FAA Foreign License Verification: A Complete Guide for International Pilots

Submit Form AC 8060-71 through IACRA — the FAA’s preferred online portal — attach a legible copy of your foreign pilot license, and include your foreign medical certificate only if you want that credential verified as well. That is the complete first move. The FAA’s Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) then contacts your home Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to confirm the currency and validity of your license before any U.S. certificate can be issued.

Before you submit, confirm you have these three items ready:

• A completed AC 8060-71 submission via IACRA (or the printed form if mailing)
• A legible, unobstructed copy of your foreign pilot license
• A current contact email and your preferred FSDO location so the FAA knows where to route the letter

The FAA estimates foreign license verification processing takes approximately 45–90 days. The resulting Verification Letter is generally valid for a limited period, typically several months, unless your issuing CAA specifies a shorter period or your foreign license expires sooner.

Reach the Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) directly through the contact details published on the FAA form page — both an email address and a phone number are listed there. Do not schedule a checkride or book travel until you hold the letter in hand.

Key Takeaways

FAA foreign license verification requires Form AC 8060-71 submitted via IACRA, a legible copy of your foreign license, and proactive contact with your home CAA — with processing taking approximately 45–90 days and the resulting letter valid for six months.

Table of Contents

• What is the FAA Verification Letter and why do you need it?
• How do you submit the FAA verification request?
• Which documents do you need to attach?
• How long does FAA verification processing take?
• What do you do after receiving the Verification Letter?
• Which countries have extra verification requirements?
• What mistakes cause the most delays and denials?
• How do you track your request and who do you contact?
• How can a U.S. flight school support your verification and conversion?
• Does the FAA charge a fee for verification?
• What role does your home CAA play in the verification process?
• What are your options if verification delays extend beyond 90 days?
• A practical perspective on timing and what flight schools actually see
• Florida Flyers Flight Academy: hands-on support for international pilots
• Sources

What is the FAA Verification Letter and why do you need it?

The Verification Letter is the FAA’s written confirmation that your home CAA has validated the currency and authenticity of your foreign pilot license — and, when requested, your foreign medical certificate. It is not a U.S. pilot certificate. It is the prerequisite document that allows an FAA inspector or designated examiner to proceed with evaluating your application for a U.S. certificate or rating.

The regulatory framework sits under 14 CFR Part 61, which governs airmen certification. The Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) administers the process and serves as the liaison between you, your home CAA, and the FAA inspector or examiner who will ultimately conduct your practical evaluation.

What the letter does and does not do:

• Confirms your foreign license is current and valid as of the CAA’s response date
• Confirms your foreign medical (if requested) meets the CAA’s standards
• Clears the documentation prerequisite so an FAA inspector or examiner can proceed
• Does NOT guarantee issuance of a U.S. certificate — that determination happens at the FSDO or with a designated examiner

The distinction matters operationally. Pilots who treat the letter as a certificate equivalent often mistime their FSDO appointments or checkride scheduling, which compounds delays.

How do you submit the FAA verification request?

The FAA strongly prefers IACRA — the Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application system — for all verification submissions. Your IACRA account is tied to your FAA Tracking Number (FTN), and the completed Verification Letter will be uploaded directly to that account once processing is complete.

Step-by-step IACRA submission:

1. Create an IACRA account at iacra.faa.gov or sign in if you already have one. Record your FTN — you will need it for every follow-up.
2. Select the “Verification of Authenticity of Foreign License” application type from the menu.
3. Enter your issuing country, license grade, license number, and date of birth exactly as they appear on your foreign license. Any mismatch with CAA records is a common source of delay.
4. Upload a legible copy of your foreign pilot license. If you are also requesting medical verification, attach the foreign medical certificate at this step.
5. Enter your preferred FSDO location and a current contact email address.
6. Answer the ICAO English language proficiency question. The FAA requires ICAO Level 4 or higher for instrument operations; your answer here is material to your eligibility, so confirm your proficiency level before submitting.
7. Review all fields, then submit. Monitor your IACRA account for status updates and the eventual letter upload.

Mail option: If IACRA is unavailable to you, print Form AC 8060-71, complete every field, attach your documents, and mail the package to the Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) at the address printed on the form.

Pro Tip: Save every uploaded file as a clearly named PDF — for example, “LastName_FirstName_ForeignLicense.pdf” — before uploading. FAA staff and CAA staff both handle large volumes of documents, and a descriptive filename reduces the chance your file is misidentified or lost in a queue.

Which documents do you need to attach?

Precision here prevents the most common processing delays. The FAA’s document requirements are straightforward, but applicants frequently submit files that are technically present yet functionally unusable.

Required documents:

• Completed AC 8060-71 (via IACRA or printed form)
• Legible copy of your foreign pilot license — every page, both sides if applicable
• Foreign medical certificate — required only if you are requesting verification of the medical, not just the license

Recommended additions:

• English translation or certified transcription if your license text is not in English
• Passport copy for identity cross-checking, particularly when your name appears differently across documents
• Current contact email (not just a phone number) so the FAA can reach you quickly if information is missing

Formatting requirements:

• PDF is the preferred file format; high-resolution scans at 300 DPI or above
• No glare, shadows, or obstructions over any text or photo field
• All four corners of the license must be visible in the scan

Common upload problems that slow verification:

• Illegible scans where license numbers or expiration dates cannot be read
• Incomplete form fields, particularly the FSDO location and contact email
• Name or date-of-birth discrepancies between the form and the license
• Missing translations for non-English licenses
• Submitting only one side of a two-sided license

If you cannot read every character clearly on a small screen, the FAA reviewer likely cannot either. Rescan before submitting.*

How long does FAA verification processing take?

Processing generally takes approximately 45–90 days, but that range is an estimate, not a contractual commitment. The actual duration depends heavily on your home CAA’s administrative workload and responsiveness — factors entirely outside the FAA’s control.

The Verification Letter is generally valid for six months from the date of issuance, unless your CAA specifies a shorter validity period or your underlying foreign license expires before that window closes.

Practical steps to reduce delays:

• Contact your home CAA proactively after submitting — ask them to confirm they received the FAA’s verification request and whether they need any additional forms from you
• Provide your CAA with your full name exactly as it appears on your license, your license number, and the approximate date the FAA request was sent
• Follow up with your CAA every two to three weeks if you have not received confirmation of their response
• Monitor your IACRA account regularly; the letter appears there once the FAA completes processing

What do you do after receiving the Verification Letter?

The letter’s arrival in your IACRA account is the signal to move — not before. Per FAA FAQ guidance, after verification you will typically need to complete a written knowledge test and visit an FSDO with the letter to finalize your U.S. application.

Post-verification steps in order:

1. Download and print the Verification Letter from your IACRA account. Bring the printed copy to every FAA appointment.
2. Contact your chosen FSDO or a designated examiner to schedule the in-person application or checkride. Allow at least two weeks for scheduling after your initial contact.
3. Complete any required FAA written knowledge tests before your FSDO appointment if you have not already done so.
4. Gather all documents to bring to the FSDO or examiner.
5. If your planned operations require a U.S. FAA medical certificate, locate an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) through the FAA’s AME locator and schedule your exam before or concurrent with FSDO scheduling.

Documents to bring to your FSDO or examiner appointment:

• Printed Verification Letter
• Original foreign pilot license (not a copy)
• Current foreign medical certificate or U.S. FAA medical certificate
• Valid passport and government-issued photo ID
• Written knowledge test results (if applicable to the certificate or rating sought)

A common misconception is that a foreign medical certificate automatically satisfies U.S. medical requirements for ongoing operations. For many certificate types and privileges, you will need a U.S. FAA medical issued by an AME — confirm this requirement with your FSDO before your appointment.

Which countries have extra verification requirements?

The FAA explicitly identifies six countries whose applicants must complete additional steps before their home CAA will respond to an FAA verification request. If your license was issued in any of these countries, the standard IACRA submission alone is insufficient.

Countries with supplemental requirements:

• Australia — submit the required supplemental form directly to CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) before or concurrent with your FAA submission
• Cyprus — submit the country-specific form to the Department of Civil Aviation of Cyprus
• Ireland — submit the supplemental form to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA)
• Malaysia — submit the additional form to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM)
• New Zealand — submit the supplemental form to the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA NZ)
• United Kingdom — submit the supplemental form to the Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA)

The process is two-track: you send the FAA’s verification form (AC 8060-71 via IACRA or mail) to AFB-720, and separately send the country-specific supplemental form to your home CAA. The FAA’s verification request cannot be completed until the CAA has received and processed the supplemental form on their end. Applicants from these six countries should contact their home CAA first to obtain the correct supplemental form and confirm submission requirements before initiating the IACRA process.

What mistakes cause the most delays and denials?

Most verification delays are self-inflicted — preventable errors at the submission stage that trigger FAA follow-up requests and extend the timeline by weeks.

The most frequent mistakes:

• Illegible license scans where numbers or expiration dates are unreadable
• Missing English translations for non-English licenses
• Name or date-of-birth discrepancies between the form and the license (even minor spelling differences)
• Omitting the FSDO location field on the form
• Failing to respond to FAA follow-up requests within the required window

That last point carries a hard consequence. Per the supplemental instructions for AC 8060-71, the FAA will close a verification request after 20 business days if the applicant does not respond to a request for missing information. A closed request means starting the entire process over, adding months to your timeline.

If your CAA responds with incomplete data or refuses verification:

• Contact your home CAA directly and ask them to identify what information they need to complete their response to the FAA
• Provide any supporting documents the CAA requests — this may include original license copies, application forms, or identity documents
• If the CAA continues to be unresponsive, contact AFB-720 directly to discuss next steps; the FAA cannot force a CAA to respond, but they can advise on alternatives

Pro Tip: If your foreign license and medical certificate appear on a single document — common in some countries — note this explicitly in your submission. Clarify whether you are requesting verification of the license only or both the license and the medical on that combined document. Ambiguity here routinely causes processing delays and misrouted requests.

How do you track your request and who do you contact?

Once submitted through IACRA, your verification request status is visible within your account. Check the account notes and application status fields regularly — the FAA updates these when they receive a CAA response and when the letter is uploaded.

Tracking and contact guidance:

• Log into IACRA using your FTN and check your application status at least once every two weeks
• If no update appears after 60 days, contact the Airmen Certification Branch (AFB-720) using the email and phone number published on the FAA form page
• When contacting AFB-720, provide your full legal name, FTN, date of submission, and issuing country — this allows staff to locate your file quickly
• Contact your home CAA separately and ask them to confirm they received the FAA’s request and whether they have responded; give them your license number and the approximate date the FAA request was sent
• Follow up with your CAA every two to three weeks if they have not confirmed a response; polite, specific inquiries that reference your license number and the FAA’s request date are processed faster than general status inquiries

When to escalate: if your CAA confirms they responded to the FAA but your IACRA account shows no update after 30 additional days, contact AFB-720 by phone and reference the CAA’s response date. This is the most efficient path to resolving a processing gap.

How can a U.S. flight school support your verification and conversion?

Navigating the FAA’s verification process from outside the United States adds a layer of administrative complexity that a well-structured U.S. flight academy can substantially reduce. The practical support a school provides goes well beyond classroom instruction.

Services a qualified flight academy typically offers international students:

• Document review before IACRA submission — catching illegible scans, translation gaps, and form-field errors before they reach the FAA
• IACRA account setup assistance and guided form completion
• FSDO appointment coordination or designated examiner scheduling
• Practical test preparation calibrated to the specific certificate or rating sought
• Visa and M1 student visa guidance for international enrollees

Florida Flyers Flight Academy holds Self Examining Authority, which means the academy can conduct FAA checkrides in-house. For international students, this eliminates the scheduling bottleneck that typically exists between receiving the Verification Letter and completing the practical exam. Rather than waiting weeks for an available designated examiner, students can move directly from verification to checkride preparation within the academy’s own schedule.

The academy’s accelerated structure — PPL to ATP within 111 hours of flight training — is designed specifically for students who need to convert credentials and build U.S. hours efficiently. M1 visa support is integrated into the enrollment process, which matters for international students who need to coordinate visa status with training timelines.

Does the FAA charge a fee for verification?

The FAA does not charge an application fee for submitting Form AC 8060-71 or for processing a foreign license verification request through IACRA. The verification process itself is free of charge from the FAA’s side.

Your home CAA, however, may charge its own administrative fee to process the FAA’s verification request. Fee structures vary by country and by CAA — some charge nothing, others charge a modest administrative fee. Contact your home CAA directly to confirm whether a fee applies before submitting, so you can budget and respond promptly if payment is required to release their response.

Separately, any costs associated with obtaining English translations of your license, notarizing documents, or obtaining a U.S. FAA medical from an AME are your responsibility and are not covered by the FAA verification process.

What role does your home CAA play in the verification process?

The foreign CAA is not a passive participant. It is the authoritative source the FAA relies on to confirm that your license is genuine, current, and was issued under that country’s regulatory standards. Without the CAA’s affirmative response, the FAA cannot complete verification regardless of how complete your own submission is.

When the FAA receives your AC 8060-71 submission, it sends a formal verification request directly to your issuing CAA. The CAA then checks its own records, confirms the license details, and responds to the FAA. The FAA cannot compel a CAA to respond on any particular schedule — which is why proactive contact with your CAA is the single most effective way to reduce your overall timeline.

How to verify your home CAA’s contact information:

• Use the ICAO directory at icao.int, which lists member states’ civil aviation authorities with official contact details
• Cross-reference with your country’s government aviation authority website — search for “[country name] civil aviation authority” through an official government domain
• Avoid third-party directories; CAA contact details change, and outdated information causes misdirected correspondence that adds weeks to your timeline

If your CAA’s contact information has changed since your license was issued, notify AFB-720 when you submit your verification request so the FAA uses the correct address.

What are your options if verification delays extend beyond 90 days?

The 45–90 day estimate assumes a responsive CAA and a complete submission. In practice, some CAAs take considerably longer, and there is no FAA mechanism to force an accelerated response.

Interim steps when delays extend beyond the typical window:

• Contact your home CAA directly and ask for a written confirmation that they received the FAA’s request and the expected response date. A written confirmation gives you a reference point for follow-up.
• Contact AFB-720 to confirm the FAA’s request was sent and to ask whether any additional information from you would help move the process forward.
• Use the waiting period productively: complete any required FAA written knowledge tests, obtain your U.S. FAA medical from an AME, and finalize your FSDO or examiner selection so you can move immediately once the letter arrives.
• Ensure your passport remains valid well beyond your anticipated FSDO appointment date. International pilots planning travel to the U.S. for their in-person application should review passport validity requirements and confirm their documents meet entry standards before booking travel.
• If your Verification Letter expires (six-month validity) before you complete the FSDO process due to extended delays, you will need to initiate a new verification request. Timing your FSDO appointment within the letter’s validity window is critical.

There is no formal appeals process for CAA delays. The FAA’s position is that verification depends on the CAA’s cooperation, and the agency cannot substitute its own judgment for the CAA’s official response. Persistent, documented follow-up with your CAA is the most reliable path forward.

A practical perspective on timing and what flight schools actually see

The 45–90 day estimate is the number most applicants plan around, and it is also the number that most frequently surprises them. In practice, the spread is wider than the estimate suggests. Some CAAs respond within two weeks; others take four to five months, particularly during peak administrative periods or when supplemental country-specific forms were not submitted correctly.

The most consistent pattern among international students who move through verification efficiently is early, proactive CAA contact — not waiting for the FAA to initiate the conversation and then hoping the CAA responds on schedule. Students who contact their home CAA within a week of submitting their IACRA request, confirm receipt, and ask what the CAA needs to process the FAA’s request, routinely see faster turnaround than those who submit and wait passively.

Scheduling discipline matters just as much as submission discipline. Book your FSDO appointment only after the letter is in your IACRA account. Book travel to the U.S. only after you have both the letter and a confirmed FSDO or examiner date. The cost of a rescheduled international flight and a missed training block is real, and it is entirely avoidable with a conservative scheduling posture.

One point worth stating plainly: the Verification Letter does not guarantee that your U.S. certificate will be issued. It clears the documentation prerequisite. The FAA inspector or examiner still evaluates your application on its merits — your written test scores, your practical performance, and your medical status all remain independent requirements. Treat the letter as the starting line, not the finish line.

Florida Flyers Flight Academy: hands-on support for international pilots

International pilots who want structured support through the verification and conversion process have a direct path at Florida Flyers Flight Academy. The academy’s team reviews your documents before IACRA submission, flags common errors, and helps you coordinate your FSDO appointment or designated examiner scheduling once your Verification Letter arrives.

With Self Examining Authority, Florida Flyers conducts FAA checkrides in-house — a concrete advantage for international students who cannot afford to wait weeks for an available examiner after receiving their letter. Whether you are converting a foreign license or building hours toward ATP, the academy’s accelerated structure moves you from verification to certificate on a defined, predictable timeline. Contact Florida Flyers Flight Academy to request a consultation and get your verification process started with expert guidance.

Sources

Use these authoritative FAA sources directly — each link opens a specific resource you will need at a different stage of the process.

• Form AC 8060-71 – Verification of Authenticity of Foreign License and Medical Certification
• Iacra
• Verification of Authenticity of Foreign License, Rating, and Medical Certification Supplemental Information and Instructions

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