CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS
U.S. CITIZENS AND NATIONALS
Prior to your first lesson, please bring both an original and photocopy of:
- An original birth certificate AND a government issued photo ID like a driver’s license OR
- A current passport
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Please review the requirements for international students.
TSA Flight Training Requirements For Flight Schools and Independent CFI’s
CFI TSA REQUIREMENTS
Since 9/11, flight training requirements for flight schools and independent flight instructors changed dramatically. 49 CFR Part 1552 contains complete details of these requirements, however, below is a plain language version of what you need to do as a CFI to stay on the right side of TSA.
Annual Security Awareness Training
Within 60 days of hire or beginning flight training as a CFI, you must complete the initial (first time) security awareness training and continue to complete this training annually in the same month as the initial training. AOPA offers the training free on-line at http://flash.aopa.org/asf/gasecurity/gasecurity.cfm. A certificate is provided upon completion, which includes your name and the date of the training. You are also required to keep a record of the date and the training you completed and also whether it was recurrent or initial. Your CFI logbook is an excellent place to keep this record. Place the on-line certificate of completion in a safe place as the FSDO may ask for it when doing a review of CFI records.
Citizenship Verification
CFI’s must verify and record the citizenship of any student who applies for training for the following certificates or ratings only. The rationale behind it is that only these provide for the learning of a new skill.
Recreational
Light Sport
Private
Instrument
Multi Engine
Citizenship can be verified by the student in one of the following two ways:
The record keeping requirements can be satisfied in one of the following two ways:
“I certify that (Student’s Full Name) has presented to me a (description of document(s)) # ______
establishing that he/she is a U.S. citizen or national in accordance with CFR 49 Part 1552.3 (h)
Date ______________ Signature ____________________ CFI # ________________ Exp _____
Annual Security Awareness Training
Within 60 days of hire or beginning flight training as a CFI, you must complete the initial (first time) security awareness training and continue to complete this training annually in the same month as the initial training. AOPA offers the training free on-line at http://flash.aopa.org/asf/gasecurity/gasecurity.cfm. A certificate is provided upon completion, which includes your name and the date of the training. You are also required to keep a record of the date and the training you completed and also whether it was recurrent or initial. Your CFI logbook is an excellent place to keep this record. Place the on-line certificate of completion in a safe place as the FSDO may ask for it when doing a review of CFI records.
Citizenship Verification
CFI’s must verify and record the citizenship of any student who applies for training for the following certificates or ratings only. The rationale behind it is that only these provide for the learning of a new skill.
Recreational
Light Sport
Private
Instrument
Multi Engine
Citizenship can be verified by the student in one of the following two ways:
- Provide an original birth certificate AND a government issued photo ID like a driver’s license OR
- Provide a current passport
The record keeping requirements can be satisfied in one of the following two ways:
- Copy the documents used to verify citizenship and keep them on file for 5 years OR
- Make a logbook entry in both the student and CFI logbook, using the following wording:
“I certify that (Student’s Full Name) has presented to me a (description of document(s)) # ______
establishing that he/she is a U.S. citizen or national in accordance with CFR 49 Part 1552.3 (h)
Date ______________ Signature ____________________ CFI # ________________ Exp _____