Originally published at: Digital Airman Certificate Bill Clears U.S. House
Measure would permit pilots to present electronic credentials during FAA inspections.
Without some comment on the status of this bill in the Senate, this article doesn’t tell me anything.
If it’s OK with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the state highway patrol it should be OK with the FAA. Every time I get pulled over for a DUI the cop lets me show him my license, registration, and insurance on my iPhone, and then adds the charge of driving while holding an iPhone.
Keeping one’s pilot license in a wallet is somehow a problem? Which way is up? Mindlessness!!!
What the article doesn’t say is whether Congress allocated the funds or just issued another unfunded mandate. Congress can “direct” the FAA all they want but if they don’t give the FAA the funding to do the work the FAA can’t do a thing. That’s why the 2004 Congressional mandate for the FAA to put pilots’ photos on their pilot certificates remains unaccomplished – Congress made the mandate but never allocated the money, and 22 years later we still need an independent photo ID to go with our Airman Certificates.
What’s a wallet, is it the same as a google wallet?
Why does it feel like this is being treated as some sort of bold new initiative, and why did it require the House to get involved?
Electronic Personnel Licences (EPLs) are not new—this is an ICAO‑driven modernization initiative that has been underway for years. China was the first country to implement electronic pilot licences, and India became the second when it launched its EPL system in February 2025. My understanding is that Canada is also in the process of transitioning toward an electronic licensing system, in line with ICAO’s recommended direction.
As for our existing plastic cards, it’s honestly puzzling that the same country that put a man on the moon in the 1960s couldn’t figure out how to print a pilot licence with a photo on it some 60 years later.
Problem with putting the pilot’s picture on the plastic certificates was that the proposal would have required getting updated photo every few years just like your state issued drivers license. That would have required an additional government department along with the charges ($) involved to cover the addition cost to process those renewed pictures. I’m happy enough with the current rules which require pilots to have a government issued picture ID along with the pilot certificate. Last thing pilots need is another mandate which does nothing but increase costs to cover processing.
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