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:

For U.S. citizens, your flight instructor provides the TSA endorsement in your logbook after verifying citizenship with an unexpired passport or a birth certificate/state ID.
To obtain a student pilot certificate, you must complete an online application via the FAA's IACRA system, with assistance from your instructor to verify details like your driver's license and English proficiency.
Upon successful application, you'll receive a Federal Tracking Number (FTN) and a temporary certificate, with a permanent plastic card mailed later; 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.)