Pilot licensing and certification

Pilot licences (in the United States, certificates) are issued by national aviation authorities, and establish that the holder has been trained by a qualified instructor and has met a specific set of knowledge and experience requirements. The licensed pilot can then exercise a specific set of privileges in the nation?s airspace. Despite attempts to harmonize the requirements between nations, the differences in certification practices and standards from place to place serve to limit full international validity of the national qualifications.

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In the US, certificates are issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — certificate is the proper term, although the word license (note the spelling) is commonly used, even by the FAA. In Canada, licences are issued by Transport Canada, and in the United Kingdom by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Related Topics:
Federal Aviation Administration - ''license'' - Transport Canada - United Kingdom - Civil Aviation Authority

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Anyone can handle the controls of an aircraft on a non-commercial flight, whether they are licensed or not. However, at all times, an aircraft in flight must be under the authority of an appropriately qualified pilot, who is responsible for the safe and legal completion of the flight.

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