Whereas you want to fly an American registered airplane for pleasure or eventually move and work as a pilot in the United States, you will need to obtain an American pilot license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The process is simplified for holders of a Canadian pilot certificate. Having completed the process, I will share the ins and outs in this article.
As a holder of the Canadian Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), my initial goal was to obtain the FAA equivalent (ATP). While the hours and experience carry over, you need to complete an ATP Certification Training Program. This is a 7-day day program costing at least $5,000 USD - not including travel and accommodations costs! Without a job lined-up or even authorization to legally work in the US, I don’t think the ATP is worth the investment. Instead, I opted to get the FAA Commercial license together with the multi-engine and instrument ratings.
NOTE ON TYPE RATINGS: As mentioned by the FAA representative during the interview, right-seat type ratings do not carry over to your FAA license.
What are the steps?
Verification Letter
Medical
Knowledge Exams
Interview
Costs
Verification Letter
Your first step is to create an account on the FAA’s Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application (IACRA) website. Once you’re in the system go and apply for the foreign verification. Here are screenshots of the application form:
Note: You can’t change the FSDO during the process and you’ll need to do an in-person interview later.
Once your application is complete the FAA will get in touch with the country that issued your license (Canada in my case) to verify you indeed hold the licenses. You will receive an e-mail notification once the process is complete and a verification letter will show up on IACRA. It took me 3 days from application to receiving the letter. It will look like this:
The letter expires in six months, so you have until then to complete all other steps and meet with the designed FAA representative to complete the process.
Medical
To obtain your American medical you first need to create an account with FAA MedXPress. This website will record your medical history and make information available for your examiner. You need a first-class for exercise privileges of the ATP, for commercial either a first- or second-class medical will suffice.
After creating the account, submit the application for your medical certificate. Once complete you will get a confirmation number. Next, find a designated FAA aviation medical examiner and book your appointment. Be sure to bring your confirmation number from MedXpress! Your medical will look like this:
Make sure with your doctor that your name, date of birth and address are all spelled out correctly. You may cut the horizontal dashed line, but DO NOT cut the vertical dashed line – it will invalidate your medical!
Knowledge Exams
The are no flying tests to get your American license but you must complete their knowledge exams – don’t you miss the cramming days? Canadian license holders are privileged with their own Canadian conversion exams, these are shorter tests that focus on the differences between the two countries. You also don’t need recommendation letters to write them!
To book the tests you will need to create an account with PSI. This is a private company that hosts the tests on behalf of the FAA. They have a large selection of test sites and times available – way better than having to visit a Transport Canada office.
I ended up writing both the commercial and IFR tests (Canadian conversion), they are 40 questions each with a passing mark of 70%. They’re computer based and multiple choice, but unlike Canada you only have 3 answers to choose from instead of 4.
At the testing center they supplied me with paper, rulers, calculators, and a binder containing reference images for the exam. I used Gleim Aviation for study reference and passed both exams on the first attempt.
Note: the knowledge exam expires in two years.
Interview
You have your verification letter, medical and passed your written tests? If yes, then you’re ready for the final step: the in-person interview.
Call up the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) you selected during the verification process and schedule a meeting with person that does foreign verifications.
You will need to bring:
Passport
Pilot license
Logbook
Verification letter
FAA medical
FAA knowledge exam(s)
Cash
In my case the FAA representative was a contractor so we didn’t even meet at the FSDO. After verifying all the documents, he assisted me in filling the application – Form FAA 8710-1. The FAA wants the form to be filled out meticulously with all times adding up – including time as solo occupant of an aircraft and time spent in actual IFR conditions. This is where having a digital and well-kept logbook really helps!
With the paperwork all completed, I earned my temporary FAA commercial pilot license!
The license is valid for 120 days and you cannot cut the vertical dashed line – otherwise it’ll be invalidated! The permanent license will arrive via mail.
With process complete, are you able to rent out an American airplane to celebrate? Not yet!
In order to exercise the privileges of your license, you must perform a flight review with an American flight instructor to conform with FAR 61.56. Same goes with your instrument privileges, you’ll need a review with an American instructor.
Unlike Canada, the US does not require pilots to have a radio license while operating within the US – one less thing to worry about.
Costs
In my case the whole process cost me $924.90 USD. Here’s the breakdown:
Meeting with FAA Examiner $300
FAA Exam ($175 each) $350
FAA Medical $175
Optional: Study Material – Gleim Aviation ($49.95 each) $99.90
Don’t forget to plan for travel and possibly accommodations costs. I tried to be as swift as possible. Wrote both exams and did the medical on a Wednesday, stayed overnight in the US and met the FAA representative on Thursday.
To exercise the privileges of the license you’ll still have to fly with an American instructor, so be sure to budget for that. However, there is nothing saying you have to fly an American-registered airplane – when my time comes I’ll just bring my Canadian plane down to the US!
Update - July 25, 2023:
The US licenses arrived via mail on my Canadian address. Processing time is almost 3 months.
