Can You Pay a Sport Pilot for Expenses in Ferrying an Airplane?

FAA regulations stipulate that a person with only that certificate can’t be compensated in any form.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, August 06, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FAA insignia on a laptop [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Sport pilots are strictly prohibited from receiving any form of compensation for flying, which includes reimbursement for incidental expenses like commercial airfare, rental cars, hotel rooms, and meals.
The FAA broadly defines "compensation" as anything of value contingent on the pilot operating the aircraft, a definition that remains unchanged even with new regulations like the MOSAIC final rule.

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Question: I have a friend who has a sport pilot certificate. He has been asked to ferry an LSA [light sport aircraft] 900 miles, so it will be multiple legs, possibly overnight. I know he can’t be paid for flying the airplane, but could incidental expenses such as commercial airfare or rental cars, Uber, hotel rooms, and meals be paid for by the person who hired him to do the flight?

Answer: The short answer is no. A pilot who holds only a sport pilot certificate cannot be paid in any form.