Mobile Clearance
The FAA has collaborated with industry partners to develop and test a new feature for mobile applications that allows general aviation pilots to request departure clearance from an airport without needing to contact the tower by voice.
What is Mobile Clearance?
- General aviation pilots already use third-party aviation applications to assist with flight planning, navigation, and tracking weather. Now they will also be able to use select applications to request departure clearance from air traffic control (ATC) with the push of a button.
- For reference, more than half of the 44,000 daily requests to depart using Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) are done so verbally by pilots who contact the air traffic control tower, approach control, or Center directly via radio.
- Switching to a digital, text-based system reduces the risk for readback error and provides more situational awareness for controllers to focus on safety.
- Mobile Clearance mimics the Controller Pilot Data Link Communication-Departure Clearance (CPDLC-DCL) capability in Tower Data Link Services (TDLS) currently used by commercial airlines, meaning air traffic controllers are already familiar with the system.
- Mobile Clearance also allows pilots to cancel IFR from their flight service apps after landing at uncontrolled airports, freeing up the airspace for controllers to allow other IFR operations.
- As operational evaluation continues at select locations, Mobile Clearance will be deployed to airports throughout the U.S. starting in 2027.
Coming to an Airport Near You
Discover which airports currently provide Mobile Clearance and which airports are gaining the feature in the near future.
The FAA’s Role
The FAA began collaborating with MITRE in 2016 to mature the Mobile Clearance concept and help develop the software. In 2024, the FAA began simulation testing with pilots and air traffic controllers at the NAS Innovation and Emerging Concepts (NIEC) Lab at the William J. Hughes Technical Center.
In May 2026, an operational evaluation for Mobile Clearance began at Houston, TX, area airports, and in the summer expanded to Appleton International Airport (ATW) and New Century AirCenter (IXD). During these evaluation periods, participating pilots were able to request IFR departure clearances from select Houston-area airports via flight plan service provider applications, such as ForeFlight and Garmin.
In early Fall 2026, operational evaluation will expand to Kansas City, MO, and Austin, TX, area airports. Additionally, a feature of Mobile Clearance allowing pilots to cancel IFR clearances from their flight service applications will be available in Houston-area airspace.
The FAA plans to end evaluation in early 2027 and transition to deployment of the final product.
| Milestones | Description |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Concept development and testing begins in collaboration with MITRE. |
| 2024 | Tower and pilot simulation testing begins at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center. |
| May 2026 | Operational evaluation opens in Houston, TX, area airports, including Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR), Scholes International Airport (GLS), and David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH). |
| Summer 2026 | Operational evaluation expands to Appleton International Airport (ATW), New Century AirCenter (IXD). |
| Fall 2026 | IFR cancellation feature becomes available via Houston’s Terminal Radar Approach Control (I90), and operational evaluation expands to College Station (CLL), Kansas City Downtown (MKC), Johnson County/Olathe (OJC), Austin Executive (EDC), Georgetown (GTU), and San Marcos (HYI). |
| February 2027 | End of evaluation period and deployment of final product to airports across the nation. |
Mobile Clearance Frequently Asked Questions
Mobile Clearance addresses several limitations of PDC. Unlike PDC, which is limited to one clearance delivery per airport every 24 hours, Mobile Clearance supports clearance revisions. Mobile Clearance also allows pilots to send responses, such as Accept or Wilco, directly to air traffic control, providing feedback that is not available through PDC. In addition, Mobile Clearance includes features such as Contact Me and IFR Cancellation, which are not supported by PDC. Mobile Clearance will be available at airports that are currently not served by PDC. Mobile Clearance can be used with any aircraft you operate, where PDC is limited to registered callsigns only.
The FAA plans to make Mobile Clearance and IFR Cancellation capabilities available at select non-towered airports across the country. Please check this site for future updates and deployment information.
The FAA plans to add an IFR release capability for non-towered airports in a future phase. Implementation timing has not yet been determined. Please check this site for updates.
For pilots, Mobile Clearance is only available through ForeFlight and Garmin. The FAA has received interest from additional app providers and is evaluating opportunities to expand participation in the future. No additional providers have been announced at this time. The FAA does not have and does not intend to create a separate Mobile Clearance app.
Mobile Clearance is currently available only to Part 91 and Part 135 operators. The program office is evaluating the feasibility of expanding access to additional operator categories in the future, particularly as Mobile Clearance is deployed at airports that do not currently support PDC or Controller Pilot Data Link Communications-Departure Clearance (CPDLC-DCL).
We recommend that on initial contact you advise the controller that you have your “mobile clearance.” For example: “Hooks Ground, N12345 has ATIS Charlie and our mobile clearance, at Gill Aviation, ready to taxi.”