Eligibility for FAA Medical Certification

Age Requirements

There is no age restriction or aviation experience requirement for medical certification. Any applicant who qualifies medically may be issued a Medical Certificate, FAA Form 8500-9 (white), regardless of age. Examiners also have been delegated authority to issue the combined Medical Certificate and Student Pilot Certificate, FAA Form 8420-2 (yellow), which is age restricted because it is an airman medical and student pilot certificate (student license and medical certificate). For issuance of the combined certificate, the applicant must have reached his or her 16th birthday.

Minimum age requirements for the various airman certificates (i.e., pilot license certificates) are defined in 14 CFR part 61, Certification: Pilots and Flight Instructors, and Ground Inspectors as follows:

1. Airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate: 23 years
2. Commercial pilot certificate: 18 years
3. Private pilot certificate: powered aircraft - 17 years; gliders and balloons - 16 years
4. Student pilot certificate: powered aircraft - 16 years; gliders and balloons - 14 years

Language Requirements

Effective March 5, 2008, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (Annex 1 Personnel Licensing) standards require that all Private, Commercial, or Airline Transport pilots as well as Flight Engineers and Flight Navigators operating internationally as required crewmembers of an airplane or helicopter have an airman certificate with an endorsement of language proficiency. In the case of persons holding a U.S. airman certificate, the language proficiency endorsement will state “English Proficient.” An applicant for an “Airman Medical and Student Pilot Certificate” must meet the ICAO definition of “English Proficient,” which is equivalent to the FAA’s long-standing basic English standard.

At each exam, the Examiner must observe the applicant’s ability to understand and communicate in English. This may be accomplished by observing the applicant reading instructions, answering questions, and conversing with the AME.

If there is any doubt regarding the applicant’s English proficiency:

• Providing Part 67 Medical Qualification Standard is met, applicants for “Airman Medical and Student Pilot Certificate” may be issued the Airman Medical Certificate. The AME must NOT issue the Student Pilot Certificate.
• Providing Part 67 Medical Qualification Standard is met, applicants for an Airman Medical Certificate may be issued the Airman Medical Certificate.
• In all cases:
  
  • The AME must notify the applicant of their concern, document the notification in Item 60: AME Comments on History and Findings, and advise the applicant to report to the local FSDO for further testing.
  • The AME must also notify the FSDO and or the Regional Flight Surgeon and document this in Item 60: AME Comments on History and Findings. If the AME notifies only the Regional Flight Surgeon, then the Regional Flight Surgeon must notify the FSDO closest to the examining AME’s office. The AME must also document in Item 60: AME Comments on History and Findings the name of the person contacted.

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  The ICAO standard rates individuals from Level 1 (pre-elementary) to Level 6 (expert). Operational Level 4 is considered the minimum for proficiency. The following is provided as information only:

  1. PRONUNCIATION

  Assumes that English is not the applicant’s first language and that the applicant has a dialect or accent that is intelligible to the aeronautical community. Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation are influenced by the applicant’s first language, but only sometimes interfere with ease of understanding.

  2. STRUCTURE

  Relevant grammatical structures and sentence patterns are determined by language functions appropriate to the task. Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are used creatively and are usually well controlled by the applicant. Errors may occur, particularly in unusual or unexpected circumstances, but rarely interfere with meaning.

  3. VOCABULARY

  The applicant’s vocabulary range and accuracy are usually sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete, and work-related topics. The applicant can often paraphrase successfully when lacking vocabulary in unusual or unexpected circumstances.

  4. FLUENCY

  The applicant produces stretches of language at an appropriate tempo. There may be occasional loss of fluency on transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to spontaneous interaction, but this does not prevent effective communication. The applicant can make limited use of discourse markers or connectors. Fillers are not distracting.

  5. COMPREHENSION

  Comprehension by the applicant is mostly accurate on common, concrete, and work-related topics when the dialect, accent or variety used is sufficiently intelligible. When the applicant is confronted with a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events, comprehension may be slower or require clarification strategies.

  6. INTERACTIONS

  Responses by the applicant are usually immediate, appropriate, and informative. The applicant initiates and maintains exchanges even when dealing with an unexpected turn of events. The applicant deals adequately with apparent misunderstandings by checking, confirming, or clarifying.