For additional information email our Civil Aviation Registry.
You can find procedures for replacing a lost test report on our website. For additional information email our Civil Aviation Registry.
If you are in the U.S. at the time you apply, you will need a letter from your country’s Civil Aviation Authority attesting that your training and experience level meets the U.S. requirements.
If you are not in the U.S. at the time you apply, you must show proof that you need the certificate to maintain U.S.- registered aircraft. Procedures for providing proof are located in FAA Order 8900.1, Flight Standards Information Management System, Volume 5, Chapter 5, Section 3, Certificate Foreign Applicants Located Outside the United States for Title 14 CFR Part 65, Mechanic Certificate Rating.
If you are in the U.S. at the time you apply, you will need a letter from your country’s Civil Aviation Authority attesting that your training and experience level meets the U.S. requirements.
If you are not in the U.S. at the time you apply, you must show proof that you need the certificate to maintain U.S.- registered aircraft. Procedures for providing proof are located in FAA Order 8900.1, Flight Standards Information Management System, Volume 5, Chapter 5, Section 3, Certificate Foreign Applicants Located Outside the United States for Title 14 CFR Part 65, Mechanic Certificate Rating.
Still can't find what you are looking for? Please feel free to contact the UAS Support Center for general questions and comments.
An FAA-designated Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) must examine you.
You must contact an AME of your choosing, schedule an appointment, complete an official FAA application form via MedXPress, and undergo a physical examination by an AME. If you have any medical conditions or take any medication, ask the AME office what records you need to bring to your appointment. If you meet the appropriate medical standards, the AME will issue you a medical certificate.
To facilitate your inspection, it is important that your Designated Employer Representative (DER) can describe and discuss your company’s federal testing program and provide the documentation requested by the FAA’s drug and alcohol compliance and enforcement inspector. The FAA’s drug and alcohol testing program inspection process and authority is described in Drug and Alcohol Compliance and Enforcement Surveillance Handbook Order 9120.1. We encourage you to review the Order prior to your inspection to understand how the process works and contact the inspector assigned to your company if you have any questions. To start the process of an announced inspection, the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division will send you a Letter of Notification, Point of Contact (POC) form, and a list of documents to make available for inspection. Our inspection guide, available in Order 9120.1 and on our Sample Forms and Policies webpage, will describe the questions we ask and records we review. To facilitate our inspection, we request that you return the POC form with your contact information and the information about your service agents (e.g., Medical Review Officer, collection personnel, Substance Abuse Professional, and Consortium/Third Party Administrator). If our inspection will include a review or visit with your service agent (including your Medical Review Officer, collection facility, Substance Abuse Professional, and Consortium/Third Party Administrator), the inspection lead will let you know. We appreciate your assistance in facilitating our visit(s).
In accordance with 49 CFR § 40.331, you and your service agent must release all written, printed, and computer-based records and reports, files, materials, data, documents/documentation, agreements, contracts, policies, and statements related to your drug and alcohol program. During our inspection, our inspector may also need to review some of the following types of records:
- Employment records for each safety-sensitive employee (e.g., records of hire, transfer or termination, and applications or resumes)
- Documentation of your safety-sensitive positions (e.g., position descriptions)
- Documentation of an employee’s performance of a safety-sensitive function (e.g., flight logs, duty records, timesheets, work orders, invoices, receipts, and other maintenance records)
At the conclusion of our inspection, we will conduct an outbriefing and advise you of the result of our inspection. If your inspection results in no findings, we will conclude our inspection and send you a formal closeout letter. If we discover any issues that indicate a deviation from 14 CFR part 120 or 49 CFR part 40, we will send you a Report of Inspection (ROI). The ROI will give you an opportunity to provide a detailed description of your corrective actions to return to full compliance and avoid recurrence, as well as providing documentation of the actions you took. Although your timely and sufficient response is not required, it is critical to demonstrating your willingness and ability to comply under our Compliance Program (outlined in FAA Order 8000.373 and Order 2150.3).
As a best practice, we encourage you to use our inspection guide to conduct your own program audits, including your service agent(s), on an annual or bi-annual basis to ensure continued compliance with 14 CFR part 120 or 49 CFR part 40. If you find discrepancies in your program, we encourage you to consider submitting a voluntary disclosure report in accordance with Advisory Circular 120-117.
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at (202) 267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about our program.
Applicable Regulations:
An instructional kit is available at most flight schools to help prepare the knowledge exam. Video tapes are also available (with closed captioning) to assist student pilots studying for the exam. Many flight schools also conduct ground instruction in a regular classroom scenario, but you would have to advise the flight school that it would have to locate and arrange for interpreters under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The IDPA or local deaf advocate organizations would be able to assist the flight school in locating interpreters. Again, check with your local FSDO for flight schools in your area.
You can find information on how to record an aircraft claim of lien on our website.
You can find information about registering an amateur-built aircraft on our website.
You can find information to register your aircraft on our Aircraft Registration website.
You can contact your nearest FAA Flight Standards District Office about replacement of lost or stolen airworthiness certificates.
You can contact your nearest FAA Flight Standards District Office about replacement of lost or stolen airworthiness certificates.