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IACRA and the student pilot certificate.
IACRA is the FAA's online application system. This guide explains the FTN, when the student pilot certificate is required, and the applicant steps in the order the FAA's own new-user guide gives them.
Version iacra-guide-v1.0 · last reviewed 2026-08-31
Read this first. The Pilot Method is not the FAA and submits nothing on your behalf. Do the application on the official IACRA site. We will never ask for your username, password, FAA Tracking Number, identification, or a certificate number — and no legitimate service needs them.
The words, in plain language
- IACRA
- The Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application — the FAA's online system for airman certificate and rating applications. You use the FAA's site directly. There is no third-party shortcut, and no legitimate service submits it for you.
- FTN (FAA Tracking Number)
- A number the system assigns to you when you register. It follows you across every future application, so once you have it, you keep using the same one. Do not post it publicly or send it to anyone who is not part of your certification process — and never type it into this website.
- Applicant portion
- The part of the application you complete yourself. Submitting it does not certificate you. It is one half of a two-party process.
- Recommending instructor / authorized certifier
- The person who reviews your identification in person and completes the certifying portion. Without that step, nothing is issued.
When you actually need the certificate
- Taking dual instruction with an instructor on board
- Generally does not itself require you to already hold a student pilot certificate. Many people start lessons while the application is in progress. Confirm the plan with your instructor.
- Flying solo
- Requires the student pilot certificate, plus the required endorsements from your instructor. This is the deadline that matters — work backwards from it.
- Applying for a later certificate or rating
- Uses IACRA as well, but the steps, the questions, and the certifying roles are different. Do not assume the student-pilot sequence on this page applies to a checkride application; follow the FAA's instructions for that specific application.
Submitting the applicant section by itself does not complete certification. The process is finished by a recommending instructor or other authorized certifier, in person, after checking your identification.
Also read the medical guide: the two are separate processes, and it is usually the medical, not IACRA, that takes the longest.
The applicant steps, in order
This follows the sequence in the FAA’s own student pilot new-user guide. Tick items off as you go to keep your place. Do the actual work on the official IACRA site.
These checkboxes live in this browser tab only. Nothing is saved, sent, or seen by us — refresh the page and they reset. We never ask for your IACRA username, password, FTN, identification, or certificate number, and The Pilot Method submits nothing to the FAA on your behalf.
0 of 12 steps ticked
Register on the official FAA IACRA site. Registration is where your FTN is issued. Keep your own credentials — never share them with anyone, including a school, an instructor, or us.
You
After signing in as an applicant, the console is the home screen that lists your applications and their status.
You
Choose to start a new application from the console.
You
This tells the system which family of application you are completing.
You
Choosing the wrong certification here is the most common way an application goes sideways. Read the selection before continuing.
You
Confirm the details the system already holds are correct and match your identification. Correct them in the system, not on paper.
You
Answer the FAA's questions yourself, truthfully. If a question is unclear, ask your instructor or the FAA — not a website, and not us. We deliberately do not reproduce the questions or suggest answers.
You
Read the Privacy Act statement and check the whole application before you commit to it.
You
This closes out your half. It does not issue a certificate and does not finish the process.
You
This is done in person. Bring the identification the FAA requires. Your instructor verifies who you are — this is the reason the process cannot be completed entirely online.
You, in person with your instructor
You sign in IACRA itself, on the FAA's site, in that meeting. Any signature collected somewhere else is not part of this process.
You, in person with your instructor
The recommending instructor or authorized certifier finishes the certifying section. Only then is the application complete on the FAA's side.
Instructor or authorized certifier
This is the student pilot path only
Applications for other certificates and ratings also go through IACRA, but the selections, the questions and the certifying roles are different — a practical test application is not this sequence with different words. Do not generalise these steps to a checkride application. Follow the FAA’s instructions for the specific application you are filing, and your instructor or examiner’s direction.
This page is written to print cleanly — use your browser’s print command if you want it on paper.
Primary sources
The linked source always controls. Where this page and the source differ, the source is right.
- IACRA — Help and information — reviewed 2026-08-31
- IACRA — Frequently asked questions — reviewed 2026-08-31
- FAA — Become a pilot: student pilot certificate — reviewed 2026-08-31
Scope, version and corrections
An orientation to the applicant portion of a student pilot application. It is not the FAA system, it never asks for your credentials, and The Pilot Method submits nothing to the FAA.
- Content version
- iacra-guide-v1.0
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-31
- Cost
- Free, permanently. No account required.
Found something wrong or out of date? Report it to fly@pilotmethodaviation.com and we will review it against the source.
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