Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your FAA questions.
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.
The process for sound insulation begins with your local airport conducting a Part 150 Study (also referred to as Airport Noise Compatibility Planning). This Part 150 Study then generates a noise contour map that identifies the homes that fall within the 65 or greater DNL (Day-Night Average Sound Level). These homes are the ones that will be considered for sound insulation. Please contact your local airport to find out the status of a Part 150 Report for you community.
To search for airports around your specific location, use the FAA Airport Mapping Application, or visit the FAA's Office of Airports page..
Read "The Airport Noise Program" article in the newsroom to learn more.
Still can't find what you are looking for? Please feel free to contact the UAS Support Center for general questions and comments.
You can find information to locate a medical examiner in your area on our website.
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 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) is able to describe and discuss your company’s testing program and provide the documentation requested by the FAA’s inspector. The FAA’s drug and alcohol testing program inspection process and authority is described in Drug and Alcohol Inspector 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 web page, will describe the questions we ask and records for 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, the inspection lead will let you know. We appreciate your assistance in facilitating our visit(s).
In accordance with 49 CFR § 40.331, you 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 (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 you have no issues, we will conclude our inspection. If we discover any deviations from the regulation, 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 (which is defined 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 the FAA and DOT regulations (14 CFR Part 120 and 49 CFR Part 40). If you find discrepancies in your program, 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 aircraft purchased outside of the U.S. 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.
You can find information to replace your student pilot license on our website.
To report a voluntary disclosure issue of noncompliance under the federal drug and alcohol testing regulations outlined in 14 CFR part 120 and 49 CFR part 40, an employer or contractor should follow the FAA’s Advisory Circular, AC 120-117, Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program for Apparent Violations of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulations, dated December 20, 2017.
The voluntary disclosure report should be sent directly to the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division at drugabatement@faa.gov and include the written initial notification and information outlined in Appendix A of AC 120-117.
Please note that a management official and program manager (either the Designated Employer Representative (DER) or Alcohol and Drug Program Manager) must sign all program-related disclosure reports.
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
To report a safety concern, please contact your area's Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).
To locate your area's FSDO's contact information, visit: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/.
To report a Suspected Unapproved Part (SUP), contact our 24-Hour Safety Hotline at (800) 255-1111 or visit our website to submit a report to the FAA Hotline office.
You can report or submit a claim for stolen, lost or missing items on the Transportation Security Administration's website.
We recommend you notify your local law enforcement to make a police report. This would prevent any further action and will cover you in the event that the stolen drone happens to be used in illegal activity in the future. You should then de-register your UAS as follows:
- Recreational flyers: If you registered your drone at FAADroneZone, log in to your account and you will see your registration number, right below it (in far left column) you will see the option to "Cancel".
- Part 107 flyers: If you registered your drone at FAADroneZone, log in to your account and go to "Manage sUAS Inventory". Next, beside the drone you want to cancel are three small vertical dots, select those dots and there you will have the option to "Cancel".
Still can't find what you are looking for? Please feel free to contact the UAS Support Center for general questions and comments.
You can request (or petition) for an exemption from any rule issued by FAA under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by:
- Following the instruction in 14 CFR Part 11, or
- Visiting our Petition for Exemption or Rulemaking website.