SUBJECT: New English Proficiency Endorsement Needed for International Flying
BACKGROUND: Effective March 5, 2008, ICAO Standards require that all Private, Commercial,
ATPs, Flight Engineers and Flight Navigators license/certificate holders, operating internationally as
required crewmembers, have an airman certificate with an endorsement of English language proficiency.
Because a foreign civil aviation authority could choose to start enforcing this requirement with ramp
checks on U.S. and Canadian pilots starting March 5, it is important that you follow the recommended
steps below to obtain a replacement pilot certificate/license as soon as possible.
Both the FAA and Transport Canada are basing compliance with this new ICAO standard on pilots
having met eligibility requirements contained in FARs and CARs. Therefore, no additional testing is
required of current pilots in either country. However, all pilots in both the U.S. and Canada will need to
receive a new License/Certificate containing an endorsement of English proficiency. This endorsement
will simply attest that the holder meets the ICAO English language proficiency standards.
In the U.S.: The FAA is making available replacement certificates with the additional endorsement –
“English Proficient.” The FAA only recently published InFO 08008, which explains the requirements and
the process in place for pilots to receive a new certificate with the endorsement.
In Canada: Many Canadian license holders already have the language proficiency annotation on their
license; Transport Canada (TC) has been issuing them since October 2007. TC will be mailing re-printed
licenses, which include the language proficiency annotation, to the remaining holders of Commercial and
ATP licenses over the next few weeks. In general, there should be no need for Canadian license holders
to do anything to get the required endorsement put on their licenses; a new document should simply arrive
in the mail.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
U.S. ALPA members: All U.S. ALPA members who may fly as crewmembers on international flights on
or after March 5 should apply for their new certificates as soon as possible by:
1. The internet at https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/amsrvs/Logon.asp
2. Mail to the Federal Aviation Administration, Airmen Certification Branch, AFS-760, P.O.Box
25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0082. If by mail, include a signed, written request with the
following information: name, date and place of birth, social security number and/or certificate
number, the reason you need a replacement and a current address. The cost is $2.00.
PLEASE NOTE: To help ensure that you receive your new certificate as soon as possible, be sure that the
FAA has your current mailing address. If not, please be sure to update your address on the FAA website
above BEFORE requesting a new certificate. The FAA has advised us that they have made special
provisions to mail new certificates within five business days of receiving requests for the language
proficiency endorsement.
More information can be found regarding how to get a replacement certificate at
http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/certificate_replacement/.
NOTE 1: The above two options for obtaining a new pilot certificate do not apply to FAA pilot certificates
based on a foreign license. Please see the “FAA InFO” document link in the above Background section of
this Bulletin for instructions on the process to follow.
NOTE 2: If you have not yet changed your pilot certificate number from your SSN to a different number,
doing so at the same time will essentially result in getting either the language proficiency endorsement or
revised certificate number for free since both will be done with the same $2 replacement fee. This can be
done by selecting the option to replace the SSN. This is recommended to help avoid identity theft.
Canadian ALPA members: Anyone who does not receive an updated license from TC in the near
future can contact his or her regional licensing office. However, the hope is that the TC process will result
in an updated license arriving without the need for any request from pilots. You can find a list of the
regional offices on the Internet at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/regions.htm
There is no difference in the process for obtaining a replacement license with the required endorsement
for pilots holding a Transport Canada license issued on the basis of a foreign pilot license.
Contact the ALPA Engineering and Air Safety Department at 1-800-424-2470 or EAS@alpa.org for
further information or to report safety issues.
