Endorsements & Recordkeeping

Anatomy of an Endorsement

Every valid endorsement contains:

• The student's name
• The date
• The specific FAR being satisfied (§ 61.87, § 61.93, etc.)
• The exact privilege granted (specific aircraft / make-model / route)
• A statement that the student has received the required training and is proficient
• The instructor’s signature, the date of signature, the flight instructor certificate number, and the recent-experience (RE) end date — or the certificate expiration date where that still applies. AC 61-65K added the RE end date; an endorsement carrying only an expiry is written to the old guidance.

Endorsements live in the student's logbook (and the instructor's records). Both copies should match.

Pre-Solo Endorsements

Required before a student can fly solo. Three pieces:

• § 61.87(b) Aeronautical knowledge: The student passed the pre-solo knowledge test administered by the instructor. Test must cover applicable Part 91 regs, airspace, aircraft systems, performance, and aircraft-specific limits.
• § 61.87(c) Pre-solo flight training: Student demonstrated proficiency in the specific maneuvers required (taxi, takeoff, traffic pattern, hover, autorotation entry, etc.)
• § 61.87(n) Make and model: Authorizing solo flight in a specific make and model. Each helicopter requires its own endorsement; valid for 90 days.

Caution: a student who flies infrequently will need re-endorsing before almost every solo — and the clock runs from the day you last flew with them, not from the day you signed.

Solo Cross-Country Endorsements

Solo cross-country is treated separately from solo at the home airport, and it is three endorsements, not two:

• § 61.93(c)(1) — category: a solo cross-country endorsement for the aircraft category to be flown. Signed once.
• § 61.93(c)(2) — make and model: the same endorsement, narrowed to the specific make and model. Signed once per helicopter.
• § 61.93(c)(3) — this flight: signed after you review the student’s planning. It must name the make and model, state that the planning and preparation are correct and the student is prepared to make the flight safely under the known conditions, and state that any limitations you set are met.

The per-flight endorsement is the CFI's last chance to catch a planning error. Don't sign it without actually reviewing the navlog.

Knowledge Test Endorsement

§ 61.35(a)(1) / 61.103 / 61.105: The instructor certifies the student has received ground training in the required aeronautical knowledge areas and is prepared for the knowledge test. Required before the student can sit for the FAA knowledge test (PPL written, IFR written, etc.).

The student carries this endorsement to the testing center. Without it, the test is denied at the door.

Practical Test Endorsements

For the practical test (checkride), the instructor must endorse:

• § 61.39(a)(6)(i) Aeronautical knowledge: The student is prepared for the practical test on the knowledge areas the DPE will examine in the oral portion
• § 61.39(a)(6)(ii) Flight proficiency: The student is proficient in all areas of operation and tasks in the relevant ACS

Both endorsements must be in the logbook on checkride day. Without them, the DPE cannot administer the test.

If the student fails the practical, an additional endorsement is required after retraining: § 61.49 — additional training endorsement specifying the deficient areas of operation that were retrained.

Flight Review (BFR) Endorsement

§ 61.56(a) and (c): Satisfactory completion of a flight review consisting of at least 1 hour ground + 1 hour flight, on the date specified. Valid for 24 calendar months.

If the pilot does not satisfactorily complete the review, the CFI does not endorse — the pilot is simply not current to act as PIC until they pass a review with another (or the same) instructor.

Instrument Proficiency Check (IPC)

§ 61.57(d): § 61.57(c)(1) asks for three things inside the 6 calendar months preceding the month of the flight: six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks, and intercepting and tracking courses using navigational electronic systems. Lose that and you are not current, but you may regain it by flying the tasks with a safety pilot. Only once you have been out of currency for more than six further calendar months does § 61.57(d) require an IPC before you may fly IFR again.

The IPC must be administered by an authorized CFI (CFII) or examiner and must include all the areas of operation in the instrument ACS that the FAA deems necessary.

Add-On Category, Class, and Type Endorsements

• Complex aircraft — § 61.31(e). One-time endorsement for retractable, flaps, and constant-speed prop. Mostly applies to airplane category.
• High-performance — § 61.31(f). Aircraft with engine of more than 200 HP. One-time endorsement.
• Pressurized — § 61.31(g). Required for pressurized aircraft. One-time endorsement.
• Tailwheel — § 61.31(i). Required for tailwheel airplane. One-time endorsement.
• Type rating — required for aircraft > 12,500 lbs MTOW or turbojet. Issued by FAA after a separate practical test, not just an endorsement.

SFAR 73 — Robinson R-22 and R-44

Specific to two helicopter models. The SFAR reaches four activities, not one: manipulating the controls, acting as PIC, providing ground or flight training, and conducting a flight review (SFAR 73, § 1). The ground-training endorsement is required before a person may manipulate the controls for flight — a student on dual included.

• § 2(a) — ground training endorsement, required before manipulating the controls of an R-22 or R-44 for flight. Subject areas are fixed by § 2(a)(3): energy management; mast bumping; low rotor RPM and rotor stall; low-G conditions, effects and proper recovery procedures; rotor RPM decay. Given by an instructor authorized under § 2(b)(5)(iv). Completing the manufacturer's safety course can instead be endorsed by an FAA aviation safety inspector (§ 2(a)(5)).
• § 2(b)(1)(ii) — R-22 PIC proficiency endorsement after at least 10 hours of flight training in the R-22, covering autorotation and energy management, maximum-glide autorotations, RPM control without the governor, and low rotor RPM recognition and recovery. The alternative to this endorsement is 200 flight hours in helicopters with 50 in the R-22 (§ 2(b)(1)(i)).
• § 2(b)(2) — R-44 PIC requirements, structured the same way, with its own model-specific hours.
• On the endorsement route, a pilot may not act as PIC beginning 12 calendar months after that endorsement until completing a flight review of the § 2(a)(3) ground subjects plus the § 2(b) flight training in that model, and getting it endorsed (§ 2(b)(1)(iii)).
• A § 61.56 flight review counts for R-22 or R-44 operation only if it was taken in that model (§ 2(c)).
• Carrying passengers additionally requires § 61.57 recency in an R-22 or R-44 as appropriate (§ 2(d)).

The 200/50 figures are flight hours in helicopters, not PIC hours — a distinction worth getting right before telling a pilot they have aged out of the recurrent review. Read SFAR 73 — verified 2026-09-03 against eCFR title 14, issue date 2026-08-31.

Endorsement Recordkeeping — § 61.51

Both the student and the CFI must keep records.

Student logbook should contain:

• Each lesson flown — date, route, duration, conditions, maneuvers
• Every endorsement received, with full instructor signature and certificate info
• Every checkride, knowledge test, and practical test result
• Currency-related entries (3-and-3 night, instrument approaches, holding, etc.)

CFI's records should contain:

• Copies (or carbons) of every endorsement signed
• Lesson records — what was taught, what was achieved, recommendations for next session
• Pre-flight risk assessments for each lesson (often a FRAT)
• Pre-solo knowledge test results and review

Records must be retained for at least 3 years per § 61.189. In practice, keep them indefinitely — they may matter long after the regulatory minimum.

Common Endorsement Mistakes

• Missing certificate expiration date — required on every endorsement
• Using outdated regulatory citations — FAR sections renumber occasionally; verify against current AC 61-65K
• Endorsing without the underlying training — the 90-day make/model endorsement requires actual recent flight; "I assume he's still proficient" is not a basis
• Skipping the per-flight XC endorsement — even with a current solo XC training endorsement, each XC flight requires its own per-flight endorsement after CFI review of the navlog
• Endorsing a checkride applicant without observing all ACS tasks — DPEs assume the CFI has personally seen every task. If the recommendation appears uninformed, the CFI's reputation suffers.
• Forgetting to update for an aircraft change — solo authorization is make/model-specific. Switching from R-22 to Cabri requires a new endorsement.

Use AC 61-65K — Don't Improvise

Advisory Circular 61-65 (current revision 61-65K, dated 14 November 2025 — verified 2026-09-04 against the revisions FAA serves) contains the FAA's recommended endorsement language for every common endorsement. Each entry shows:

• The applicable FAR citation
• The exact wording template
• The required content fields (date, name, route, etc.)

Using AC 61-65K language ensures the endorsement will be accepted by the FAA, the testing center, and any DPE. Improvised wording sometimes works — but when it doesn't, the consequences fall on the CFI.

Carry a current copy in your CFI bag (paper or electronic). Many CFIs print the relevant pages and laminate them for quick reference at the airport.