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Student pilot guide
How to get your student pilot certificate
The IACRA walkthrough — apply once, free, and forget about it.
A friendly guide to point you the right way — not legal, medical, or FAA advice, and not every situation. Regulations and local procedures vary; your instructor has the final word.
Applying takes about 20 minutes online plus one short meeting. Here's the path.
Step by step
- •1. Create an account at iacra.faa.gov (the FAA's application portal). Save your FTN — your FAA Tracking Number — you'll use it for every certificate you ever get.
- •2. Start a new application: Pilot → Student Pilot.
- •3. Fill in your details and submit. No fee, no test.
- •4. Verify your identity in person: your CFI (most common), a DPE, or the local FSDO can do it. They'll pull up your application in IACRA, check your ID and citizenship or TSA status, and sign it off.
- •5. The FAA mails your plastic certificate — typically a few weeks out. A temporary shows in IACRA sooner.
Two gotchas
- •Non-U.S. citizens need TSA Flight Training Security Program approval (fts.tsa.dhs.gov) before flight training — start that even earlier.
- •The certificate itself never expires, but you must physically carry it (plus your medical) when you solo.
Keep reading
What does the Vector61 logbook do?How the digital logbook works, what it automates, and what it is (and isn't).How to connect with an instructorFinding a CFI on Vector61, what happens when you request training, and how to choose well.How is my payment info used?Where your card or bank details live, when you're charged, and what Vector61 can see.