How Do New Flight Students Obtain Credentials?

Here's what you need to know about obtaining a TSA endorsement and applying for a student pilot certificate.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, March 08, 2023 at 03:45 PM ET

Verified

An instructor and a student preflight a Cessna 152 before a lesson. [Credit: Richard Steiger]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. citizens receive a TSA endorsement from their flight instructor after citizenship verification using an unexpired passport or a combination of a driver's license/state ID and a birth certificate.
To obtain a student pilot certificate, applicants must complete an online application via the FAA's IACRA system, often with their flight instructor's assistance for accurate data entry and verification.
Upon successful submission, a temporary student pilot certificate can be printed, with a permanent plastic card mailed within weeks, and it's important to note that student pilots are prohibited from carrying passengers.

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Question: I have just started flight training. I was told that I need to get a TSA endorsement and then a student pilot certificate. That seems like an awful lot of work before I have even touched an airplane—how am I supposed to do this?

Answer: Provided you are a U.S. citizen, the TSA endorsement will be issued by your flight instructor after he or she verifies your citizenship using either an unexpired passport or a combination of your driver’s license or state ID card and a birth certificate. If you are a foreign national, the TSA endorsement is a little more complicated. The endorsement goes in your logbook.

(For foreign nationals, details can be found at the Flight Training Security Program.)