Everything you need to log into IACRA, register as an applicant, and submit a clean 8710-1 the first time. Written for student pilots who don't want their checkride delayed by a typo.
Official IACRA URL
iacra.faa.gov
FTN format
Lifetime applicant ID
Application validity
~60 days after submission
Temporary certificate
Valid 120 days
Support phone
(844) 322-6942
What IACRA actually is
IACRA stands for Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application — the FAA's web system at iacra.faa.gov that replaces the paper FAA Form 8710-1. Every certificate or rating you'll ever apply for (Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI, ATP, Remote Pilot if you go through a knowledge test path) flows through this site. Your DPE, your CFI's recommending signature, the FSDO, and the airman registry in Oklahoma City all touch the same record.
The legal foundation lives in FAR 61.13, which spells out how the Administrator issues airman certificates and ratings, and what an application has to contain. IACRA is just the digital pipe that satisfies that rule. If you've trained outside the U.S. system, FAR 61.41 governs how that flight training counts — and your IACRA application is where you list it.
Password — must match FAA complexity rules (8+ chars, upper + lower + number + special)
Security question answer — IACRA asks one of your three questions on every login
If this is your first time, click Register instead. You'll pick a role (almost always Applicant for student pilots) and the system will issue you an FTN — FAA Tracking Number. Write that FTN down. You'll give it to your CFI before any checkride and to every DPE you ever schedule with.
What to do if login fails
Forgot username: click Forgot Username on the login page; IACRA emails it to the address on file.
Forgot password: click Forgot Password; you'll answer one security question and get a reset link.
Locked account: 5 failed attempts locks you out for ~30 minutes. Wait it out or call AVS support.
Email on file is dead: you'll need to call (844) FAA-MyIA / (844-322-6942) — the only fix.
Browser issues: IACRA is finicky. Use Chrome or Edge, allow pop-ups for iacra.faa.gov, and clear cache before a checkride morning panic.
Registering as an applicant — what you'll be asked
IACRA registration is a one-time thing per career, not per certificate. The form asks for:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1What is the IACRA login URL?
The official IACRA login page is at **https://iacra.faa.gov**. Click the **Login** button in the top-right. There is no mobile app — IACRA is a web-only system. Be cautious of lookalike domains; the only legitimate IACRA site ends in **faa.gov**. If you get a certificate warning in your browser, stop and verify the URL before entering credentials. Chrome and Edge work most reliably; older versions of Safari sometimes have rendering issues with the application forms.
Q2What is an FTN and where do I find it?
Your **FTN (FAA Tracking Number)** is a unique ID assigned when you first register in IACRA. It follows you for life — you'll use the same FTN for your Private, Instrument, Commercial, and beyond. After registering, log in and look at the top of your applicant dashboard; the FTN is listed under your name. You'll give this number to your CFI for the recommending signature and to your DPE before every checkride. Write it down somewhere durable.
Q3I forgot my IACRA password — how do I reset it?
On the login page click **Forgot Password**. Enter your username, then answer one of your three security questions. IACRA emails a reset link to the address on file. The link expires in 24 hours. If you've also lost access to that email, you'll have to call FAA support at **(844) 322-6942** to manually reset — there's no self-service path around a dead email account.
Adaptive questions surface your weak areas. Examiner Reed runs full ACS-coverage oral exams. Mock checkrides predict your DPE pass rate.
5 questions/day • No credit card
Legal name exactly as it appears on your government ID
Date of birth
Place of birth (city + country)
Permanent mailing address (this is where the FAA mails your plastic certificate)
Email + phone
Three security questions
Citizenship status
Get your name right. If your IACRA record says "Mike" but your medical and driver's license say "Michael," your DPE will stop the checkride before it starts. Match the medical certificate exactly. The FAA will not issue a certificate under a name that doesn't match supporting documents per FAR 61.13.
Filing FAA Form 8710-1 in IACRA — the 7-step flow
Once logged in, the application itself is broken into pages. Here's what every Private Pilot applicant goes through:
Start Application → choose Pilot → Private Pilot → Airplane → Single-Engine Land (or your category/class).
Personal Information — pre-filled from your account. Verify everything.
Certificates Held — list your current student pilot certificate number. Pull it from your plastic card or MedXPress record.
Medical — class of medical, date of exam, name of AME.
Pilot Time — total time, PIC, solo, dual received, cross-country, night, instrument, simulator, last 6 months, and most importantly the items required by FAR 61.109 for the rating sought.
Review & Submit — print or save the PDF preview. Errors here are why checkrides get delayed.
Sign with your CFI — your instructor pulls up your application using your FTN and adds the recommendation. Then the DPE retrieves it on test day.
The numbers your CFI will check before signing
Requirement
Private (ASEL)
Commercial (ASEL)
Total flight time
40 hours min
250 hours min
Dual instruction
20 hours
20 hours (incl. specific items)
Solo / PIC
10 hours solo
100 hours PIC
Cross-country
5 hours solo XC
50 hours XC PIC
Night
3 hours dual + 10 T/Os & landings
5 hours, 10 T/Os & landings
Instrument
3 hours dual
10 hours
If any line in IACRA is below the minimum, the application is invalid. Don't round up — the DPE will audit your logbook against the form.
Common IACRA mistakes that delay checkrides
Wrong category/class chosen — you can't edit it after submission; you have to start over.
FTN typo — your CFI tries to retrieve your app and gets nothing.
Address mismatch — the FAA mails a temporary certificate but it bounces.
Listing aircraft sim time as flight time — the form has separate fields. Conflating them is fraud.
Foreign training not coded properly — if any of your hours came from a non-FAA-certificated instructor abroad, FAR 61.41 restricts how it counts. List it carefully and bring documentation.
Application expires — applications submitted but not consumed have a 60-day shelf life. If your checkride slips past that, you re-do the application.
IACRA roles you might encounter
Role
Who uses it
Applicant
Student pilots, rated pilots adding ratings
Recommending Instructor
Your CFI signing the 8710-1
Certifying Officer
DPE, FAA inspector, ACR
AACS / FSDO Inspector
Internal FAA review
Air Carrier
121/135 ops issuing type-specific paperwork
You only need the Applicant role unless you go on to instruct.
What happens after the DPE clicks "Issue"
When you pass the checkride, the DPE retrieves your application in IACRA, generates the Temporary Airman Certificate, prints it, and signs it. That paper is your license for 120 days. Within roughly 6–8 weeks, the Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) in Oklahoma City mails your permanent plastic certificate. If 120 days pass and no plastic shows up, log in to IACRA, verify your address, and call (405) 954-3261.
You can also register at the FAA's separate Airmen Online Services portal to print your own temporary replacement and update your address — different login from IACRA but worth setting up the same week.
How GroundScholar helps with this
IACRA is paperwork, but the checkride that follows it is where students actually fail. GroundScholar's AI examiner runs the same flow a DPE will run on test day — Areas of Operation from the ACS, scenario branching, and follow-up questions when your answer is shallow. Every regulatory citation the AI gives you is verified against the live FAR/AIM, so when you're tracing a rule like FAR 61.13 on application requirements or FAR 61.41 on foreign training, you're studying the current text — not a stale 2019 PDF.
When your IACRA application is signed and your checkride is scheduled, run a mock oral the night before. The pass-prediction score tells you whether you're ready or whether you should call the DPE and reschedule. Most students who fail the checkride knew they weren't ready; they just didn't have an honest second opinion.
Ready to actually be ready?
IACRA gets you to the door. Knowing the material gets you through it. Drill the oral, predict the result, walk in calm.
No. The applicant must register, log in, and complete the 8710-1 personally. After you submit, your CFI logs in under their own Recommending Instructor role, retrieves your application using your FTN, reviews the flight time, and adds their endorsement. This separation is required by [FAR 61.13](/far/61-13) — the application is a sworn statement and must come from the applicant, not the instructor.
Q5How long is an IACRA application valid before the checkride?
An IACRA application is generally valid for **60 days** from submission. If your checkride slips past that window — weather, DPE availability, aircraft maintenance — you'll need to update or resubmit the application so the data (especially flight times and recent experience) is current on test day. Your CFI may also need to re-sign the recommending endorsement. Plan to submit IACRA within a few days of your scheduled checkride, not weeks ahead.
Q6How do I list foreign flight training in IACRA?
Per [FAR 61.41](/far/61-41), training from a non-FAA-certificated instructor abroad only counts toward FAA certificates if it meets specific conditions — typically training given by a foreign authority's licensed instructor in a country that has a bilateral agreement, or training that's later validated. In IACRA, log only the hours that legally count. Bring your foreign logbook, the foreign instructor's license copy, and any ICAO conversion paperwork to the checkride. Misrepresenting foreign hours is grounds for denial.
Q7Why is IACRA rejecting my flight time entry?
The most common cause is a math mismatch — the system checks that subtotals (PIC, solo, dual, cross-country) don't exceed your total time, and that night/instrument hours don't exceed cross-country if you logged them concurrently. Another frequent error is putting simulator time in the flight time field. Re-tally your logbook column by column, match each row to the IACRA field exactly, and the validator will pass. If it still rejects, screenshot the error and ask your CFI before resubmitting.
Q8Do I need IACRA for the Remote Pilot (Part 107) certificate?
Yes if you're going the knowledge-test path. After passing the Part 107 knowledge test, you log into IACRA, start a new application, choose **Pilot** → **Remote Pilot**, enter your knowledge test exam ID, and submit. TSA vets the application, and your temporary certificate appears in IACRA usually within a few days — no DPE involved. If you already hold a Part 61 certificate and complete the online Part 107 course instead, that path uses a different form (8710-13) but still flows through IACRA.