PDC: File, Read, Fly

Monday, November 14, 2022 at 03:35 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pre-Departure Clearance (PDC) is an FAA computer service that delivers official IFR flight clearances and digital ATIS (D-ATIS) in text format directly to a pilot's cockpit tablet via platforms like ForeFlight or Garmin FltPlan.
Available at approximately 75 major U.S. airports, PDC significantly reduces radio frequency congestion, controller/pilot workload, and minimizes the potential for verbal communication errors.
PDC clearances are identical to those received verbally and typically appear 20-30 minutes before departure, usually without requiring a verbal readback or acknowledgment.
The service requires a subscription to a compatible provider and has some limitations, such as supporting only one PDC clearance per aircraft per departure airport within an 18-hour window and requiring verbal contact for revised clearances.

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Pre-Departure Clearance or PDC is an FAA computer service that provides clearance information in text form to your tablet in the cockpit via Boeing ForeFlight or Garmin FltPlan. No copying the ATIS or clearance calls are required. Great, eh?

Clearances issued via PDCs are official text clearances issued for U.S. IFR flight plans. A PDC is the same as a verbal clearance from Clearance Delivery and includes the filed route, the cleared altitude, transponder code, departure frequency, and any special instructions. In addition, your tablet will show digital ATIS—not just the latest METAR, but the actual ATIS—since the FAA packages PDC and D-ATIS as one service. (It’s common, but not universal, that both PDC and D-ATIS are available at the same airport.)